James Drabble & Company
Like Nixon & Winterbottom, James Drabble tried to mechanise the Sheffield cutlery trades. He had been born at St Andrew’s, New Brunswick, Canada in about 1821. He may have been the son of George Drabble. If so, he was a clerk in Sheffield at the time of the Census (1841). In 1845, James Drabble advertised as a manufacturer of shoe, butcher, table, and palette knives in Carver Street. However, in 1847 he appeared in the bankruptcy court and admitted that he had suffered heavy business l....
