Meat cleaver
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1900-1920
Maker
H. E Heacock
Measurements
15 in x 4-1/2 in x 1-1/8 in
Materials
Steel and walnut
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation
Accession Number
2011.32
Inscription
“J. E. LYDEL / BUTCHER / ODESSA,DE” is etched in relief on the blade. “H. E. HEACOCK / PHILADELPHIA PA” is stamped faintly into the blade.
Provenance
Ex coll. H. Rodney Sharp
Comments
The meat cleaver has a heavy steel, arced blade with a large hanging hole in the upper end. Rivets attach a shaped walnut handle to the tang. One side of the blade is etched with the name J. E. Lydel and butcher of Odessa, Delaware. The back side has the faint stamp of the Philadelphia maker of the blade. Despite this identification information, the blade still remains a mystery. No records for a Lydel or a butcher in Odessa have yet come to light, although variant spellings, notably Liddel, occur in Delaware. The maker of the cleaver provides a general time reference. H. E. Heacock was at 51 North 2nd Street in Philadelphia by 1908. In 1913 the firm advertised itself as selling “Grocers’ and Butchers’ Fittings.”
