Object number
73/24
Collection
Creator
Description
Head from an Aberdeen hoe. Marked 'Staniforth's Everquick' made by Thomas Staniforth and Co. of Severquick Works, Hackenthorpe, Sheffield.
The head from an Aberdeen hoe. The blade has tapered ends, a solid forged tang and a quarter bright and black finish. It is marked 'Staniforth's Everquick' and was made by Thomas Staniforth and Co. of Severquick Works, Hackenthorpe, Sheffield. The hoe came to the Museum as part of a collection of objects from Spear & Jackson (Tools) Ltd., a large tool manufacturing firm which amalgamated other firms, including Thomas Staniforth and Co. Ltd.
Physical description
1 hoe head; metal [steel] and black paint; good condition
Label Text
6. 'Aberdeen' hoe blade. This is one of many different types of hoe blade - all bearing different names - manufactured in the twentieth century by the toolmakers Spear and Jackson Ltd. The concentration of production of edge tools in the hands of specialist manufacturers was well under way by the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Spear and Jackson were initially known primarily for their saws but in the 1870s moved into garden and agricultural implements as well. By 1880, it was sending out tools to destinations all over the world from its large Etna steelworks in Sheffield which employed 600 men (see The Implement and Machinery Review, Nov 1st, 1878, pp.1869-70). 73/24.
Archival history
MERL Miscellaneous note, Greta Bertram, 13 March 2014 – The Spear & Jackson (Tools) Ltd. Collection was donated in 1973 by Spear & Jackson (Tools) Ltd., a firm of gardening and hand tool manufacturers based in Sheffield. The firm was founded in Sheffield in 1760 by Alexander Spear and John Love as Spear & Love. In 1820 Samuel Jackson joined the firm, and in 1830 the partnership Spear & Jackson was formed. In 1967, Spearwell Tools was formed to merge the gardening and agricultural interests of Spear & Jackson and another firm, Eva Industries. By this time, Spearwell Tools consisted of the amalgamated firms of other tool manufacturers – Brades and Nash Tyzack Industries Ltd., Edward Elwell Ltd., Edward and William Lucas Ltd., Isaac Nash and Sons Ltd., C. T. Skelton and Co Ltd., Spear and Jackson Ltd., Thomas Staniforth and Co Ltd. It is for this reason that many of the tools in the Collection are stamped with the names of these manufacturers, rather than by Spear & Jackson. In 1970 Spear & Jackson acquired Eva Industries’ interest in Spearwell Tools, and in 1972, Spearwell Tools was merged with Spear and Jackson’s hand tool division to become Spear & Jackson (Tools). The company continued to acquire other firms after 1972. For further history, see http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Spear_and_Jackson., Reference: Spear & Jackson Catalogue, no date, p.24, No. 3621B
Production place
Sheffield
Object name
Material
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_11220.tif - High resolution image
