Numero oggetto
73/34
Creatore
Descrizione
A 'Fussell' Bristol reaping hook. It has a curved steel blade with a bright and black finish, and a ferruled, round ash handle with a through tang. The design of the hook is based on the pattern of the original manufacturer, Fussell, hence the name. This hook was manufactured by Spear & Jackson (Tools) Ltd., and the blade is stamped with the company's trademark and 'England 2'. It came to the Museum as part of a collection of objects from Spear & Jackson (Tools) Ltd., a large tool manufacturing firm which amalgamated numerous other firms.
Descrizione fisica
1 hook: steel blade [curved]; no serrations; ash handle
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>2. <B>Reaping hook</B><P> Reap hooks were heavier and had a smooth blade rather than the serrated cutting edge of a sickle. They were used with more of a slashing action compared to the gentler sawing strokes that were required with a sickle. The later nineteenth century saw the steady mechanisation of harvesting operations in England, but instances could still be found of the hook being used to cut corn. Subsequently, hooks remained as more of a general purpose tool for use around the farm and smallholding. This one was made in the mid-twentieth century by Spear & Jackson Ltd. of Sheffield, a tool-making conglomerate which carried within it the names of many smaller and old-established firms. One of them was Fussell of Mells in Somerset and this tool was marketed as a Fussell 'Bristol' reap hook.<P> 73/34</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV><DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>2. <B>Reaping hook</B><P> Reap hooks were heavier and had a smooth blade rather than the serrated cutting edge of a sickle. They were used with more of a slashing action compared to the gentler sawing strokes that were required with a sickle. The later nineteenth century saw the steady mechanisation of harvesting operations in England, but instances could still be found of the hook being used to cut corn. Subsequently, hooks remained as more of a general purpose tool for use around the farm and smallholding. This one was made in the mid-twentieth century by Spear & Jackson Ltd. of Sheffield, a tool-making conglomerate which carried within it the names of many smaller and old-established firms. One of them was Fussell of Mells in Somerset and this tool was marketed as a Fussell 'Bristol' reap hook.<P> The Fussell business in Mells goes back at least to 1744 when James Fussell leased a plot of ground for the purposes of erecting a mill for grinding edge tools. By the early nineteenth century the firm was operating from six separate sites in the area. Some of its agricultural tools were exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and a Gold Medal for reap hooks and scythes was won at the 1860 International Exhibition in Vienna. In 1880, the firm was absorbed by Isaac Nash of Belbroughton, Worcestershire, which in turn subsequently became part of the large tool making conglomerate of Brades Skelton & Tyzack of Oldbury, near Birmingham. See 'Mendip Ironmasters - Fussells of Mells' in Atthill, R <I>Old Mendip</I>, 1964, pp. 68-94.<P> 73/34</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV>
Storico archivio
MERL Miscellaneous note, Greta Bertram, 13 March 2014 – The Spear & Jackson (Tools) Ltd. Collection was donated in 1973 by Spear & Jackson (Tools) Ltd., a firm of gardening and hand tool manufacturers based in Sheffield. The firm was founded in Sheffield in 1760 by Alexander Spear and John Love as Spear & Love. In 1820 Samuel Jackson joined the firm, and in 1830 the partnership Spear & Jackson was formed. In 1967, Spearwell Tools was formed to merge the gardening and agricultural interests of Spear & Jackson and another firm, Eva Industries. By this time, Spearwell Tools consisted of the amalgamated firms of other tool manufacturers – Brades and Nash Tyzack Industries Ltd., Edward Elwell Ltd., Edward and William Lucas Ltd., Isaac Nash and Sons Ltd., C. T. Skelton and Co Ltd., Spear and Jackson Ltd., Thomas Staniforth and Co Ltd. It is for this reason that many of the tools in the Collection are stamped with the names of these manufacturers, rather than by Spear & Jackson. In 1970 Spear & Jackson acquired Eva Industries’ interest in Spearwell Tools, and in 1972, Spearwell Tools was merged with Spear and Jackson’s hand tool division to become Spear & Jackson (Tools). The company continued to acquire other firms after 1972. For further history, see http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Spear_and_Jackson., Reference: Spear & Jackson Catalogue 1973, p.106, No. 4700 No. 2
Luogo di produzione
Wednesbury
Data
1970-01-01 - 1979-12-31
Periodo di produzione
1970s
Nome oggetto
Materiale
Documento esterno
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_11235.tif - High resolution image
