500 Sheffield Treasures
Nick Duggan a local heritage champion who volunteers at The Hawley Collection at Kelham Island has put together a book ,’500 Sheffield Treasures’, that highlights a wide range of Sheffield items of cutlery and flatware . The book is designed to help people identify and explore a range of items made in Sheffield at the height of the cutlery boom around the turn of the century .
In the introduction Nick says :-
This book is for those who love Sheffield and want to celebrate what we have made in the city and the link from the past to modern manufacturing.
It uses a collection of Sheffield made objects, cutlery and flatware to highlight:
- The skill of the Sheffield craftsmen and women who made cutlery and flatware
- The eccentricity of dining in the Victorian and Edwardian era
- The Sheffield companies that competed with each other to dominate the world market
- The opportunity to search in the attic, the cutlery drawer, the charity shop for real Sheffield Treasure
- The places and resources where the story is still told and developing
The books 120 pages highlight a huge range of objects that were made in the city with very specific functions , tells you how to decipher the makers marks and understand the wide range of materials that were used for handles .
The book comes out in late October and will be available locally from The Famous Sheffield Shop, Museum Shops and other local outlets , the first chance to buy is the Craft and Flea market at The Cathedral on Saturday 8th November ,priced 11.99 . It can be ordered by post from www.sheffieldbooks.co.uk. All profits go to the S6 Foodbank and The Hawley Collection at Kelham Island Museum .