Joseph Rodgers & Sons

[B. Norris]

This book is remarkable for several reasons. First of all, the knives pictured within are mainly the highlights of the cutlers art - exhibition knives intended to grace the showrooms of Joseph Rodgers & Sons and to showcase the talents of the firms master cutlers. Secondly, the knives are only those from one company, operating from at least 1780 to 1983, a span of 203 years. Thirdly, the knives are all from the collection of one individual, Samuel Setian of Argentina.

 

The knives pictured within are absolutely astounding. The quality of the work achieved by the master cutlers of Joseph Rodgers & Sons is such that many of the knives from the book could be contemporary work. The designs and shapes of the blades would not seem out of place at a modern art knife show, indeed, they would probably win some awards! It is humbling, and inspiring, to think about the tools these cutlers had to work with when they built these knives.

 

One downside to this book is the cost. The book is comprised of 300 pages and, at least, 150 color photographs and drawings. The text of the book is obviously written by someone who does not speak English as a primary language. None of the errors are difficult to overcome, just small incongruities that stick out, mainly due to the excellence of the majority of the text.

 

If you have the chance to see this book I highly recommend it.

 

~Bruce~

[B. Norris]

Knifeworld Books

 

Here is a link to more information about the book. There are some very small pictures of some of the plates from the book. Worth mentioning is that Don has a link to Knife World Books from his homepage. Book sales that use his website as a portal somehow help to support Don's website and, I assume, that includes supporting the forum as well. If you are looking at purchasing any books from Knife World then, please, use the link from Don's homepage.

 

~Bruce~