Pregnant Screwdriver

[Ontwowheels]

Can anyone identify this tool. I was told it had a wooden handle but it looks like it should have 2 handles so is 2 handed operation. It is marked MADE IN ENGLAND on one side and something like L RICHARDSON NORTHAMPTON 4 on the other, see photos.

 

[Farmer J.]

Can't find anything or any listings for L RICHARDSON NORTHAMPTON in the National Archives search https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/a/A13532479

Could you rub the lettering with chalk or something, make it easier to read, and get a better pic of the lettering?
I don't recognise the tool, either!

 

[RTM]

I thought I saw "Pickford Son" not Richardson, and got a hit in the UK, but didn't dig deeper.

Not sure that helps anything, but ¢¢.

 

[kwigly]

"L Richter & Son, Northampton", likely a leatherworking tool
Here's another one, in a display of antique Saddler's leather working tools

 

[Ontwowheels]

"L Richter & Son, Northampton", likely a leatherworking tool
Here's another one, in a display of antique Saddler's leather working tools

 

[Ontwowheels]

Thanks kwigly you are right. A bit of googling and I found this about leather burnished.

 

[Farmer J.]

Northampton has long been a centre of making high quality shoes and boots, so of course, leather working tools from there makes sense.

Northamptonshire 'is still shoemaking capital of the world'

Northamptonshire's shoemaking history dates back to the middle of the 19th Century.

www.bbc.co.uk

Northampton Shoemaking History

Northampton is situated in the heart of England and is a town renowned for its shoemaking industry - the history of which goes back hundreds of years. Historical demand for Northampton shoes became so strong that by the year 1840 there were 1,821 shoemakers in the town, that’s around a third of...

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