I am indeed very pleased with the acquisition.
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Originally Posted by Ian
Fascinating story, Mark. Did you happen to get the unifrom as well as the sword? What about HP's swords and uniform? Did other members of your family also try to preserve their history?
ian.
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I did not get any of the other lots, which I think is a good thing as I would have had to take out a second mortgage on my house to pay for them. I have no idea whether or not other family members were bidding, but I somehow doubt it, unless the seller tipped them off. Apparently they had all been in a private collection for years, so clearly someone in the family sold them off at some point.
I have a very very vague childhood recollection of visiting some cousin and seeing a sabre next to the fireplace (I don't remember a tassel, so I don't think that it was this one). I imagine that was his official side-arm, since the one I bought is described as "non-official" (or something to that effect). One of HP's two sabres was also described as "non-official," as well. There is also apparently CP's cavalry cape in a dresser drawer somewhere in a cousin's house -- it is interesting to note that the uniform in the auction didn't include the cape.
Keeping family history is a tradition in my family, and one quirky thing about 19th C. New England families (maybe others as well at that time), is that they liked to self-publish memoires & correspondence, and publish little tributes or memorances of the departed. We have a few of these, including a pamphlet with CP's Civil War correspondence.