J. Russell and Company opened the Green River Works in Greenfield, Mass. in the early 1830s. They were able to compete with Sheffield cutlers by using power hammers rather than hand forging, and the firm is well known to western collectors from their butcher, hunting and skinning knives that made their way west in large numbers. Russell changed the company name to the John Russell Cutlery Company in 1873, giving a nice cut-off point for the manufacture of this set that could fit well in a display of Civil War mess gear, which was a tangle of state, local, and federal recruiting services supply efforts, as well as privately purchased combination mess sets and gifts from well-wishers.

Nice condition and nicely marked.  [sl]

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