Measuring 8 cm tall. We place silver in quotation marks because we aren't certain what the actual material is. Still a handsome, and thin and thus effective, bookmark. View More...
Circa 1900. With a sporting gun dog on the scent on the crown, which also features typical Black Forest vegetation decoration as a background. Although called "Black Forest", this bookmark was Swiss-made, as was much of what is labeled Black Forest decor, and more specifically, came from the Berner Oberland, with the woodcarving industry centered on the Alpine lakeside town of Brienz. This bookmark is about 11 cm tall, and it features two leaves, the larger in the back, to clasp the page where one wished to hold one's place. View More...
Measuring about 21 cm tall. Entirely black, and the material is wood. We don't know when this was made, but 1920 is our best surmise. By the 1930s most books were sold with the pages pre-cut. The early twentieth century was a transitional period, though, when it was still not unusual to encounter books with uncut pages. To cut the pages, a knife with somewhat smooth, rounded, dull edges were used, as anything else would have led to an inordinate amount of collateral damage. View More...
Lovely vignette of female equestrian on white horse. We don't know when this was made, but our best bet would be around 1920, and probably from England. 29 cm tall. The purpose of a paper cutting knife was to cut uncut leaves in a new book. By the 1930s most books were sold with the pages pre-cut. The early twentieth century was a transitional period, though, when it was still not unusual to encounter books with uncut pages. To cut the pages, a knife with somewhat smooth, rounded, dull edges were used, as anything else would have led to an inordinate amount of collateral damage. View More...
N.d., circa 1890. The head stands at the top of the 36 cm, or 14.5 inch, object, and is itself about 4 cm, 1.5 inches, tall. The cuts on the head are a wee bit coarse but the head resulting is a realistic representation of a man from an earlier era -- he has some characteristics of an 18th century figure, but also of a man of the Renaissance, and probably he doesn't quite fit in either period. The paper cutter is sleek and smooth, as required ideally for opening uncut pages in which a dull-edged knife serves best. Given its length, it would seem that the object might also have been intende... View More...
