A MOTORING KNIFE, BROOKES & CROOKES, SHEFFIELD, EARLY 20TH CENTURY

A MOTORING KNIFE, BROOKES & CROOKES, SHEFFIELD, EARLY 20TH CENTURY plated with nickel silver throughout, with four folding accessories comprising main blade stamped with the maker’s details and bell device, scissors, corkscrew and pick, robust body with hexagonal spanner head at one end and triple-head spanner at the other, concealed pick, stamped with bell mark and ‘patent’ on one face and with match box with striking panel and hinged cover on the other, In its blue-lined fitted case, 13.7 cm (closed) Literature David Hayden-Wright, The Heritage of English Knives, Atglen, Pennsylvania, 2008, p. 142. Brookes & Crookes was established in 1858 by two Nonconformists, John Brookes (1825-1865) and Thomas Crookes (1826-1912). In their founding year the partners entertained their employees with a day of cricket and toasting, where Brookes underlined their intention to produce first-class goods and Crookes promised fair remuneration for labour. Though common sentiments at the time, Brookes and Crookes were already known for paying bonuses for new designs. Sadly, the partnership was short-lived as Brookes died from apoplexy at West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum, near Wakefield, on 14 February 1865 aged only 39 years. Crookes took over the business helped by his works manager William Westby who moved with his family to the factory at Atlantic Works in 1861. The ‘Bell’ trade mark became a badge of excellence and they were famed for the variety of their sportsman’s and multi-blade knives. Part proceeds to benefit the Acquisition Fund of the Arms and Armor department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.