The shears lived up to expectations featuring a series both guild-markings as well as marks indicating what skill levels had been achieved by the master-tailor who had used them.
It is the research group's assertion that the Militant Guild of Rural Tailors first appeared in response to the threats posed by 19th century industrialization, but it was nevertheless fascinating to see the fraternal spirit made manifest in this very early tailoring artifact. -Particularly since all guilds in France were outlawed by the Revolutionary Council in 1791 foreshadowing what was also to happen to later tailoring guilds.
It was also inspiring to see what must be one of the earliest example of the "revolutionary" use a two-part construction in scissor design purpose built for garment making.
The DENHAM Garment Library recently acquired the scissors from the Bradstreet Arcade antiquarians.
