Alexander Hunt was baptised on 11 January 1767 at Attercliffe, the son of George (a scissor smith). The records of the Company of Cutlers suggest that Alexander was apprenticed to cutler George Wasnidge and granted his Freedom in 1791. He became a pen knife maker, who partnered Jonathan Shaw and George Vickers. In 1801, Shaw, Hunt & Vickers was dissolved, though Hunt and Shaw continued together. Benjamin Woolhouse joined them in Woolhouse, Shaw & Hunt, spring and table knives manufacturer. This ended in 1805. Shaw & Hunt continued to trade at Meadow Street, until in 1813 they, too, parted. Alexander Hunt next had a workshop as a pen knife manufacturer at Broad Lane / Bailey Lane. In 1822, he registered a silver mark at Bailey Lane. In the 1825 directory, Hunt’s address was Bridge Street and Broad Lane, where he was described as a manufacturer of pen, pocket, desk, sportsman’s, silver fruit and plated desserts, Italian, Chinese, and spoon knives. The business was ‘successor to G. Cooper’ – possibly, George Cooper, who had registered a mark as a plate worker in Broad Lane in 1800 (a George Cooper had also registered a silver mark from Pea Croft in 1788).
In the late 1820s, Alexander Hunt was in partnership with Benjamin Micklethwaite, but this was dissolved in 1827. In the Sheffield directory of the following year, Hunt’s address as a pen and pocket knife manufacturer was Grindlegate. Alexander and his wife, Hannah, had a son, Jonathan (1798-1837), who was apprenticed to his father. They planned to market their knives in the USA and entered into a partnership (presumably with Jonathan making the transatlantic trips). However, they terminated this arrangement in 1829. Perhaps Alexander retired, as his name disappeared from directories. In the Sheffield directories of 1833 and 1837, Jonathan was listed in Division Street as a merchant and pen, pocket, table knife, razor, and scissors manufacturer. He resided in Clarkson Street. Jonathan became a Freeman in 1833, when he was granted the trade mark ‘ENCORE’. (The same mark had been associated with Luke Brownell, a pen knife maker in the 1797 directory.) In 1834, Jonathan headed to New York. He was evidently an early importer of Bowie knives, one of which is illustrated in Burton (1988)1. According to Goins (1998)2, Hunt’s knives were sometimes marked ‘Jonathan Hunt Patent’.
Alexander Hunt’s death was reported in The Sheffield Independent, 28 November 1835, which added that he was for ‘upwards of 50 years a member of the Wesleyan Connexion’. He was buried on 17 November 1835 at the parish churchyard. He lived at Glossop Road and was aged 69. Jonathan Hunt, Glossop Road, died on 25 September 1837 from ‘putrid fever’ and was buried in an unconsecrated grave in the General Cemetery. He was only 38 and his career had been brief, yet his passing was noted in the press. In July 1838, his stock of tools, materials, and patterns was auctioned on the premises in Division Street. One item was the mark ‘ENCORE’, which was said to be ‘in high repute in the United States, and would be invaluable to any person commencing the American trade’ (Sheffield Independent, 21 July 1838). ‘ENCORE’ was later used by Thomas Turner & Co.
1. Burton, Kenneth J, A Sure Defence: The Bowie Knife Book (Balmain, NSW, 1988)
2. Goins, J E, and Goins, C, Goins’ Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings (Indianapolis, 1998)