◉ A FOLDING BOWIE KNIFE FOR THE AMERICAN MARKET, SPENCER, LONDON, CIRCA 1870

◉ A FOLDING BOWIE KNIFE FOR THE AMERICAN MARKET, SPENCER, LONDON, CIRCA 1870 with folding blade formed with a long clipped-back point, inscribed 'of the best quality' in capital letters and signed at the ricasso 'Spencer, London' on one face (areas of light pitting and wear), German silver foliate cross-guard, German silver pommel formed as a horsehead on a field gun, copper alloy fillets, sprung lock on the back, ivory grip-scales (small chips) retained by four rivets and a vacant rectangular German silver escutcheon on one face, 15.0 cm (closed) Provenance David Hayden-Wright (1936-2006) Literature David Hayden-Wright, The Heritage of English Knives, Atglen, Pennsylvania, 2008, p. 239. Hayden-Wright (op. cit) suggests that this was Sheffield made by Wragg or Lindgard, and signed by the London retailer, Spencer. This lot is offered with UK Ivory Act 2018 certificate number O1VN27ER.