Earliest Documented Existence of Use of Sans Serif Font on Sheffield Maker's Stamps

[laEspadaAncha]

Following a suggestion by Spiral - and IMO a wonderful suggestion of that - I would like to dedicate a thread to exploring the earliest use of sans serif fonts by English cutlers...

Unfortunately, edged weapon collecting is not impervious to the banalities of human nature. We tend to become entrenched in complacency with our acceptance of the status quo and complacent in our desire to challenge it. As a result, myths abound in this field, and myths and mistakes alike, when repeated enough, unfortunately become accepted as "fact."

One such example that comes to mind is with regards to the erroneous labeling of the Collins No. 18 machete as a "V-44 fighting knife." Just google "V-44 fighting knife," and you'll receive a ton of these in return:



In fact, go to any gun or knife show, and if you ask for a "V-44 fighting knife," this is what they will sell you. Because we collectors all know that is what it is, right?

Wrong. The V-44 was a round-tip, blunt-nose machete that was included in flight kits. The V-44 was not a clip-point Bowie profile machete issued to and carried by Marines in the Pacific Theater in WWII; that was the No. 18 machete made originally by Collins.

But that hasn't stopped author after author, dealer after dealer, and collector after collector repeating this ad infinitum until it became accepted as "fact."

It is my opinion a similar issue exists with the perception that if a knife is stamped in a sans serif font, it must date to the late 19th century. It is my opinion this is equally wrong. There are plenty of documented examples that provide evidence that cutlers were using sans serif typefaces in their stamps during the mid-19th century.

By establishing an accurate date for the first appearance and use of such stamps, it will help us better assess, understand, and appreciate the knives we collectors both have and will doubtlessly encounter in our quest to add examples to our respective collections. Nor is the benefit of such an effort limited to edged weapons. In the thread in which this discussion was initiated (see here), the authenticity of what appears to be a beautiful late-18th or early 19th century blunderbuss was called into question in no small part due to the use of a sans-serif font.

In the following posts, I hope to show that a) the commercial use of such a font in England dates not to the late 1800's but rather to the early 1800's, and b) there are plenty of examples establishing the use of sans serif stamps by English cutlers by the mid-19th century.