8 JOURNAL of the EARLY AMERICAS 9VOLUME i ISSUE v k OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011

At the very close of the seventeenth century, a new type of jambette folding knife appeared in French colonial records. These knives

were originally termed couteau à la siamoise (knife in the Siamese manner or style) and later frequently documented simply as couteau siamois or couteau sciamois (Siamese knife) by French colonial merchants and seaboard wholesalers. By the 1720’s, according to archival records, this new jambette had become the most widespread type of knife exported from France for its French colonies of North America and its commercial dealings in the fur trade. Indeed, the Siamese folding knife was so popular, that even five years after the surrender of Canada, English fur trade merchants not only still imported French folding knives for their Native customers, including three sizes of horn handled “Folding Siamois knives,” but started making English copies of them, possibly as early as 1765.1

This new knife style seems to have been the perfect product for the North American wilderness, being both inexpensive and sharp-pointed. Consequently, they frequently far outnumber sheath knives in several Great Lakes Native archaeological sites.2 Furthermore, sharp pointed siamois blades are, from an archaeological perspective, representative of the “Early to Middle Historic period.” 3 This date range fits neatly with French Colonial records which describe this exact style of knife. A particular entry made in a Montreal merchant ledger book dated to 1744 provides ample evidence in showing that these knives were, in fact, of the folding type since they were listed as: “2 dozen folding siamois [knives].”4 More importantly, this new style of folding knife would come to supersede the earlier à la dauphine and Flatin folding knives discussed in part one, published in Volume I, Issue IV, Journal of the Early Americas. Fortunately for us today, descriptive records found in a number of colonial merchant outfitters’ ledger books and notarized accounts inform us that the blades on the siamois knives displayed either a “pointed” or “round” tip.5 These descriptions, therefore, correspond with only one type of folding knife blade profile identified from an assemblage of blades excavated at numerous mid-century French and Native-associated archaeological sites. These presumed à la siamoise blades exhibit either a long, sloping back edge (both curved and straight), moving downward

towards an upturned point (frequently called a “sabre point” or “lazy S” by earlier archaeologists), or a rounded tip with a slightly convex cutting edge. They were not, however, “…Knives, double bladed…” as claimed by one English-speaking historian, because he unfortunately projected his modern bias that the siamois knives were synonymous with the famous “Siamese Twins” Chang and Eng. (1811-74) ….a hundred years too late!6 While the vast majority of these blades are of the one-pin type, having a lentil on the back of the blade, there are a few archaeological examples that are of the two-pin type which will be discussed later in this article.

Although we cannot determine the exact origin of the term “couteau siamois” (Siamese knife) as far as the history of French cutlery is concerned, we have discovered that these were available in France as early as the second quarter of the seventeenth century. For example, one of the earliest mentions of siamois knives in France can be dated to 1647, the year Blaise Pleuronceau of Saint-Savin sur Gartempe, France (a town located near the city of Châtellerault) had at his home a variety of knives which included "Ones with boxwood handles said à la Siamoise (in the Siamese fashion)...".7 Since France and Siam had relations that date back to the sixteenth century, we may believe that these types of knives may have indirectly adopted this name through popular culture, due their resemblance to the

“exotic” shapes of the long knives or short sabres used by the Siamese people: “The Siamese knives, that aren't looked upon as a weapon, although they can be used as one if needed, have a blade measuring 1 pied in length and a width of three or four fingers.”8 Additionally, this term may have been popularized even further after the “other-worldly” visit by the Ambassadors of Siam, who visited the French King Louis XIV in 1686, who were depicted in an engraving with sabre-like weapons worn in their sashes.9 Gifts provided by these ambassadors apparently had such a profound impact on the King that even certain types of cloth took on the name of “Siamese cloth” in France soon thereafter.10

ART & ARTISANS∏

by Kevin Gladysz and Ken Hamilton k Contributors

An avid historical re-enactor and author of "The French Trade Gun in North America," Kevin Gladysz lives in Ontario, Canada, where he teaches and is actively continuing his extensive archival research into the history of French-era colonial trade goods. He has worked at the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional Museum, done firearms consultation work for La Citadelle of Québec and the Rifle Shoppe, while also contributing to “La Belle small-arms” written by noted historical archaeologist Jay C. Blaine.

Since 1983 Ken Hamilton has been a bona fide museum junkie and independent seventeenth and eighteenth-century researcher and craftsman focusing on French and Natives in the northeast. He lives in central Maine with his lovely Penobscot fiancée Nicole, and two boys, Samuel and Nathan. The third, Neil is 24. All enjoy living history.

French Knives in North America: Part II

siamois and “two-pin” knives

Image k Probable French folding knife of the one-pin construction mounted with a siamois-type unmarked blade with its original beveled beechwood handle and brass rosettes at the pin area. Overall length: 24 cm. (Private collection, Canada) .

Images k Siamese embassy to Louis XIV led by Kosa Pan in 1686, by Nicolas Larmessin. (b): Detail showing the exotic looking sabres worn by the Siamese delegates. Take note of the shape of the sheath indicating blades which likely had upturned pointed tips.

(b)

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Regarding the source of production for the siamois knives in France destined for its colonies, evidence from historical documents as well as markings found on excavated blades from North American archaeological sites point to the town of Saint-Étienne as their main manufacturing center. For example, an invoice written in the town of Lyon in 1714, through which many Saint-Étienne products were purchased for the colonies, noted that Monsieur de Ramezay, then acting Governor of New France from 1714 to 1716, owed the Lyon-based merchant Pierre Torrent for goods which included 576 mid-sized and 1,008 large Coutteau Siamoise (Siamese knives).11 A few decades later, these were also supplied through the Thiollière Brothers of Saint-Étienne for Canada.12

Other than these commercial records, references to the term siamois is seldom found in period cutlers’ inventory lists or product catalogues at Saint-Étienne itself. This probably means that cutlers were likely using other denominations or appellations for the knives. For instance, in 1763 Fougeroux de Bondaroy likely referenced siamois knives when he enumerated a wide range of pointed-tip knives available from the Saint-Étienne-based cutler named Laforge. Some one-pin folding knives were described as “Pointed-tip knives, yellow handles also of boxwood…”13 whereas two-pin ones were listed as “Two-pin knives, polished black sheep horn handles, pointed blades...,” 14 and “Knives from Chambon [a suburb of Saint-Étienne] bull’s horn handles, not moulded or polished,

pointed blades, with two pins...”.15 A few decades earlier, Pierre Reynaud, a merchant-cutler from the town of Thiers in business with cutlers at Saint-Etienne, included a variety of couteaux à la siamoise in an inventory list dated 1738. The small, medium, and large sizes were listed as having horn handles, whereas another lot of mid-sized ones presumably had wood handles.16

In New France, however, historical documents of a military, trade, and civilian nature abound with references to siamois knives from which descriptive records have allowed us to divide then into two distinct sub-categories: the common type ones and those described as having a handle showing a “dog head.”

Common Siamois Knives The common siamois folding knives or siamois ordinaires18 sent to North America appear to have been hafted with unadorned or plain handles and were recorded as being mounted with either pointed or rounded tip blades. For example, a Montreal merchant's invoice dating to 1743 clearly lists siamois knives with both “rounded” and “pointed” blade tips, providing solid evidence that these knives came in two varieties.19 Although one curious 1746-47 Michilimackinac account book described “8 siamois knives to smoke the skins…,” 20 we really have no other specific information concerning the intended use of either style. Even though a round point would certainly be a useful, non-offensive, eating utensil for the French, they are nevertheless found in both Native and French contexts. The earliest known reference regarding rounded blade tip siamois folding knives can be dated to 1707. That year, 864 of these knives described as "...yellow handle knives and their rounded tips in the Siamese style..." were documented as loaded aboard the ship Le Héros to be sent to Quebec.21 A few decades later, Lemoine-Monière and Pierre Guy, merchants at Montreal, made note of "siamois knives with rounded tips.”22 Siamois knives were also occasionally described with pointed-tip blades. During the 1740s, two of the later merchants along with Brouague, a merchant from Quebec, had recorded small, mid-sized and large siamois knives with pointed tips.23 From

an archaeological standpoint, excavations from French and Native-associated sites reveal that the pointed-tip version were much more common than the round-tip ones. The materials used for handles on siamois knives shipped to New France were recorded as horn or wood, and occasionally, ivory.24 For example, certain knives or bundles of knives were specified as having boxwood or “yellow boxwood,”25 plain black wooden handles,26 (likely the color beechwood or boxwood took on after being treated in hot iron handle molds presses), or plain wooden ones.27 It is also interesting to note that certain pointed-tip siamois knives may have come to be referred to as Bizaillon or Bizalion knives,

the name of a famous family of cutlers working out of the town of Saint-Étienne. For example, a general inventory list of goods and merchandise belonging to the colonial merchants Désauniers and Brouague included "4 gross of large siamois knives, pointed, Bizaillon..."28 whereas in 1758, the merchant-outfitter Monière recorded two dozen “siamois Bizaillon.” 29 Gérin-Lajoie stated that “...during the 1740s and 1750s, the Bizaillon knife seemed to be the most popular around Montreal. Many people who were not involved in the fur trade purchased them as well as voyageurs." 30 Interestingly enough, these may have also been offered in a very small size, considering that Monière noted "3 dozen Bizaillons knives for children" in his 1752 ledger book.31

Images (Above & Left) k Above: Excavated French folding knife blades from Michilimackinac showing the pointed tip-type siamois blade profiles. (Mackinac State Historical Parks Collection). Left: French folding knife blade excavated at Michilimackinac which shows the rounded tip type Siamois blade profile.(Mackinac State Historical Parks Collection).

Image (Right) k Siamois knife with partially intact handle and complete pointed-tip blade found at the Fletcher site. This handle has beveled edges in a lengthwise fashion along its upper and lower area while its width narrows towards the tip likely representing one of the variations of handles used on siamois knives. Length of the handle: 12.1 cm. (Image reproduced from Mainfort 1979:370, Figure 37C; copyright MSU Museum, Michigan State University, used with permission).17

Image (Above)k Detail taken from L’Art du coutelier en ouvrages communs featuring what Bondaroy refers to as a table or sheath knife blade and showing the bolster (c) and rat tail construction (b). Notice the ‘dorsal ridge’ on the back of the blade which appears on many round pointed French and English table knives during the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Although the Yatagan (dorsal fin)-shaped blade back had been previously known in France, it is important to note that French and English table knife blades had been primarily straight-backed during most of the seventeenth century. Because of the widespread use of this ‘iconic’ feature seen on early to mid-eighteenth century table knives, the appearance of a ‘dorsal fin’ on French folding knives during the same period is therefore probably not just a coincidence.

Image (Left) k Siamois blade with its surviving pewter or lead cap and adjoining decorative strips from Michilimackinac. This end cap, being one of three found at this site, uncommon on these knives, shows the original shape of the handle’s tip which was likely inlaid in a wood handle. (Mackinac State Historical Parks Collection).

Image (Above) k Drawing of an early English table knife (ca. 1729) found at Fort Frederick, Pemaquid, Maine. From Robert L. Bradley and Helen Camp’s “The Forts of Pemaquid, Maine.” (Line drawing by Ken Hamilton)

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Dog Head Siamois Knives

Along with common siamois knives, we also find a more expensive and specifically named type, described as couteaux siamois à manche de corne et tête de chien33 (siamois knives having a horn handle with a dog head) or simply labeled couteaux à tête de chien34 (knives with a dog head). These knives begin turning up on records at the very end of second decade of the eighteenth century and thereafter up to the 1750s. In 1719, 4,320 knives described as “siamois knives, half with boxwood handles, half with horn handles with dog’s heads, and of no other quality…” were to be sent to Quebec from the port of Rochefort.35

These fancier grade siamois folding knives were apparently manufactured both with pointed and round tip blades, considering that in in 1742, the Quebec merchant named Cugnet listed small, mid-sized and large knives with horn handles having a dog head mounted with round-tip blades (bout rond) along with small and mid-sized knives with dog heads having unspecified blade tips, suggesting in this case that the blades may have been pointed.36 Several records pertaining to New France dating from 1733 to 1742 reveal that many of these particular knives were manufactured by the Saint-Étienne based cutler family named Perrin providing further evidence that these knives were coming out of Saint-Étienne workshops.37 Of all the records compiled in reference to these particular siamois

knives having a handle with the shape of a dog head on the tail end, the only material listed for the handles seems to be horn.38 This dog head decorative ornament on the handle’s tip was likely created by a design located in the cavity of certain knife handle mold presses at the factory. Fougeroux de Bondaroy stated the following while observing workers at Saint-Étienne fashioning common folding knife handles: “Some of these molds are more fashioned. Some have grooves that add a small ornament on the handles they are intended to shape. Rarely does one add this small perfection for the molds meant for molding the wooden handle...horn lends itself more easily to receive the impressions of the mold than wood.”39

A rare surviving one-pin Saint-Étienne-marked knife has recently surfaced from a private collection in the United States exhibiting what initially appears to be a ‘carved’ zoomorphic effigy on the end of its horn handle. Although probably molded and not carved, the well-worn effigy clearly represents the head of an animal (complete with eyes, mouth and teeth), and is one that could easily be the one called, “a dog’s head”, (albeit a very abstract one) by the pun-loving cutlers in Saint-Étienne. This is likely the elusive tête de chien (dog’s head). Although we may never know its precise origin, perhaps the effigy was directly inspired by actual contemporary designs. Oriental ‘grotesque’ animal effigy sword pommels, then popular on

European short, fancy hunting swords and hangers, often featured animals. Specifically, the “exotic lion” ivory hilts imported from Sinhal40 and perhaps from Siam itself were very popular. While many ambiguous dragon/lion head hilted swords exist, and were imported from Asia, especially by the Dutch, many more were cast in brass by various European sword smiths. Beginning in the late seventeenth century, many of these popular cast hilts sported easily recognizable English lion, horse and dog’s heads,41 the last of which was an ancient symbol of ‘the hunt’. How appropriate for a trade knife! Nevertheless, whatever the origin of the form, the idea that this figure is actually that of a tête de chien rings especially true when considered in conjunction with the numerous, similar excavated siamois blades, the specific descriptions of their horn handles, and this specific Saint-Étienne cutler’s mark, all of which correspond perfectly with all the tête de chien knives described in archival documents.

= Date range of New France-related records consulted for this article where references to siamois knives with a dog head appear: 1719-1752.= Known recorded sizes as specified in New France related records: large, medium, small.= Known recorded material used for handles as specified in New France related records: horn.= Sampling of records referring to these knives in relation to the following locations: Fort Frontenac, Montreal, Fort Niagara, Fond du lac, Baie de Kenté, and Quebec.42

= Date range of New France related records consulted for this article where the term à la siamoise, sciamois or siamois appears in relation to knives: 1699-1758.= Known recorded sizes as specified in New France related records: large, medium, small.= Sampling of records referring to these knives in relation to the following locations: Québec, Fort Frontenac, Fort Niagara, Fond du Lac, Baie de Kenté, Louisiana, Montréal, Îlet Jérémis Post, Fort Michilimackinac, and Fort Ouiatenon.32

= Archaeological sites where pointed-tip siamois blades of the one-pin construction were found: Maison Bissot site Sept-île (Quebec), La ferme du Séminaire de Québec site (Quebec), LeBer site (Quebec), Michilimackinac (Michigan), Fort St.Joseph (Michigan), Nassonite post (Texas), River L'Abbe mission site (Illinois), Fort Tombigbee (Alabama), Zimmerman site (Illinois), Hotel Plaza site (Illinois), Summer Islandsite (Michigan), Rock Island (Wisconsin), Fatherland site (Mississippi), Guerbert site (Illinois), Bayou Goula site (Louisiana), Fletcher site (Michigan), Pic River site (Ontario), Little Osage site (Missouri), Mesquakie Fort site 11-Ml-6 (Illinois), Fort Niagara (New York), Chota-Overhill Cherokee site (Tennessee), Fort Meductic (New Brunswick), Fort Ticonderoga Collection (New York).= Archaeological sites where rounded-tip siamois blades of the one-pin construction were found: Michilimackinac (Michigan), Guerbert site (Illinois), c.1700 Onondaga graves (New York) , Fort St. Joseph (Michigan) Fletcher site (Michigan).

Images (Above & Below) k An excavated knife with its intact handle found at Fort Ticonderoga, which likely represents a rare surviving common pointed-blade tip-type siamois knife with its original plain wood handle (almost certainly boxwood). Note the slight upturn at its tip, which may have been used as a pipe tamper. Thanks to Christian Lemasson, this knife with its nearly complete blade, has been found to be, most importantly, stamped with the name “ANDRE BRENON” on its intact wood handle. This mark can be found on the Saint-Etienne cutler’s tablet dated 1737. (Collection of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum)

Images (Below) k Two presumed-French one-pin wooden folding knife handles which were excavated, as part as an overturned canoe cargo found at the bottom of Boundary Falls on the Winnipeg River in western Ontario in 1966. Take note of the beveled edge at the base of both handles and the visible round sunken impressions around the pin holes likely indicating that brass rosettes were once presents. These particular handles of a plain construction, and especially the top one with its pronounced curved handle profile, may have originally had a siamois-type blade. (Gift of Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. Museum of the Fur Trade, Chadron, Nebraska.)

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Images (Above & Right) k Rare surviving c.1720-1750 French folding knife mounted with a horn handle displaying an impressed effigy on the tip of its handle resembling the head of a dog. The blade is marked with the partial name of “A.FELI/LE.IEVN” on two lines likely the mark of Antoine Felis (or Felix) le jeune (the youngest), a Saint-Étienne-based cutler. Note the thinness of the blade, which is consistent with most archaeologically, excavated blades of this type and the remnants of brass washers are present around the pins on either side of the handle. (Private collection).

Images (Above & Below) k Above: Detail from Fougeroux de Bondaroy showing a two-pin knife or à la capucine both in the open and close positions, a detail showing the profile of a two-pin knife blade, as well as two illustrations showing another two-pin knife handle style with a more pronounced curve tapering to ball tip finials. (Document Christian Lemasson).Below: Detail of a à la capucine knife taken from Perret’s “L’Art du Coutelier”, 1771-1772. Note the profile of the back of the blade shown through the handle which shows the flange at the base of the blade which rests on the second pin. (Document Christian Lemasson).

Images (Left) k (a): Siamois two-pin blade excavated at Fort Michilimackinac. (Mackinac State Historic Parks collection, Michigan).(b): A French two-pin knife blade from Louisbourg which originally likely had a à la dauphine-style blade (©Parks Canada/Fortress of Louisbourg/Photographer: Heidi Moses/Image number 8489E).(c): Probable round-tip siamois blade of the two-pin variety found at the Rock Island site in Wisconsin. Note that dotted lines have been added to show the presumed original profile of the blade’s cutting edge and its flange. (Line drawing by Ken Hamilton).

Two-Pin Folding Knives While apparently uncommon in North America, several folding knife blades displaying a distinctive profile at the heel of the blade which accommodated two transverse pins on the handle have been found archaeologically within the historical French sphere of influence, at both French and Native sites. These excavated blades display at least three varieties of blade profiles with a deux clous (two pin) heel. For example, one two-pin specimen found at Fort Chambly (Quebec) and two others from Louisbourg display the à la dauphine style blade profile, whereas another four examples from Fort Ticonderoga, Michilimackinac,43 Fort St. Joseph,44 and Sept-îles45 display the siamois pointed knife blade profile. There is even one fascinating specimen collected at the Rock Island Site (Potowatomi, ca. 1670–1730) which shows a rounded-tip siamois blade with what seems to be a two-pin type construction.46

The two-pin blade construction was well documented by Bondaroy in relation to the one-pin knives: “Others have two pins in the area where the blades is held to the handle; one that forms, like the others, a pin upon which the blade rotates, and the other serves as a stop on which rests the heel of the blade when it is open. These knives are called couteaux à la capucine, or “two-pin” knives; and as they require more work than the others, they are a little more expensive.” 47 The term à la capucine was probably given to these knives because of the shape of their handle’s tip that likely resembled a capuche or cowl, a pointed hood attached to the coats of the Franciscan order of monks called Capucins in French.

While these were known in France as couteaux à la capucine or couteaux à deux clous (two-pin knives) these terms are, up to the present time, nonexistent in archival documents relating to New France. This may leave us to believe that they may have been identified in colonial records on the basis of their blade shapes (i.e., siamois or à la dauphine) and can therefore likely be identified due to their higher price on inventory lists than a one-pin knife.

(b)

(a)

(c)

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jambettecouteau couteauxsiamois sciamois à la dauphineà manche de corneettête de chien bout rond couteau à la capucinecouteaux à deux clousLaguiole Flatin canifs serpettes couteaux à resort

jawm-bettecoo-toecoo-toesee-am-wahsee-am-wahah-ladoe-feenah mawnsh duh cornaytett duh shee-enboo roncoo-toe ah la cap-oo-seencoo-toe ah duh cloola-guee-oleFlaa-tah(n)ka-neefsur-pettcoo-toe ah ruh-sorr

* Guide for those readers who wish to pronounce key words used in the article Arts & Artisans > 18

English Pronunciation guide for French Knives in North America: Part II

Images (Above) k (a-f): Different variations of the siamois blade profiles for both the pointed and rounded tip types, which include those of the one and two-pin construction method. All of these profiles show a high ridge (dorsal fin) on the back of the blade before it drops down to the tip. (Line drawing by Ken Hamilton).

Images (Above) k Three known eighteenth century handle types with a presumed North American origin which have been found mounted with siamois blades. (Line drawing by Ken Hamilton).

Images (Above) k Detail of a lead tablet dated 1737 on which all cutlers at Saint-Étienne were required to have their particular commercial mark. Most maker’s marks found on excavated French folding blades from French or Native-associated archaeological sites can be found on this particular tablet revealing that the town of Saint-Étienne was the main production center of folding knives destined for France’s North American colonies (i.e., ESPERON, MARCELIN, BERTET, PERRIN, CHAPELON, TIVET, THOMAS, ROVET, JOLIVET, FERRIOL, BIZALION etc.). (Document Christian Lemasson—Collection Musée de Saint-Etienne).

Images (Above) k (a-e): Known variants of the lentils from one-pin knives per a number of blades excavated from a number of archaeological sites. (Line drawing by Ken Hamilton).

Characteristics Of Siamois Knives

Conclusion Considering the popularity that the siamois-shaped blade gained during the eighteenth century as much in Europe as in North America, it is not surprising that folding knives with sharp pointed tips were widespread all over the Mediterranean48 and are still made in France today. While this blade profile can be found on the legendary Laguiole knife and frequently called a Yatagan blade (a type of Ottoman knife or short sabre which originated from Turkey), this traditional blade shape, which has persisted for centuries in French knife-making, may have been initially commercialized on a large scale by Saint-Étienne-based cutlers. This may also hold true for

the common two-pin knives, also called à la capucine, which were still turned out in small cutler’s shops in France at the turn of the twentieth century, many of them nearly identical to those illustrated by Bondaroy some 150 years prior.

Alongside the siamois, Flatin and à la dauphine types of jambettes discussed within these two articles, a wide assortment of additional French folding knife types have also been found in a number of historical documents with regards to New France. These include penknives (canifs),49 pruning knives (serpettes),50 spring-knives (couteaux à ressort),51 and many other presumed folding knives inventoried

The renowned fixed-blade "Boucheron" knife popular with French voyageurs, militiamen, Natives, and soldiers alike will be covered in detail in an ensuing article on French Knives in North America.

on various occasions using cutler or merchant’s symbol and/or name. These names and symbols, mostly coming from cutlers working at or around the town of Saint-Étienne, were generally impressed on the blade and/or the handle [i.e., Esperon,52 Jolivet,53 Berte (Berthet),54 Chapelon,55 Perrin,56 Bizaillon (Bizallion), 57 and Marseline (Marcelin).58] Supplementary research and analysis will be required to gain a better understanding of these other varieties of folding knives within the historical context of French colonial North America. k

[Special Thanks is extended to Lynn Evans and Brian Jaeschke at Mackinac State Historic Parks, Christopher D. Fox at Fort Ticonderoga, Dr. William A. Lovis at Michigan State University, Christian Lemasson (a leading French knife expert and author of Histoire du Couteau de Laguiole), the Museum of the Fur Trade, as well as Heidi Moses and Heather Gillis at Parks Canada.]

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Endnotes for French Knives in North America by Kevin Gladysz and Ken Hamilton.

1 Marie Gérin-Lajoie, Montreal Merchant’s Records Project, (microfilm copy of M496 Montreal Merchants Records Project, Research Files, 1971–1975, 1 roll —St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Library Copy Services): MG 23, G III 28, Microfilm M-859. N.P.2 Ronald J. Mason, Rock Island: Historical Indian Archaeology in the Northern Lake Michigan Basin (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1986), 199.; Robert C. Mainfort Jr., Indian Social Dynamics in the Period of European Contact, Fletcher Site Cemetery Bay County, Anthropological Series Vol. 1 No. 4 (East Lansing, Mich.: Michigan State University, Museum Publications, 1979), 369. 3 Ronald J. Mason, 199.4 Gérin-Lajoie: In reference to: Archives Nationales du Québec (Hereafter referred to as BANQ): Monière, Blotter, 1739-1751, p.666.5 Gérin-Lajoie: In reference to: BANQ: Monière, Blotter 1739-51, p.930. (1749, June 12 - ...for the Green Bay post)6 Richard A. Preston, Leopold Lamontagne, Royal Fort Frontenac, (Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1958) 221.7 Bulletin de la Société des antiquaires de l'Ouest et des musées de Poitiers, (Poitiers: Société des antiquaires de l'Ouest, 1919) 34. 8 Antoine François Prévost, Histoire générale des voyages..., (Paris: Didot, 1751) 308. 9 Robert R. MacDonald, The Sun King: Louis XIV and the New World,studies in Louisiana Culture, Volume III (New Orleans: Louisiana Museum Foundation, 1984) 207. 10 Jacques Savary des Brûlons, Dictionnaire universel du commerce—Tome second (Paris: Jacques Estienne, 1723) 1546. "Siamoise: C'est aussi une étoffe mêlée de soye & de cotton qu'on a vû la premiere fois en France lorsque les Ambassadeurs du Roy de Siam y vinrent sous le regne de Louis XIV."11 Université de Montréal- Fonds Louis-François-Georges Baby: G2/10 (mf 1715). Lyons, 22 février 1714. Compte de Pierre Torrent à M. de Ramezay, pour marchandises envoyées à M. Pascaud, à La Rochelle, suivant mémoire de Madame d’Argenteuil. 12 Rapport de l'archiviste de la province de Québec : Correspondance commerciale d'Abraham Gradis pour 1757, Tome 38-39, 1957-1958, 1958-1959 (Québec: Imprimeur de sa Majesté le Roi.), 450-452. 13 Auguste-Denis Fougeroux de Bondaroy, L'Art du Coutelier en Ouvrages Communs (Neuchâtel: Dans l'imprimerie de la société typographique, 1780), 413 & 414.14 Bondaroy, 413 & 414.15 Ibid.16 Gustave Saint-Joanny, La coutellerie thiernoise de 1500 à 1800 (Thiers: Ferdinand Thibaud, 1863) 103.17 Robert C. Mainfort Jr, 370. 18 Library and Archives Canada-Colonial Archives Series (Archives des Colonies): (Hereafter referred to as LAC): MG1-C11A, vol.45, f.281v.19 Gérin-Lajoie: In reference to LAC: MG 23 G III 28, Microfilm

M-858, n.p., Invoice by Havy & Lefebvre of Quebec to Pierre Guy of Montreal, 1743, Oct.1.20 Gérin-Lajoie: In reference to LAC: MG1-C11A, vol.117-1, f.03v (Accounts for the year 1746-47). "8 couteaux siamois p(ou)r fumé les peaux"21 LAC: MG1-C11A, vol.26, f.264.22 Gérin-Lajoie: In reference to: BANQ: Monière, Blotter 1739-51, p.930. (1749, June 12 - ...for the Green Bay post); LAC: MG 23 G III 28, Microfilm M-858, n.p., Invoice by Havy & Lefebvre of Quebec to Pierre Guy of Montreal, 1743, Oct.1; BANQ (Archives du Québec à Montréal): A. Lemoine-Monière, Brouillard 1739-51, p.375 (1742, March 29). "4 doz. Middle-size Siamese knives, round tip." 23Gérin-Lajoie: In reference to BANQ: Monière, Blotter 1739-51, p.930. (1749, June 12 - ...for the Green Bay post) & Library and Archives Canada: MG 23 G III 28, Microfilm M-858, n.p., Invoice by Havy & Lefebvre of Quebec to Pierre Guy of Montreal, 1743, Oct.1; BANQ (Archives du Québec à Montréal): Cote : CN301,S36,D2, Inventaire général des effets appartenant à la société constituée par Messieurs Désauniers et Brouagues . - 9 mai 1741. "4. g. do. grands Siamois, pointus, Bizaillon..."24 Robert-Lionel Séguin, Les ustenciles en Nouvelle-France (Québec: Leméac, 1972), 69. “six coutteaux sciamois amanchés Divoire”25 BANQ (Archives du Québec à Montréal) : Cote : CN301,S36,D2, Inventaire général des effets appartenant à la société constituée par Messieurs Désauniers et Brouagues . - 9 mai 1741. "3. grosses do pettis Bui Jaune..."26 LAC: MG1-C11A, vol.114, f.155.(Procès-verbal de l'inventaire des biens et des titres de propriété de François-Étienne Cugnet...1742) "16 d.nes moyens couteaux sçiamois manche de bois noir uny"; Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau, Traité des arbres et arbustes qui se cultivent en France en pleine:Volume 1, (Paris: H. L. Guerin & L. F. Delatour,1755) 234. “It is also with this wood (beechwood) that we make handles of knives that we call “jambettes”. When the handle is roughed-down, we place it under a press in a mold of polished iron, that we have heated and that we have rubbed with oil. This wood undergoes a sort of “fusion” : a portion of the wood lies between two plates of iron that make up the mold, as if it was a sort of metal: and the handle comes out well shaped, well-polished, having gained a lot of hardness, taking on a nice color. In this state in is no longer possible to recognize the grain of the beechwood.”(Translated by Kevin Gladysz)27 LAC: MG1-C11A, vol. 67, f.245v.28 BANQ (Archives du Québec à Montréal): Cote : CN301,S36,D2, Inventaire général des effets appartenant à la société constituée par Messieurs Désauniers et Brouagues . - 9 mai 1741. "4. g. do. grands Siamois, pointus, Bizaillon..."29 Gérin-Lajoie: In reference to LAC: Monière, Brouillard... 1757-60, microfilm M-850, vol.16, n.p. (1758, May 9 - "2 doz. Siamois Bizaillon"30 Gérin-Lajoie, Knives-Siamese. 31 Gérin-Lajoie: In reference to LAC: Monière, Journal No. A, 1752-3, microfilm M-850, vol.13, p.6 (1752, Nov. 21). 32 Gérin-Lajoie, Knives-Siamese; LAC: MG1-C11A-vol.26, f.264./

vol.45 f.281v/vol.67 f.245v/vol.68 f.115v/vol.68 f.122v & 123/vol.69 f.255/vol.72 f.14/vol. 72, f.22/vol. 73 f.356v/vol. 75 f.292-292v/vol. 77 f.302v/vol.78 f.415v/vol.89 f.42v/vol.92 f.22v; Séguin, 68; Archives de Rochefort, La Louisiane 1732 - Évaluation des tonneaux pour les munition...33 LAC: MG1-C11A-vol.45, folio 281v34 LAC: MG1-C11A-vol.69, f.255/vol.72, f.14/vol. 73, f.356v/vol.78, f.415v/vol. 80, f.131v/vol. 68, f.104/vol.45, fol281v. 35 LAC: MG1-C11A, vol.40, f.221v36 LAC: MG1-C11A, vol.114, f.155.(Procès-verbal de l'inventaire des biens et des titres de propriété de François-Étienne Cugnet...1742). 37 LAC: MG1-C11A-vol.114, f.155/ vol. 68, f.122v & 123/vol.69, f.255/vol. 73, f.356v. 38 LAC: MG1-C11A-vol.114, f.155/vol.45, f.281v.39 Bondaroy, 386, 403. (Translated by Kevin Gladysz)40 Michael D. Coe et al eds…..North, Anthony, contribution in Swords and Hilt Weapons (London: Prion Books Ltd., London, 1996) 68, 84-85.41 George C. Neumann, Swords and Blades of the American Revolution (Harrisburg: Promontory Press, The Stackpole Company, 1973) 64, 100-101.42 Archives Départementales du Puy de Dôme, France: 2 F 31, Cahier de notes diverses de 1731 de Guillemot, marchand à Thiers (Document Christian Lemasson); Gérin-Lajoie, Knives- Siamois-Tête de chien Knives; LAC: MG1-C11A-vol.45, fol281v/vol. 68, f.122v & 123/vol. 68, f.104/vol.69, f.255/vol.72, f.14/vol. 73, f.356v/vol. 75, f.292-292v/vol.78, f.415v/vol. 80, f.131v/vol. 93, fol.333v/vol. 98, fol.243v.43 Lyle M. Stone, Fort Michilimackinac, 1715-1781: An Archaeological Perspective on the Revolutionary Frontier (East Lansing: Michigan State University Museum, 1974) 264.

44 Charles A. Hulse, An archeological evaluation of Fort St.Joseph : An eighteenth century military post and settlement in Berrien county, Michigan (Masters thesis, Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 1977) 305.45 René Lévesque, Les vieux comptoirs de Sept-Îles, (Québec: Leméac, 1981) 141.46 Ronald J. Mason, 199.47 Bondaroy, 369. (Translated by Kevin Gladysz)48 The famous Spanish “Navaja” is one of the most famous examples of this influence, even extending the blade length and adding a locking spring to facilitate it’s use as a fighting knife49 Gérin-Lajoie, Knives-Penknives; LAC: MG1-C11A-vol. 46, f.283/vol. 46, f.156/vol. 49, f.378/vol. 50, f.281/vol. 68, f.122v/vol. 69, f.254v/vol. 73, f.356. 50 BANQ (Archives du Québec à Montréal) : TL4,S1,D3279, Inventaire après décès des biens de feu Philippe de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil, gouverneur de la Nouvelle-France . - 19 juin 1726 - 17 juillet 1726. “Trois Cerpettes a quinze sols la piece…”51 Séguin, 68; Gérin-Lajoie, Knives-Spring-knives.52 BANQ (Archives Nationales du Québec): Inventaire d'une Coll. De pièces …. - Dossier 397-49 (MSS). Facture des marchandises achepté pour compte de monsieur martel marchand en canada...30 juin, 1702.53 Ibid, “8. g. grand do buis jaune, Jolivet…”54 Ibid, “16. grosses 9. dne couteaux, manches de corne, moien de Berte & Chapelon…”55 Ibid. 56 Ibid, “4. gsse. 5. dne. ditto (couteaux) de Perrin, petit…”57 Ibid, “4. g. do. grands Siamois, pointus, Bizaillon…”58 Russel Bouchard, Les fusils du poste de traite Pontchartrain: 1690-1760, (Chicoutimi: Imprimerie du Progrès du Saguenay, 1978), 29.