51/1218

These sugar cutters are made of steel with a turned wooden handle and are mounted on a wooden stand with a turned brass pillar. Until the introduction of cube sugar in the second half of the nineteenth century, sugar was only available in large lumps or cones and the cutters were used for cutting off smaller pieces. This pair were designed for use at the table, rather than in the kitchen. They date from the early-nineteenth century and the name 'B. Smith' is stamped on the handle.

1 sugar cutters: metal (steel), (wooden handle)

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'These sugar cutters are made of steel with a turned wooden handle. They are mounted on a wooden stand and the haws are supported at the hinge by a turned brass pillar. The name B. Smith is stamped on the handle.These cutters would have been used at the table, not in the kitchen. // They measure 12.75 inches in length, and the wooden stand is 10 inches in length. // See also 51/543 L', MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 51/543 – 'Sugar cutters were used before the introduction of cube sugar in the second half of the nineteenth century to break up loaf sugar into pieces suitable for table use. The loaf was a circular cone about 14 inches at the base by 36 inches in height. // Lindsay (Iron and Brass Implements of the English House) says, “These were made on the principle of pliers, the jaws being almost circular and having a sharp blade at the end of each, they could be manipulated by one hand, as the jaws were forced open by a spring upon unfastening a catch at the end of the handles. To prevent the knuckles coming into violent contact with the table, a spike or distance piece was attached to the outside of one handle”., Victoria & Albert Museum No. M50, 1925.

1800-01-01 - 1824-12-31

Early-nineteenth century

Wood, Metal, steel