Harrison Bros & Howson 10” Ham / Salmon Slicer Double Shear Steel Sheffield 1920s-50s

Harrison Brothers & Howson was one of the largest and most prominent cutlery manufacturers in Sheffield during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The firm was formed in 1849 when William Howson partnered with brothers James William Harrison and Henry Harrison to take over the business of Thomas Sansom & Sons. Combining Sheffield’s traditional independent outworkers ("little mesters") system with factory production for an expanding international trade network, the company quickly grew into a major exporter of table cutlery, pocket knives, and silver-mounted goods. By the late nineteenth century the firm employed hundreds of workers and sold extensively abroad, with showrooms in London and agencies in San Francisco and New York in the 1890s, even despite the steep tariffs put in place by the US in 1891.

The company’s reputation rested on finely finished cutlery made from hand-forged blades and fitted with premium materials such as ivory and pearl. Harrison Bros & Howson also developed a strong presence in the silver and electroplate trade and held Royal Warrants from both Queen Victoria and King Edward VII. Its principal trademarks included the “ALPHA” coronet mark, originally dating from the 1830s, along with several acquired marks such as the Stag’s Head.

At the turn of the twentieth century the firm consolidated its operations in a large new factory on Carver Street in Sheffield, reflecting ambitions to modernize production while preserving Sheffield’s traditional craft methods. Before the First World War it ranked among the city’s leading cutlery houses, employing several hundred workers and exporting worldwide. The business remained family-controlled for over a century until it was acquired by Viners of Sheffield in 1959, marking the end of Harrison Brothers & Howson as an independent Sheffield manufacturer.