LARGE KNIVES X 6
c. 1940 - 1949A set of six large dinner knives with faux bone handles. Each handle has a stylised letter ''F'' embossed on it, and text stamped onto the blade.
Together the knives form part of an incomplete canteen of cutlery.
This John Bennett of Cheapside cutlery canteen is believed to have been a wedding gift to Clive and Ada Fancote who were married in Malvern Victoria on the 11th May 1940. Clive met Ada in Kelmscott where her father, the Reverend Gresham Morris, was Minister at the Kelmscott Congregational Church. In 1940 the Morris family returned to Melbourne and Clive and Ada were married there. Henry & Ivy Fancote's family house was located where the current Kelmscott library now stands.
Sir John Bennet was born in 1814 in Greenwich. His father, also named John, was a watchmaker. John Junior started his career in Cheapside between 1839 and 1847 and later moved to Camberwell. In the 1870's he became the Sheriff of London. During his career he also made silverware and cutlery.
The Morris family returned to Malvern and Clive and Ada were married there. The newly married couple returned to Kelmscott where they briefly lived in Third Avenue while they built and new family home on the corner of Church Avenue and River Road.
Robert, their son, never remembers the canteen being used at family dinners.
Details
Details
Text on blade: [C.JOHNSON & Co. / SHEFFIELD. ENGLAND / STAINLESS STEEL]
An example of a traditional wedding present popular in the late 1800s to the mid 1900s. This canteen case is believed to be given as a wedding gift to Clive and Ada Fancote on the 11th of June 1940 by the members of the Fancote Family. It is presumed to have been used in their home in Church Avenue, Kelmscott.
Collection of cutlery used at the time when different utensils for used for each course.
