Made in Edinburgh
This knife with silver handle and steel blade was made by Edinburgh silversmiths W. & P. Cunningham, in 1815-6. The knife is known as a pistol-grip knife from the style of the handle.
The knife has a slightly curved blade with a rounded end. There is a crest on the upper surface of the handle depicting a lady placed underneath a baron's coronet, holding a tower in her left hand and a palm-branch in her right hand.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, making cutlery, or flatware, was the mainstay of many Scottish goldsmiths. As eating habits became more sophisticated cutlery items were produced in greater numbers and had an increasingly diverse range of patterns.
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