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4th April 2011
John Joseph Mechi
With the ICCA corkscrew auctions fast approaching (starts Friday
8th) I've been looking through various boxes trying to work out what
to list. One of the pieces I thought I'd sell is a four poster marked on
the bottle collar "Mechi, 4 Leadenhall St, London". A nice example
with a smooth mechanism, good handle & very crisply marked.
John Mechi's father, Giacomo, a citizen of Bologna, Italy, was
employed in business in France but took refuge in England during
the "Reign of Terror" and found employment in the household of
George III at Kensington Palace. He married Elizabeth Beyer of
Poland Street, London and John was their third son.
After completing his schooling in France, at the age of 16 he
became a clerk in the City, working in a mercantile house in the
Newfoundland Trade.
Aged 26 he had saved sufficient to set up on his own account as a
retail cutler at 130 Leadenhall Street. In 1830 he moved to larger
premises in 4 Leadenhall Street.
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Over the next ten years his business supplying scientific instruments, pencils and quill cutting penknives
prospered as did his ability to "set and ground razors with more than ordinary skill". But the item which made
his name known across the country was his patent 'Mechi's magic razor strop'.
An 1841 Mechi catalogue list an incredible array of wares, including:Table Knives & Forks, Meat and Poultry
Carvers, Round of Beef Slicers, Ham Slicers, Children's Knives & Forks, Steels & Knife Sharpeners, Table
Spoons, Dessert spoons, Table Forks, Dessert ditto, Fish Knives, Soup Ladies Snuffers, Snuffer Trays, Table
Candlesticks, Gravy Spoons, Sauce Ladles, Salt Spoons, Mustard Spoons, Skewers, Vegetable Knives,
Corkscrews, Decanter Labels, Table Mats, Bottle Corks, Cruet Stands, Pickle Frames, Soy Frames, Dish
Covers, Knife Rests, Chamber Candlesticks, Shade ditto, Branch ditto, Nutcracks, Asparagus Tongs, Wine
Coolers, Wine Strainers, Champagne Knives, Champagne Nippers, Marrow Spoons, Cheese Scoops, Cases
of Silver and Plated Fruit & Dessert Knives &....the list goes on.
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After an intensive study of English farming writers he resolved to
practice and publicise improvements in agriculture. In 1841 he
bought a 130 acre farm at Tiptree in Essex at a cost of £3,250. In
the following five years he spent £13,500 creating a model farm
which was to attract several hundreds of visitors each year to
demonstrations of new machinery, methods & farming ideas. In
1852 it was the subject of a six page report in Charles Dicken's
weekly journal Household Works; the following year it featured in
the London Illustrated News, which described it as "Mr Mechi's
annual lecture and annual feast"; in 1854 it was reported in The
Times. By 1856 he was entertaining some 600 people at his
annual gathering. He was 60 years ahead of time predicting that
fields would be ploughed by machinery.
His commercial business prospered and with the purchase of
another cutlery business in 1855 he expanded into extensive
premises in 112 Regent Street. He advertised widely, stating that
his stock included the "the finest specimens of British
manufactures" in a wide range of items including dressing cases
and bagatelles as well as "other articles of utility or luxury suitable
for presentation"with a "separate department for papier mache
manufactures." His business success continued at a pace but bad
luck & harder times were to follow.
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Four poster corkscrew signed Mechi, 4 Leadenhall St, London dates somewhere between 1830-1855
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I'll probably keep this four poster corkscrew for the time being, but I've got 60 corkscrews lined up to list on the
ICCA auctions. You'll find my auctions here from Friday, 8th April 2011.
If you have a corkscrew signed MECHI, drop me a line, I'd be pleased to buy it from you
Peter@corkscrewsonline.com
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The failure of the Unity Joint Stock Bank in 1866, of which he was a governor, an unfortunate connection with
the Unity Fire and General Life Assurance Office & many bad seasons at Tiptree farm caused him huge
financial losses & sadly, his affairs were put in liquidation on 14th Dec 1880 just 2 weeks before he died of
diabetes at Tiptree Hall on 26th Dec 1880. He was buried in Tiptree Church on 1st Jan 1881.
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