DAVID MELLOR
DAVID MELLOR AND CUTLERY He was known as the Cutlery King and is regarded as the most outstanding designer of British cutlery in the 20th century. He became preoccupied in making and shaping the knife, fork and spoon in his late teens. The cutlery he first made when at the Sheffield College of Art (1945-8) was further developed when he was at the Royal College of Art, where it was perfected in 1953. Walker and Hall (W&H) subsequently produced it in silver and silver plate. In 1957 it was included in the first collection of Design Centre Awards. Probably for the first time in history, a place setting of cutlery had become a ‘hit’ topic for newspapers and magazines. It certainly established David Mellor’s name. It was not a two-minute wonder either – it is still in production! After the war, Facette stainless steel cutlery by Gense28 proved popular in the UK. Neither Old Hall (OH) nor W&H, the two British companies most likely to produce a rival to the Scandinavian import, seemed willing to commit to the cost of launching into stainless steel cutlery. The Council of Industrial Design suggested that the two companies pool their resources. It was agreed that as W&H was active in supplying the catering trade that they should sell the proposed range on a contract basis, while OH should retail it. It was also proposed that the pattern should be a collaboration between the two companies’ designers – Robert Welch for OH and David Mellor for W&H. While it was proposed that W&H would manufacture the range and OH would finish and polish the pieces, all the work was in fact undertaken by W&H. The cutlery was designed in 1956 and launched the following year. It was the first stainless steel cutlery to be made in the UK. OH marketed it as Campden and W&H as Spring. Despite the branding confusion, the cutlery sold very well. Conceived as a product for everyday use, its style is plain, but nevertheless very distinctive with its innovative satin finish. In 1959 Robert Welch and David Mellor received a joint silver medal at the Twelfth Triennale in Milan.29 Harrison Fisher made a silver version.30 Unlike the stainless steel knives, the silver ones had hollow handles.
28. Based in Sweden, it is one of Europe’s largest suppliers of cutlery. 29. La Triennale di Milano is a design museum in Milan. 30. Harrison & Fisher & Co Limited, Sheffield cutlers, purchased Taylor’s Eye Witness, the Sheffield knife makers, in 1975. The latter company was founded by John Taylor in 1820 and registered the Eye Witness trademark in 1838.
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In the early 1960s, David designed Symbol for W&H and this received a Design Centre Award in 1962. Made in stainless steel, it was the first high quality stainless cutlery to be produced in this metal in the UK in great quantity. The only cutlery he designed which was hand-forged was embassy which was supplied to British embassies in Warsaw and Mexico City. After the order to equip further British embassies with Mellor silver was cancelled, he was asked to design stainless steel cutlery for Government canteens. The result in 1965 was a fivepiece place setting called Thrift. As the conventional setting was then 11 pieces, Sheffield’s traditional cutlers were not pleased. David’s comment was, ‘I think of myself as the person who finally abolished the fish knife and fork.’ At the end of the 1960s he designed disposable cutlery for Cross Paperware. Having acquired Broom Hall in 1973, David turned his attention to both designing and manufacturing cutlery. Over the decades he designed many new patterns including Black Provencal, Chinese Ivory, Café, Classic, Flute, Odeon, Savoy, Hoffmann, English, Paris, City, Minimal and London. He had spotted a niche market for relatively specialist and expensive cutlery that was well-designed and made to a high specification. While in the early days of manufacturing David Mellor Design had to outsource certain processes, these are now almost all undertaken in-house. Public enthusiasm for the Round Building has had an impact on the business in many ways, one of which has been to increase demand for the cutlery made there. Hathersage is unusual in that the cutlery can be bought where it is made. Although the company is at the cutting edge of modern technology, human skill and judgement are at the heart of its cutlery production. His friend Roy Hattersley31 commented after David Mellor’s death, ‘His place in history is confirmed by his decision not even to ask the Cutlers’ Company of Hallamshire, if a works, 12 miles from the city centre,32 entitled him to stamp his knife blades “Made in Sheffield”. He knew, like Hannibal, that his name alone would be enough.’
Harrison & Fisher changed its name to Taylor’s Eye Witness in 2007. 31. The Sheffield-born Labour politician, writer and journalist, created a Life Peer in 1997. 32. The Round House is located 12 miles from Sheffield. Hallamshire is an ancient administrative unit centred on the medieval parish of Sheffield.
Pride Tea Service Courtesy The Pearson Silver Collection, photographer Bill Burnett Immediately after David Mellor graduated in 1954, he was appointed a design consultant by Walker & Hall and his Pride cutlery he worked on when a student was placed into production. In 1958 the Pride tea and coffee service followed. The Scandinavian influences have gone but instead ‘the particular quality of Englishness’ which a small group of silversmiths were seeking emerges. Produced in EPNS and sterling silver, it was an immediate success. The Collection initially purchased an EPNS example, as a silver one appeared elusive in the 1990s. However, silver services did start to emerge in the 21st century – we secured ours in 2000. They are less common than the EPNS versions. We bought a silver tray a year later as we thought it suitable for our recently secured silver Pride service. It was a long time before we realised that it was also designed by David Mellor as part of the Pride range! Height of coffee/hot water pot 17cm, width of tray 50.8cm. Service made by Elkington, Sheffield 1965/8/9 and the tray by Walker & Hall, Sheffield 1961.
FURTHER READING David Mellor: Master Metalworker (Hathersage, 2013) Available from Mellor Design Limited. This book is an expanded and updated version of the book originally published to accompany the Sheffield Galleries & Museum Trust retrospective exhibition of the same title that opened at the Design Museum London in 1998. David Mellor: Design by Teleri Lloyd-Jones (Woodbridge, 2009) THE DAVID MELLOR VISITOR CENTRE The Visitor Centre is located just outside the village of Hathersage near Chatsworth. The David Mellor Cutlery Factory in the Round Building is open on weekdays and it is usually possible to see cutlery being made; tours of the building are given each weekend at specified times. The Design Museum is open daily. A good range of David Mellor’s silver is displayed. The Centre includes the Country Shop and there is also a café. Opening details are on the company’s website.
AVAILABILITY The most readily available vintage David Mellor items are his Pride tea services in silver plate. These were initially made by Walker and Hall and later by Mappin and Webb followed by Elkington and Company. These are regularly offered at auction and on eBay. Silver examples are occasionally offered by dealers and at auction. The services made in silver or silver plate, or indeed other items designed by David Mellor for Walker and Hall, do not bear David Mellor’s name (or in the case of silver, his maker’s mark). Very occasionally his Embassy silver appears on the secondary market. His 1970s silver produced for the Sloane Square shop is currently elusive. Perhaps this volume will flush them out. New David Mellor designs are available direct from the company. See David Mellor Design’s website for details.
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