Nick Duggan a local heritage champion who volunteers at The Hawley Collection at Kelham Island has put together a book ,’500 Sheffield Treasures’, that highlights a wide range of Sheffield items of cutlery and flatware . The book is designed to help people identify and explore a range of items made in Sheffield at the height of the cutlery boom around the turn of the century .
Can you spot the difference between a potato and cucumber knife?
Nick has given numerous talks to groups in Sheffield and some of the items he has shown to people will be featured in the book with many other objects.
In the introduction Nick says :-
This book is for those who love Sheffield and want to celebrate what we have made in the city and the link from the past to modern manufacturing. It uses a collection of Sheffield made objects, cutlery and flatware to highlight:
The skill of the Sheffield craftsmen and women who made cutlery and flatware
The eccentricity of dining in the Victorian and Edwardian era
The Sheffield companies that competed with each other to dominate the world market
The opportunity to search in the attic, the cutlery drawer, the charity shop for real Sheffield Treasure
The places and resources where the story is still told and developing
The books 120 pages highlight a huge range of objects that were made in the city with very specific functions, tells you how to decipher the makers marks and understand the wide range of materials that were used for handles.
The book will be launched on Wednesday 12 th November in The Hawley Gallery at Kelham Island Museum 2pm – 3pm and can be ordered on line from www.sheffieldbooks.co.uk.
All profits go to the S6 Foodbank and The Hawley Collection at Kelham Island Museum .