18th Century Fleur de Lis mark on sword blades

Jim McDougall · 14th December 2022, 08:29 PM

It seems that the fluer de lis symbol has been used in many cases to mark weapons, either as makers mark or other, whether on firearms or on sword blades.
What I am looking for is this use of the FDL in the 18th century, as found on sword blades of British hangers and cutlasses. These typically have a single back fuller and are single edged, in the 29" long range.
Campbell, in "Swords from the Battlefield at Culloden" notes this FDL mark as among those found on blades from the field, many of which ended up as components of the travesty fence at Twickenham.

It is known that Thomas Hollier often had the FDL on his cutlasses (S.Comfort) in his work period, post 1726-40 (?) There are speculations that this mark was used by a number of English makers, but I only found one reference attributing same to Joseph Reason, in this time period.

It seems there were numbers of blades entering England from France in this period, in London, there was a 'Fluer de Lis ' street where bundles of blades were sold to cutlers. It is unclear whether the known blade commodities from Solingen which were well known were sold there as well.

While many of these type blades are unmarked, I am wondering if these might have come from the arsenal in Paris, where it has been suggested the FDL may have been placed as a 'state' marking.

I would like to know thoughts, examples of the fluer de lis marking on British sword blades c. 1730-80, and would really appreciate input.

14th December 2022, 08:29 PM	#1
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,945	18th Century Fleur de Lis mark on sword blades It seems that the fluer de lis symbol has been used in many cases to mark weapons, either as makers mark or other, whether on firearms or on sword blades. What I am looking for is this use of the FDL in the 18th century, as found on sword blades of British hangers and cutlasses. These typically have a single back fuller and are single edged, in the 29" long range. Campbell, in "Swords from the Battlefield at Culloden" notes this FDL mark as among those found on blades from the field, many of which ended up as components of the travesty fence at Twickenham. It is known that Thomas Hollier often had the FDL on his cutlasses (S.Comfort) in his work period, post 1726-40 (?) There are speculations that this mark was used by a number of English makers, but I only found one reference attributing same to Joseph Reason, in this time period. It seems there were numbers of blades entering England from France in this period, in London, there was a 'Fluer de Lis ' street where bundles of blades were sold to cutlers. It is unclear whether the known blade commodities from Solingen which were well known were sold there as well. While many of these type blades are unmarked, I am wondering if these might have come from the arsenal in Paris, where it has been suggested the FDL may have been placed as a 'state' marking. I would like to know thoughts, examples of the fluer de lis marking on British sword blades c. 1730-80, and would really appreciate input. Attached Images