At the Great Exhibition in 1851, Abraham Leon (1818-1897) won an Honourable Mention for his ‘American hunters’ knives, various sizes from 20 inches downwards, in Morocco and electro-plate sheaths, Dagger knives, electro-plate and Morocco sheaths, with black and pearl-dotted handles.  Also, pierced electro-plate, with silk velvet sheath’ (Official and Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue, 1851).  Abraham had been born at Mecklenburg, Germany, the son of Jewish parents, Abraham and Eve Leon.  In the early 1840s, he was a merchant in Charleston, South Carolina.  He (and his parents) next worked in Sheffield.   In 1845, Abraham Jun. was a merchant in Workhouse Croft; by 1849, he had moved to Solly Street.  By 1861, he had married Henrietta (from Hanover) and both became naturalised.  Leon prospered.  With the income from selling table cutlery, razors, spring knives and Bowies, he bought a house in Endcliffe Vale.  His surviving Bowie knives appear to be rare, but an example is pictured in Littman (2008)¹.  The blade carries the words ‘Washingtonian’ and ‘A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed’.  It is stamped with the letters: ‘O*K’.  By 1881, Leon had retired to Lime Lodge, Wells Road, in Bath.  The business was listed in Solly Street until the mid-1890s, but it had switched to steel and files.  Abraham Leon died in Bath on 23 June 1897, aged 79.   He left effects valued at £7,546.

^1. Littman, Donald [Greg Martin Auctions Catalogue], The Largest Knife Sale Ever Featuring the Estate of Donald Littman, Part I, 25 February 2008, in San Francisco (San Francisco, 2008)