A fine and rare cased hunting knife commemorating the opening of the dock gates into Liverpool’s New North Docks by H.R.H. The Prince Of Wales on 8 September 1881, will be sold at Bonhams next auction of Fine Antique Arms and Armour on April 23.

Elkington & Co of Liverpool made the knife which has a 22.7cm blade and is estimated to sell for £4,000 to £6,000. The dagger has a single-edged blade of Bowie type. Its handle boasts an image of two bear cubs playing on an ivy-clad tree-stump . The blade is inscribed: ‘The Fac-simile of This Hunting Knife Was Used As A Lever By H.R.H. The Prince Of Wales For Opening The Dock Gates At The Sea Entrance Into The New North Docks Liverpool 8 September A.D. 1881.”

The scabbard features the Prince of Wales’ feathers and motto, and the coat-of-arms and motto of the City of Liverpool.

The dagger is offered for sale with photocopied extracts of The Illustrated London News for Saturday, September 17, 1881 describing in detail the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to open the new North Docks, at Bootle, constructed by the Mersey Harbour and Dock Board of Liverpool.

David Williams, Bonhams Director of Arms and Armour comments: “This fine dagger commemorates a key moment in the development of the Liverpool docks which were the major British gateway to North America. The ship traffic in and out of Liverpool was phenomenal. This period at the end of the 1880’s saw the city at the peak of its wealth and power, which with its new status this year, as City of Culture, seeks to recapture in a new and creative way. You might say that this dagger recalls a Liverpool with a real cutting edge, something it seems intent on regaining.”

Posted: 02|13|08 at 10:13 am. Filed under: UK News.