Knife History

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the July/August 1994 issue of BLADE magazine.

Knife History: George Washington’s Penknife

On display at the Alexandria Masonic Lodge in Alexandria, Virginia, is a simple penknife. Its closed length is 3 inches; its handle appears to be mother-of-pearl. the single blade is 1 3/4 inches long.

The claim to fame of this otherwise nondescript cutlery antique is that it was in the possession of George Washington for 56 years. More significant than the knife itself, however, is the story it inspired, a fascinating tale of devotion to duty and strength of character.

Following the death of his father in 1743, a young George Washington, then only 11, went to live with his half-brother, Lawrence. While repairs were being done to the family estate at Mount Vernon, George stayed for a time at Belvoir, the home of William Fairfax, a close friend of the Washington family and also Lawrence’s father-in-law.

“William Fairfax became very fond of George and gave the young man access to his elaborate library,” explained Dr. Claude Harris, archivist of the Alexandria Washington Masonic Lodge, which is located in the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. “Through the influence of his brother and the Fairfax family. George obtained a commission as a midshipman in the [British navy].”

According to Jack Rudell, curator of the replica room of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, Martha Ball Washington, George’s mother, corresponded with her brother, John Ball, who lived in England.

“John Ball said that the British navy was a floating hell,” commented Rudell. “So [Washington’s mother] was convinced not to let George go.”

Though the details had been worked out and all preparations made, young George respected his mother’s wishes, surrendered his commission and returned to the study of mathematics and surveying.

George’s mother ordered supplies from England annually, and in her next order was a request for one good penknife, which she intended to give to her son as a token of appreciation.

“This she presented to young George as a reward for his submission to her will with the injunction, ‘always obey your superiors,’” remarked Harris. “He carried the token with him through life as a reminder of his mother’s command.”

The Penknife Steps into History

Later, during the Revolutionary War, Washington supposedly recounted the knife’s history in a conversation with one of his most trusted subordinates, Gen. Henry Knox. It was Knox who would later play a key role in Washington’s military future.

As the commander-in-chief quietly deliberated over the situation that bleak winter at Valley Forge, it could scarcely have been more critical. His soldiers were fighting for their very lives against the mightiest military power in the world. If they failed, then along with them would perish an ideal.

“When a timid Congress failed to provide food for his starving and ragged army, in desperation yielding temporarily to his feelings, and in sympathy for his men and disgust with Congress, Washington wrote his resignation as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and summoned his staff to notify them of his actions,” remarked Harris. “Among the officers present and sitting in the council was Knox, who reminded him of the knife and his mother’s injunction ‘always obey your superiors. You were commanded to lead this army and no one has ordered you to cease leading it.’”

Washington paused and said, “There is something to that. I will think it over.”

Half and hour later he had torn up his resignation, determined to fight to the end. Thus, a penknife may have meant the different between life and death for the USA.

As True as the Cherry Tree Story?

Whether events actually transpired as recorded is as much a matter of opinion as appraisal of fact, but indeed the story of the knife should rank in American folklore with that of the cherry tree and the famous phrase, “I cannot tell a lie.”

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Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the December 1992 issue of BLADE magazine. Learn more about timeless knife history with this collection of back issues.

Is This an Honest-to-Goodness Knife for Honest Abe?

A silver folding fruit knife owned by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln? It seems too good to be true. But there it is, bigger than life on display at the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

It all started with a letter to BLADE magazine from William Graves, Sr. He wrote that he’d seen a picture of the knife in Lincoln Lore, the official publication of the Lincoln Museum, a part of the Lincoln National Corp. All the signs seemed right; the hallmarks on the blade, the carved pearl handle, even Lincoln’s name engraved on the shield. But the question remained: Was the knife really Lincoln’s?

Abraham Lincoln’s Knives Can Fetch $100,000

Acting museum director Ruth Cook said the knife was bought by television executive producer Harry Ackerman at the auction of Oliver R. Barrett’s Lincoln collection in 1952. Ackerman’s discovery of the knife is a story in itself. He bought Lincoln’s legal wallet, inside of which, unknown to the seller or buyer, was the knife. A collector’s dream come true!

Cook said the Lincoln National Corp., subsidiary of Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., bought the wallet and knife from a dealer. She could not divulge how much was paid for both items, though she said the price was in the five-figure range. She said neither item is for sale. Another knife-a multi- blade pocketknife-that belonged to Lincoln sold alone at auction for $99,825 at Sotheby’s in New York in 1989, as reported in the August 1989 BLADE magazine.

Even though Cook said there is no documentation of when Lincoln received the folding fruit knife or who gave it to him, it reportedly has been authenticated. There are photographs of it in famed poet and biographer Carl Sandburg‘s Lincoln volumes and elsewhere.

History of Fruit Knives

But were the principals involved familiar enough with the special “hallmark language” of fruit knives to know if this particular fruit knife could have been made for Lincoln?

We decided to check with Bill Karsten, author of the only known book on the subject, Silver Folding Fruit Knives, to flush out the facts.

According to Karsten’s book, folding fruit knives first appeared in France in the 17th century. They often had blades made of silver or gold for corrosion resistance as stainless steel was not yet available. Men often gave them as presents to their wives or girlfriends.

In England, silver fruit knives flourished after the silver assay offices opened at Sheffield and Birmingham in 1773. The blades were hallmarked following assay (a procedure analyzing the blade’s silver content) in accordance with the system conceived in London during the early 14th century.

A series of five small stamped marks disclosed the city of origin, the maker’s initials, the year of assay, the sterling silver (92.5 percent) content and the duty stamp (Karsten said the latter was no longer carried after the duty was abolished in 1890).

How Lincoln’s Knife Measures Up

The hallmarks on the Lincoln knife blade are of a profile of Queen Victoria, a crown, the capital letter “M,” a lion and the initials “JYC.” Karsten said the “JYC” stands for the maker, John Yeomans Cowlishaw, who was so well thought of that a street in Sheffield, Cowlishaw Lane, is named after him.

Karsten said the queen’s profile means the duty on the knife had been paid indicating the knife was made pre-1896 the crown indicates the knife was made in Sheffield, and the lion means the blades are made of silver.

The Mysterious M Holds Key to Lincoln’s Fruit Knife

But it was the “M” hallmark for the year of make that intrigues Karsten. He said the capital letter or uppercase “M” meant the-knife was made-either from 1855-56 or from 1879-1880. If it were made between 1879 and 1880, then the knife could not have been Lincoln’s since he was assassinated in 1865.

Moreover, Karsten said, Cowlishaw made his last knife around 1920, which indicates if he made a knife in the mid-1850s, his knifemaking career spanned six-and-a-half decades. If that’s true, it’s a remarkable record for working longevity at that point in history.

Some checking by Karsten in The Book of Old Silver: English, American, Foreign by Seymour B. Wyler revealed that Cowlishaw was admitted as a maker of silver folding fruit knives to the Sheffield Assay Office in 1854. So he could have made the knife in 1855-56.

However, Karsten said the “M markings on the knives made in 1855-56 are thinner than those made in 1879-80.”

“If I had to make a choice I would say the shape of the ‘M’ indicates the knife was made in 1879-80,” he said, but he could not be positive and would not discount that the knife could have been Lincoln’s on that basis.

Mistakes Don’t Necessarily Discredit Lincoln’s Fruit Knife

Next came a question about the order the hallmarks appear in on the blade.

Quoting from Wyler’s book, Karsten said on almost all fruit knives made from 1844-1921 the crown is the first hallmark to appear at the left. On the Lincoln blade the queen’s profile appears first at the left. However, Karsten said there is a picture of a Cowlishaw knife made in 1855 with the hallmarks in the same order in Karsten’s book.

Moreover, he said mistakes in the application of hallmarks were made and the Lincoln knife may be an example.

“They did make boo-boos,” he noted. “I’ve found several of them. They’re not normal but the mistakes don’t discount the knife’s authenticity, either.”

Simon Moore, a leading English authority on fruit knives, agreed with Karsten’s assessment.

“We do often get mistakes like that. There might be a whole batch of blades with marks jumbled up higgledy-piggledy,” he said. “They might go stamping away before they’d realized their mistake but by then they might’ve run off quite a few blades that way.”

As for the shield style and the engraved blade, Karsten said he had seen examples of neither on other Cowlishaw knives. Concerning the “A. Lincoln” engraved on the shield, Karsten said it was probably done some time after the knife was made. He said if the knife were made especially for Lincoln by Cowlishaw, Cowlishaw may have engraved the name on the shield later.

The Verdict for Lincoln’s Fruit Knife

Dr. William Rosenthal, a leading fruit knife authority who donated a huge collection of fruit knives to the National Knife Museum, said the shield was probably engraved after the knife came to America.
“The fancy shape of the handle, the engraved bolster, these sort of things say to me Cowlishaw well could have made the knife,” Karsten noted. “And the knife very well could have been Lincoln’s.”

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the December 1996 issue of BLADE. Read more from BLADE‘s archives with this collection.

Abraham Lincoln’s Knife

George Morris is an antique collector in Monmouth, Illinois. His home is filled with treasures from ages past, but one of his most precious artifacts is seldom seen within the walls of his historic home. The little knife with which he is so careful is said to have once belonged to Abraham Lincoln.

Morris acquired the knife about four years ago. His benefactor stipulated that he not tell exactly where he got it and that he not put it on public display. He has twice gotten permission from the benefactor to display the knife and had to ask again before telling the tale.

Origin’s of Lincoln’s Knife

Lincoln, after a stop in Monmouth, Illinois, during his senatorial campaign against Stephen Douglas, visited his longtime friend Sumner Phelps in Oquawka. It was there that the benefactor’s grandfather, Bill Boden, is said to have witnessed the passing of the knife to Phelps. Boden’s daughter-in-law, Agnes Boden, later recalled the story her father-in-law had told her in an essay titled, A Little Town Where Old Friends Met:

“There was a striking resemblance between the two men (Lincoln and Phelps). They could easily have passed as brothers. Many had noticed and spoke of it when they sat together in the Phelps carriage. Lincoln must have noted it too for he played a cute joke on his friend day,” Bill Boden said.

“After telling how he had won a knife, to the merriment of all present, especially S.S. (Sumner) Phelps, who was boisterously laughing, Lincoln, with a twinkle in his eye, took the knife out of pocket and said, “Sumner, this knife was given to me to keep until I found a homelier man than myself, so I present it to you.”

The knife was passed down through the Phelps family and eventually was given to Frank Boden, Bill Boden’s son and the husband of Agnes Boden. In 1941, Will Phelps, the grandson of Sumner, signed an affidavit in Rock Island County, Illinois, attesting to the authenticity of the knife Morris now has.

“It’s Not Insurable”

Though he casually slips the knife in and out of his pocket when showing is to visitors, Morris regularly keeps the knife and affidavit secured in a safety deposit box in a bank. He takes such precautions because the knife is a one-of-a-kind.

“It’s not insurable,” he said. “There’s no way you can appraise it. It’s worth whatever somebody will give you. Something like that can’t be replaced.”

Morris said he plans to keep the knife as long as he lives. What will become of it then, he hasn’t decided.

“The state has heard about it and they say they’re not interested,” he said. however, for some strange reason, state officials keep calling him about it, he added.

Skepticism

Morris said he wouldn’t consider giving it to the state unless it were accepted as 100-percent authentic.

And there’s the rub.

Kim Bauer, historical research specialist for the Henry Homer Lincoln Collection at the Illinois Historical Library, said more concrete evidence is needed to verify the story.

The joke of giving a knife to someone with instructions to pass it on to a homelier person was a common one in the mid-1800s, and Lincoln’s humble appearance may have won him many a jackknife.

“I’d like to believe (Boden’s story),” Bauer said. “It’d be great if you could (verify it), but too much time has passed.”