As early as 1819, William Butcher is listed in the Sheffield directories as manufacturing edged tools from a small manufactory on Eyre Lane. Around 1821-1822, William expanded his business into producing crucible steel, more commonly known as "wootz steel" or "Damascus steel", the process involved combining pig iron with high carbon content with other iron and/or steel along with various fluxes to produce a higher quality metal. Around that same time, another firm appeared in the directory called Wade & Butcher, a partnership between Robert Wade and William's brother Samuel. The Wade & Butcher firm was located on Arundel Street, just behind William Butcher's block fronting Eyre Lane, and they appear to have produced primarily razors. In 1826, William and Samuel Butcher formed a partnership with John Brown, whose business appears to have been adjacent to Eyre Lane location, forming the firm of Butcher, Brown & Butcher, which lasted until 1830. From 1830 onward, William and Samuel Butcher partnered together in a business more commonly known as W.& S. Butcher. From 1830 through the 1850s, the Butcher brothers expanded their business and production capacity in Sheffield, as well as expanding to the North American market. By 1837, Butcher is listed as a seller of Sheffield-made hardware on Platt Street in New York, opened a Philadelphia office in 1842, and by the 1850s they had an agency in Boston and traded with retailers in San Francisco, Chicago, and New Orleans. After the American Civil War, increased competition in the American market cut into Butcher's business, and in 1869 and 1870 the Butcher brothers both died. The business continued on under various ownership and names well into the 1900s. Among Bowie knife collectors, the Butcher firm is known not only for their extremely high quality, but as one of the earliest Sheffield firms to break into the American market, making their knives extremely collectible in any condition, with high condition, benchmark examples such as this being an extreme rarity. This example was likely made in the 1830s or 1840s, shortly after the firm's inception. A nearly identical example of this knife in lower condition is pictured on p. 341 of "The Antique Bowie Knife Book" by Adams, Voyles, and Moss. The knife itself measures 13 1/8 inches overall and shows many of the characteristics that made Bowie knives such as this so popular in North America. The clip point blade measures 8 5/8 inches with a long, shallow false edge and the maker's mark, "BY W&S.BUTCHER/SHEFFIELD" on the left flat of the blade. The German silver guard is elliptical/diamond shaped with a gently grooved edge. The coffin-shaped hilt is of German silver, fitted with smooth pearl grip scales, and has the very desirable cast alligator and floral motifs on each side of the pommel. There are German silver extensions from the pommel over the grip scales that set this example apart from many other Sheffield produced knives of the period. Includes a red leather sheath with border tooling, gilt accents, and German silver bolsters at the throat and tip, the right side of the throat bolster having a button for belt mounting. There is a small "33" collection mark (a known marking of noted expert, author, collector and dealer Robert Abels) in red enamel on the right side of the throat. A Robert Abels sales catalog from the early 1950's is also included. Provenance: The Robert Abels Collection; The Donald Littman Collection; The Bob Berryman Collection; Property of a Gentleman

Exceptionally fine, the blade remains almost entirely bright with very minimal scattered light handling marks, mostly from sheathing, and almost no noticeable wear. The German silver of the hilt is also exceptionally fine overall with some scattered light handling marks and some light spotted oxidation in the groove of the guard. The grip scales are also exceptionally fine with a few scattered light handling marks. The sheath is very fine with some scattered minor scuffs, stains, and light wear overall. This is truly a benchmark example of an ornate Bowie knives from one of the most collectible Sheffield knife makers.