Antique Askham & Mosforth Butter Flatware (12) Bone Handle 1852-1855 RARE

RARE Set of Askham & Mosforth Butter Knives Bone Handle (Made between 1852-1855)

John Askham was born in Sheffield – probably in 1817 - the son of Joshua, a cutler, and his wife, Elizabeth. He apparently served his apprenticeship in Broad Lane, where Samuel Frost operated a cutlery manufacturer. In about 1850, Askham became a partner in the table cutlery business of Frost, Askham & Mosforth at Broad Lane Works. Thomas Mosforth (b. 1821), was the son of a table-knife forger. Local historian Mary Chesworth (1984), who located a billhead for the firm, wrote that ‘the partnership ... seems to have been of very short duration’. Frost retired and by 1852 the firm was Askham & Mosforth, with the former based in New York (Askham’s five-year-old son died there in 1850). In 1855, Askham & Mosforth was dissolved and John Askham became the sole owner.