H69.235.2A

• california gold rush

Medium sized knife, with hilt stamped: "Anglo Pacific Cutlery Co Sheffield" 7-3/4" Clip point blade, 12-3/8" overall, Bone handle w/ sheath (.b). Circa 1850-1860. History: Exact history of these knives is not known, but they are of a type and period associated with the mountain men and trappers. From the Gold Rush period. (Barry Hopp, 1980) Bowie knife. The Sheffield Bowie has a straight, single-edged blade that terminates in a clipped point with false edge. German silver crossguard with straight quillions. The two-piece grip has scales made of antler and is pierced for a thong. An escutcheon plate, retained by two brass rivets, appears on the reverse side of the grip. The ricasso is marked on the reverse side "ANGLO PACIFIC/CUTLERY CO/SHEFFIELD." The knife measures 12 1/4 inches overall. Blade measures 7 3/4 inches in length. ca. 1850-1860. From the History Information Station: Sheffield was the center of the British cutlery industry. A forty-niner might have brought this knife with him or purchased it here in California. Merchants shipped goods to San Francisco in the hopes of making great profits from the influx of miners. But so many sent so much that San Francisco's warehouses were often smothered in oversupply. A barrel of beef that cost $35 in May 1850 might not fetch more than $10 in the summer of 1851.

Used: gold rush ~ mountain man ~ trapper