QUALITY MAKERS**C1950 Two Large Display Cased Sets of John Nowill & Sons Sheffield Cutlers Factory Shop Window Knives & Assorted Cutlery. Sn 21501 QUALITY MAKERS**C1950 Two Large Display Cased Sets of John Nowill & Sons Sheffield Cutlers Factory Shop Window Knives & Assorted Cutlery. Sn 21501 Other Accessory

The earliest record of the business is in the books of the ‘Cutlers Company on 27TH April 1700. This family company was first based in Meadow Street Sheffield, but later moved to Scotland Street around 1840. It was in 1842 that the first of John Nowill sons, William, joined the business after finishing his apprenticeship. His maker’s marks of ‘D*’ and ‘CROSSKEYS’ remain the marks of the company to this day (see Tweedale’s The Sheffield Knife Book page 242). These are 2 original C1950 Display Cased Sets of John Nowill & Sons Sheffield Cutlers Factory Shop Window Knives & other assorted cutlery. Most of the knife blades contained in both displays are signed ‘J.Nowill & Sons-Sheffield above ‘D’ and Cross keys’ apart from 4 of the white ivorine or bone handled knives in one of the displays (right hand display in 1st image), which are signed ‘Frank Mills & Co Ltd Wearwell Stainless Steel’, a cutler connected to Nowills ( Frank Mills (1860-1932) was a clothes dealer and table knife blade grinder. The first directory listing of Frank Mills was in 1893 in Charlotte Street, as a table knife manufacturer. In 1903, it became Frank Mills & Co Ltd. Frank Mills, died on Christmas Day in 1932, afterwards, the firm’s address was 135 Scotland Street (the same as Nowill, which had acquired Mills’ assets and marks including ‘Wearwell’, see Tweedale's Directory of Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers 1740-2013 [2nd edition]). All of the cutlery in both displays are securely wire bound to their felt backboards which both have J. Nowill & Sons & trademark labelling. The 2 piece glazed wood frames are screwed together at the rear (to avoid damage we have not attempted to remove the tools and blades from their mounts). All of the knives and other cutlery are clean and fully functional. Each case measures 36”x18”x 3 ½”. The price is for both cased displays and includes UK delivery (due to size and risk of glass damage International delivery is not available). Sn 21501 (office in front of storeroom door)