LA VACHE QUI RIT - "Fromageries BEL - Lons-Le-Saunier". Rare cheese spreader knife. Circa 1930. Nice condition, with its original box. After B.Rabier (not mentioned). "Usine de la croix-blanche. Thiers - 32 Dumas Ainé". The box measures 21 x 3.5 cm and the knife 20.3 cm long. The story begins in Orgelet in the Jura, where Jules Bel set up as a master knife-maker at the age of 23 (1865), and was only 55 when, in 1897, he handed the business over to his two sons, Henri and Léon, aged 29 and 19 respectively. In 1897, the company moved to Lons-le-Saunier, taking advantage of the proximity of the railway line and the Montmorot saltworks. Henri left the business in 1908, and the company changed its name to "Léon Bel, Gruyère en gros". On 16 April 1921, Léon Bel registered the brand name La vache qui rit. The idea came to him to use the RVF B70 badge as inspiration to depict a full-length cow with a hilarious expression (source: lamaisondelavachequirit.com).