Screwdriver or Turnscrew

Date1750 - 1820

Mediumsteel, iron, wood and brass

DimensionsLength: 12 1/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1992-181

DescriptionScrewdriver is made from an engraved sword blade. Engraved decoration consists of floral flourishes and a robed woman holding sprigs in her upturned hands.
Label TextCleverly adapted from a broken smallsword blade, this screwdriver has a wooden handle shaped like a thistle, the emblem of Scotland. The etching on the double-edged blade suggests it was made in Solingen, in what is now Germany.
ProvenancePurchased by source at dealer's sale held in conjunction with the National Antique Tool Auction, Morgantown, PA, 30 October 1992, from Peter R. Habicht, 1985 S. Undermountain Road, Sheffield, MA 01257-9718.