John Dalrymple
Steel, pewter, coin silver, ivory, and stag horn
11 1/2” total length
17,000-
Finely turned ivory grip and stag horn pommel capped with a coin silver disc. The engraved coin silver guard bears the cartouche mark: J. DALRYMPLE of Salem, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine working between 1795 and 1818. Among Dalrymple’s advertised offerings was hardware along with the more typical silverware and jewelry. Hardware an unusual category among silversmith’s specialties with this example confirming the advertised craft. Few signed American made daggers of this period known as the British dominated the market. This example without sheath, two open cracks to the ivory grip, and tiny chips to the finely turned raised stepped ridges on the handle. Blade tip has a worn tip with unaddressed blemishes to the blade surface. The engraved silver guard stable though wobbles. The silver disc crowning the handle without monogram nor removal.
