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2009-158,1&2, Travelling Fork and Knife Set
Travelling fork and knife set
2009-158,1&2, Travelling Fork and Knife Set

Travelling fork and knife set

Date1750-1800
Maker George Patten
OriginEngland, Sheffield
MediumSteel, pewter and ivory
DimensionsKnife: Length: 7 1/8" Width: 5/8" Thickness: 7/16" Fork: Length: 7 1/16" Width: 5/8" Thickness: 3/8"
Credit LineGift of Beatrix T. Rumford
Object number2009-158,1&2
DescriptionTraveling fork and knife set. The utensil ends fit into each other’s handle.




Label TextCompact fork and knife sets were used not only by travelers, but by military officers serving in the field. This fine example has white and green-stained ivory panels set into pewter handles. To close the set, the user would simultaneously slide the fork tines into a cavity in the knife handle while sliding the blade into an identical space in the fork handle. Plugged together and held in place by friction, the two utensils were then safely stowed for transport.

The knife is marked with a Maltese cross above "PAT--,” with the last two letters now illegible. Likely reading "PATEN," this is the mark assigned to George Patten, a Sheffield metal frame knife maker listed in that city's 1774 and 1787 trade directories.

This knife & fork set was owned by David Deshler (1711-1792). Deshler, born in Heidelberg, Germany, immigrated to Philadelphia before 1730 and became a successful merchant of the city. His Germantown residence still stands today. The set descended in the Rumford branch of his family, and is Rumford catalog number 4.

See George C. Neumann's "Collectors Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution," p.110, no.26, for a similar example once owned by George Washington.
InscribedThe handle of the knife was inked in the 19th or 20th century "DAVID DESHLER 1711- 1792," and the handle of the fork carries a red & white label inked with a number "4."
MarkingsThe knife is marked with a Maltese cross above "PAT--,” with the last two letters now illegible. Likely reading "PATEN," this is the mark assigned to George Patten, a Sheffield metal frame knife maker listed in that city's 1774 and 1787 trade directories.

ProvenanceThis knife & fork set was owned by David Deshler (1711-1792). Deshler, born in Heidelberg, Germany, immigrated to Philadelphia before 1730 and became a successful merchant of the city. His Germantown residence still stands today. This set of weights descended in the Rumford branch of his family, and is Rumford catalog number 122.