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Waltham pocket knife info

I have an old 4 blade, mother of pearl pocket knife marked Waltham Cutlery Co. Germany.

Looks well made. I can't find any info about this little knife, date made, value, ect.

Anyone have any info about this knife would be appreciated.

Thanks

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Permalink Reply by John Bamford on May 4, 2016 at 12:30

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on May 4, 2016 at 14:58

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on May 4, 2016 at 15:46

Buddy-A little info on your Waltham Cutlery Co. knife. The Waltham Cutlery Co. is a very little known trademark and/or copyright of the hardware co., Alfred Field & Co. I can positively date Waltham's name to at least 1899, although every knife resource I own dates them to circa 1910 and low to medium as to collector value. Current value for other Waltham Cut. Co.knives is about $30-60. This is unfortunately due to the fact that there is almost zero information available about this brand, so no one knows what they are looking at. (Too rare to be valuable?) I have never seen another like yours, but unfortunately again this may mean little. Your knife could be as early as mid 1800's, but 1899 is as early as I can prove,although the ad I will show you would seem to infer they were in business well before that. Alfred Field & Co. started in 1836 as a hardware importer and exporter of cutlery and other goods in Birmingham,England. They later opened a satellite office in NYC, then in Sheffield & Liverpool, England and Solingen, Germany later in the 1800's. In the USA they were the SOLE agent for such old and revered brands as Joseph Rodgers & Sons and Joseph Elliot of Sheffield and C. Freidr. Ern of Solingen, Germany.They imported knives from France, too. They also carried a complete line of knives made in the USA under the A. Field & Co. name, supposedly made by Schrade and Queen. In short, I have no doubt that your knife is quite old and well made, but it took me several hours to collect these bits and pieces, which even the knife collector guides don't reveal.Therein lies the problem as to value. Here is an old ad from March 1899 for Alfred Field & Co. At the bottom of the ad they are listed as proprietors (owners) of Waltham Cutlery Co. or their trademark. This and other similar ads was the only connection I could find between Waltham Cut. Co. and Alfred Field & Co.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on May 4, 2016 at 16:09

BTW, I can find no relationship between the companies of famed Waltham Watch Co. of Waltham, Massachusetts and the Waltham Cutlery Co. Many German companies capitalized on trademarks with names similar to English companies. This practice was somewhat stymied when the U.S. Congress passed an act requiring imports to be stamped with the country of origin in 1890. Then again, it could just be a coincidence.