Apsam Co. London WC

[CutlassCollector]

I recently acquired a private purchase cutlass almost identical to the 1845 Brit pattern but with brass handle and it also has a thumb operated clip to secure it in the scabbard.
It is clearly marked APSAM Co. London WC. I can find nothing on the net that gives any information. It could be the name of a supplier or even a shipping company.
Has anyone seen another sword marked by the same company?

regards, CC

[CutlassCollector]

Mystery solved!

The above cutlass was the only one I had ever seen marked to Apsam Co, London WC.

A recent communication from the Marine Museum in Chile revealed that they not only had boarding axes marked to Apsam but also had at least four of these cutlasses in various Chile museums. The cutlass is modelled on the British c1845 model and the axe is a close copy of the 1859 British boarding axe.

After independence Chile built up its navy and had many warships built in British yards during the 19th century. (more info here https://www.boardingaxe.com/page21.html)

So it appears that Apsam was a company making private purchase weapons and also supplying arms to other navies.

Has anyone seen any other swords, cutlasses or axes marked to this company?

[Jim McDougall]

Outstanding David!!!! This kind of information is so esoteric, and especially to discover these connections to Chile in the latter 19th c. I recall trying to do research of the unique 'corvo' knives which were used in the War of the Pacific (1879-1884) between Chile and the alliance of Peru and Bolivia over certain land claims etc.

In the first part of the war the emphasis was naval, in the picture shown is the Chilean corvette "Esmeralda" (left) in action at Battle of Iquique (May,1879) against the Peruvian ironclad "Huascar". The Esmeralda was sunk.
She had been built for Chile in England at Kent in 1854.

It appears that Chile had pretty defined commercial contact with England and interesting to see these arms reflecting those interests.