This is a rare, original circa 1840, Shively Western massive bowie knife and case from the DuPont family collection in St. Louis, Missouri. This is by far one of the largest Shively knives on the market. This authentic example features a large, polished forged steel blade with a clipped point having a prominent brass hand guard with stag handle with silver handle ring and silver engraved pommel cap end. The blade is touch mark stamped “SHIVELY 75 CHESTNUT ST. PHILAD”, a period correct Shively hallmark (nearly all incorrect knives have commonly seen misspelled touch marks and do not have the address). This is a large, heavy, attractive Western bowie knife with a rare, large black leather presentation-style scabbard sheath with German silver mounts and fittings. It has etched designs on the front. The initials “RSS” are hand engraved in old script capital letters on the silver pommel cap at the end of the handle. Compare with Shively-marked Bowie Knife on pages 100-101 in the Antique Bowie Knife Book. Long considered to have been the Philadelphia cutler who made a Bowie Knife for Jim or Rezin Bowie during their visit to Philadelphia in August of 1832. For another example of a Shively American Bowie Knife with stag handle and silver adornments, see the Shively valued at $10,000 in 2017 by Showtime. Authentic Shively bowie knives are exceedingly rare and desirable with other auction houses like Morphy and Heritage in recent years selling examples for $8,000, $11,000, $12,000 and even $35,000 respectively. Provenance: Frin the ex-Mary Lou and Pierre DuPont collection St. Louis, Missouri. The knife measures 21 inches in length. The leather scabbard is in good condition with only minor wear to the leather. The knife and sheath both exhibit minor oxidation of the silver and are well kept. Measures 22.5" long in the sheath by 4 3/8"W.*