I don’t get emails from the United Kingdom often — ever really, besides the spam that we’re all used to seeing pepper our inboxes.

So I was surprised to see something pop in from Sheffield… UK.

It came from Portland Works, a stainless steel manufacturer in Sheffield, UK. Their communications manager called that Sheffield the “stainless steel manufacturing and now a thriving heritage centre for independent artists and crafts people.”

“I’m hoping the people of Sheffield, Pa.,” Julie Shipston said, “will help us with our search for cutlery made at this famous factory in the last century.”

Portland Works in Sheffield, UK was built in Sheffield in 1879 and, according to its website, is now one of the last remaining working examples of a purpose built metal trades factory.

Now I had to look up where Sheffield, UK actually is.

I read it’s in Yorkshire. Now my only awareness of that place is from Downton Abbey which I suspect is not helpful here. It’s about a four hour drive north of London. If you look at the main island of the UK and put a dot in the middle about half way up, you’d be in the ballpark, still a little north.

It’s a fair bit older than Sheffield, Pennsylvania — it’s town charter dates to 1297.

With a population just shy of 600,000, it’s the third largest city in England district behind Leeds and, of course, London.

Portland Works sent a release detailing what they’re looking for.

“In 1914, Portland Works in Sheffield, UK, became the first place in the world to make stainless steel cutlery. Its ‘Rusnorstain’ cutlery became famous, was exported from Sheffield around the world, featured in international trade shows and was probably carried by families emigrating to the USA. It continued to be made at the Works until the 1960s.

“Now Portland Works wants to track those pieces and create a map showing their locations and the journey they have made from Sheffield UK.”

“We’d love people to search their homes to see if they have any items made by R.F. Mosley or other manufacturers at the time including Alexander Clark (marked “Welbeck“), George Gill, William H. Green, John Thomas, Johnsons & Sons, W. Mammatt or E. Atkinson & Sons,” Dr. Chris Corker, business historian, lecturer in management at the University of York and chair of Portland Works said.

“We’re asking them to send us photographs along with any details they may have, such as a name stamp, silver or EPNS marks and anything else about the item’s history. It will be so exciting to see where items made on Randall Street in Sheffield in the UK have ended up around the world.”

Warren County’s Sheffield was named for Sheffield, UK by the early settlers.

“The place was first settled in 1836 by Newton Lounsberry and was an early tanning center because it was accessible to large supplies of hemlock bark used in tanning sole leather,” an article on place names in Warren County states.

The township was organized by court order in June 1833 and was the site of the largest sawmill east of the Mississippi — the Pennsylvania Lumber Company — in the early 1900s… when production of this cutlery started across the pond.

Now, I called this a dart throw because the production of this cutlery is a century old while Sheffield Township is just a dozen years away from its bicentennial.

But it seems at least theoretically possible that someone has this stuff here.

Why? Because if I could afford cutlery from the other side of the world that has a direct connection to where I live, you’d bet I’d be interested.

So… anyone got anything?

If so, go check out this website — www.portlandworks.co.uk/aroundtheworld