Cheese knife

1845-1860

Measurements

7-1/4 in x 1-1/4 in x 3/8 in

Materials

Silver, iron (core)

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Cheri W. Klunk

Accession Number

2020.4

Inscription

“SH / from / ASG” is engraved in ornate script on an oval panel on one side of the handle, “AC”[?] is on the other side. Two hallmarks or pseudo-hallmarks--one of a leopard's head and the other of an eagle's head--are stamped onto one side of the knife blade.

Provenance

The knife descended in the Mailly family of Odessa.  Augustine Mailly (1803-1862) of Lyon, France, married Mary Ann Thomas (1812-1845), a daughter of Samuel and Rachel Wilson Thomas and a granddaughter of David and Mary Corbit Wilson.  Mailly’s second wife was Sarah Hodgson, whom he married in 1847. A partial note accompanying the knife suggests it was a wedding gift to Sarah Hodgson, the second wife of Augustine Mailly.  One set of engraved initials includes "SH" which may be Sarah Hodgson.

Comments

The knife has a reeded handle attached to a wide scimitar-shaped blade, namely one that is short and curved with complex shapes along the top.  The blade is slightly dished.  Both the silver blade and handle are joined to a piece of iron inside.

The script initials are difficult to discern and may represent other letters.

A handwritten scrap of paper says "[missing] wedding / sent to / [missing]rah Hodgson / Mailly / cheese / knife".