Some interesting history behind two owner's names on an adze

[A17]

A few days ago I was given an adze that was marked J.H. Bilby and A.J. Peck. Just for fun, I looked up Mr. Bilby and found he was listed under the "Minutes of the Newark Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church" in 1906. It also said he was in Lafayette, Ca. Mr. A.J. Peck is listed in the "Report of the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of California in 1895-97. I think its pretty cool that I (probably) found the previous owners of my adze. It also seems safe to assume that it is from the late 1800's to early 1900's. Now if I could just find out who made it I would be really pleased. Name or no name, it is still the best adze I own (no, its not the only one).

 

[garry3]

A few days ago I was given an adze that was marked J.H. Bilby and A.J. Peck. Just for fun, I looked up Mr. Bilby and found he was listed under the "Minutes of the Newark Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church" in 1906. It also said he was in Lafayette, Ca. Mr. A.J. Peck is listed in the "Report of the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of California in 1895-97. I think its pretty cool that I (probably) found the previous owners of my adze. It also seems safe to assume that it is from the late 1800's to early 1900's. Now if I could just find out who made it I would be really pleased. Name or no name, it is still the best adze I own (ni, its not the only one).

The provenance is much more interesting than a makers stamp.

 

[A17]

Yep!