Recovery of a family sword

Ian · 2nd December 2005, 09:20 PM

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.

VANDOO · 2nd December 2005, 09:46 PM

THATS QUITE A STORY!! IT IS GREAT THAT IT HAD A HAPPY ENDING ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE WAY IT WENT DOWN. CONGRADULATIONS!!

NOW YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN YOUR COLLECTION WITH REAL PROVENANCE AND IF YOU HAVE A AUCTION HOUSE CATALOG LISTING AND SHOWING THE OTHER ITEMS THAT WILL BE GOOD PROVENANCE ALSO. YOU PROBABLY GOT IT CHEAPER THAN YOU WOULD HAVE IF YOU HAD BEEN AT THE AUCTION AS KNOWING THERE WAS FAMILY THERE SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE RAN YOU UP, WAY TO GO MARK

ariel · 2nd December 2005, 11:06 PM

Mark,
I think you have to quit your law practice a write a Hollywood script ( every lawyer I knew has already done both...)
Fascinating story! In this day and age it is not easy to dig that deep into your genealogy and to get an important relic to boot!
Congratulations!
And remember: thanks Heaven your ancestor was not from the South. Otherwise, a provenanced Confederate sword would have been bought in a flash by some reenactor of The War of Northern Aggression, no matter the reserve price

.

Mark · 6th December 2005, 05:27 PM

I am indeed very pleased with the acquisition.

Quote:

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.

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.

Raja Muda · 8th December 2005, 09:26 AM

Congratulations Mark,

Your story gives hope to people like me, who are still in the lookout for their family's long lost Pusaka.

Unfortunately, record keeping has always been rather problematic in this part of the world, so a long lost pusaka might just end up being that, long and lost.

Ferguson · 8th December 2005, 07:25 PM

Fascinating and heartening! Great story. Congratulations on returning a family heirloom to a member of the family who can appreciate it.

Steve

8th December 2005, 09:26 AM	#5
Raja Muda Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Posts: 100	Return of the Sword Congratulations Mark, Your story gives hope to people like me, who are still in the lookout for their family's long lost Pusaka. Unfortunately, record keeping has always been rather problematic in this part of the world, so a long lost pusaka might just end up being that, long and lost.

2nd December 2005, 09:20 PM	#1
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,453	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.

2nd December 2005, 09:46 PM	#2
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	THATS QUITE A STORY!! IT IS GREAT THAT IT HAD A HAPPY ENDING ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE WAY IT WENT DOWN. CONGRADULATIONS!! NOW YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN YOUR COLLECTION WITH REAL PROVENANCE AND IF YOU HAVE A AUCTION HOUSE CATALOG LISTING AND SHOWING THE OTHER ITEMS THAT WILL BE GOOD PROVENANCE ALSO. YOU PROBABLY GOT IT CHEAPER THAN YOU WOULD HAVE IF YOU HAD BEEN AT THE AUCTION AS KNOWING THERE WAS FAMILY THERE SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE RAN YOU UP, WAY TO GO MARK

2nd December 2005, 11:06 PM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Mark, I think you have to quit your law practice a write a Hollywood script ( every lawyer I knew has already done both...) Fascinating story! In this day and age it is not easy to dig that deep into your genealogy and to get an important relic to boot! Congratulations! And remember: thanks Heaven your ancestor was not from the South. Otherwise, a provenanced Confederate sword would have been bought in a flash by some reenactor of The War of Northern Aggression, no matter the reserve price .

8th December 2005, 07:25 PM	#6
Ferguson Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kernersville, NC, USA Posts: 793	Fascinating and heartening! Great story. Congratulations on returning a family heirloom to a member of the family who can appreciate it. Steve