I am just getting started. Over the weekend, I met with a retired blacksmith of advanced years. He had a number of anvils for sale, including the one below. Once I decided on this anvil, he and I went into his house to figure out which company manufactured the anvil, so we could arrive at a price. We consulted Anvils In America, but the font did not quite fit the Trentons. We chatted about it and he decided to assume it was a more modern Trenton of the early 1900's. I told him I would research it further and let him know what I found.
I went home and using some flour, tried to identify it. In addition to the word Trenton, it also has the words Patent and Solid Forged, although the latter was difficult to make out, it is there.
My sense is that this is a Boker Trenton of German or English manufacture, but the presence of all three words and phrases makes me uncertain. The blacksmith who sold it to me gave me a very good price, but I believe he sold it without a clear understanding of what is was. I will be calling him and returning it, but I would like to tell him for sure who the manufacturer was. Any help would be appreciated.
John