1796 L.C. Officers Sword.

[Norman McCormick]

Hi,
Got this locally on Friday and from what I can gather it had been lying in a garage for as long as the seller could remember. Not much was visible in its dirty condition but after a careful clean-up some of its former glory was revealed, see photos. The type of Royal Arms tells us this was manufactured sometime between 1796 and 1801. The maker, Osborn, is clearly marked on the spine but even if it wasn't I believe the faceted backstrap and ferrule along with the shape of the grip 'ears' was a peculiarity of Osborn swords. The grip is black leather covered wood bound with three strands of silver wire. The grip ironwork appears to have been blackened possibly japanned, I haven't come across a grip similarly finished so I would be interested if anyone could comment on this aspect. I have inspected the damage to the blade and the hilt and with my limited knowledge it would appear that this damage is old and possibly, hopefully, contemporary with the working life of the sword.
Regards,
Norman