Name/Title
Scissors, FabricEntry/Object ID
2017.024.0024Description
This is a pair of "buttonhole" scissors. The screw in the handle sets the length of the buttonhole to be cut. They were made by Korn's and are also stamped by H. Cromwell Criterion..
When it comes to tracking down the history of George W. Korn's life, he's a bit of a slippery fish. He traveled extensively and in the course of his career lived in at least four US cities. He had some connection to manufacturing in each location and was not shy when it came to creating business opportunities using his patented designs. (See photos at the end of the article for more on this). Even when living in Chicago, it appears that he kept a permanent mailing address in New York City.
He was born on May 22nd, 1846 in Breslau, Prussia (That city is now called Wroclaw, Poland) and immigrated to the United States from Hamburg, on Feb. 20th 1866 when he was 19 years old. The US Census of 1870 enumerates a 25 year old, George W. Korn working as a farm laborer in a town near Rochester, NY. (It is possible that this Census is referring to a different man).
We learn from his obituary in the American Cutler Magazine that shortly after his arrival in the US he became associated with Walbridge & Co. in Buffalo, NY. Walbridge & Co. was a mercantile firm that sold just about everything in hardware, tools and cutlery that one could imagine. Not to mention guns, sporting goods, home furnishings, and toys. (Many years later Korn stated that he got into the cutlery trade about 1873. It is quite probable that Korn was introduced to cutlery while working with Walbridge in Buffalo).
The same obituary goes on to tell us he was later associated with Alfred Field & Co. in New York City. According to Goins, Alfred Field & Co. had additional offices in Sheffield, Liverpool and Birmingham, England as well as Solingen, Germany. Alfred Field & Co. were exporters and importers of hardware and cutlery from America, England, France and Germany. They also had their own line of American made pocketknives marked "A. Field & Co. Progress". According to Goins and others, they also used the "Criterion" trademark. This is a little confusing in light of the fact that Korn scissors and knives exist that are marked "H. Cromwell" over "Criterion". "H. Cromwell" was another importer of hardware and cutlery based in New York City.Collection
Benicia Historical Museum Collection
