I am trying to research a very fine corkscrew that has come into my possession. It has an ebonised handle stamped with the number "2" and on the tapering steel shank is stamped "WINGFIELD". I know that many of the Sheffield metal working workshops produced corkscrews in addition to cutlery etc. but I can find no record of someone of that name listed as a corkscrew maker. The item is clearly made as an item of some luxury and I wondered if any of you could shed some light?
thanks in advance
Kim James
It sounds as though it could be one made by Wingfield, Rowbotham & Co who started up around 1740 and were still going at least until 1914. They had a place on Tenter Street around the turn of the 19/20th centuries.
There was one for sale on EBay a couple of weeks ago for about £30 which fitted the description you give.
Not much to go on I know but hopefully it will help you to find more information.
Kim,
From, The Cutler’s Company Register of Trademarks 1919:
Turner, Thomas & Co (Sheffield) Ltd (Suffolk Works) owned about 10 Trade Marks including:
Suffolk
Wingfield and Co
Wingfield, Rowbotham and Co
Wade, Wingfield and Rowbotham
That company (Turner), in 1919, manufactured:
Class 5 : Steel
Class 12:All (Such as—Knives Forks Scissors Razors Shears Files, Saws Axes Hatchets Adzes Chisels Drills (not being machine drills) Gouges Scythes Sickles Reaping hooks).
And :
Tools not having a cutting edge
No mention of manufacturing Class 13 goods, which is the class which included corkscrews.
If you have a corkscrew with just WINGFIELD on that implies it predates Wingfield and Co. (and the other 2) unless of course it is counterfeit.
I believe that in the early days it was impossible to register a name as a trade mark. That changed about 1814 (I think)
You may get some clues from the register of Freemen and apprentices over to the left, though the enforced registration of those stopped about 1814.
You should ask at the Cutlers Company for the people who registered each of those marks, and when.
Dave