1780 heavy Cavalry Officer Sword

[Hotspur]

Langham's research shows it would be 1802ish, as the only time Drury listed as his majesty. A goldsmith, etc. What I believe to be a similar situation is my rather plain saber but fire gilt.

A great sword shown here! I have also seen rougher castings.

I was struck by a sidebar of design and style. I would be remiss not to mention Speltz's drawings. Some annotations are now wrong but he was working with known knowledge at the time and supplied appendices and a bibliography.

https://archive.org/details/stylesofornament00speluoft

So, my Thurkle, and an 1821/45 ('69 Wilkinson) I had to have. Plenty of half baskets got fancy. Even Edward Popham and his kastane saw a lot of styles. photo from the Royal Armouries

Cheers
GC

[JT88]

Originally Posted by Hotspur

Langham's research shows it would be 1802ish, as the only time Drury listed as his majesty. A goldsmith, etc. What I believe to be a similar situation is my rather plain saber but fire gilt.

This Langham's source? https://swordresearch.org/SwordSearc...pDtbWf2fHH2Rgs

This listing says 1792- don't see anything specific about "to his majesty."

[Hotspur]

Originally Posted by JT88

This Langham's source? https://swordresearch.org/SwordSearc...pDtbWf2fHH2Rgs

This listing says 1792- don't see anything specific about "to his majesty."

You have to click the blue circle i in the right hand corner and you get this

[JT88]

Good stuff, thanks! That sure does narrow it down. Although I think I've seen some other pieces online labeled as such and given a different time.

[Bryce]

G'day Jack,
I think your sword is probably older than 1792. There were several Drurys and I would place yours closer to 1780 than 1790. It looks like an infantry officer's hanger of the type that would normally have a lion head. I wonder if it has been regripped and the eagle head added later on? The blade certainly looks older.
Cheers,
Bryce

[JT88]

Originally Posted by Bryce

G'day Jack,
I think your sword is probably older than 1792.

Hi Bryce,
Thanks for the post. I've found no other Drury's specifically in the timeframe he had the status of "Cutler to his majesty" and in the Strand location.

I agree the style is of earlier infantry hangers, but as pointed out, by the 1790s, these had gone out of style, and the infantry were under regulation.

The peen is old, and the gilt uniform in the few places it is not worn. This sword has seen some heavy wear to the gilt. So I'd call it a period composite.

My naval hypothesis only derives from the period it comes from, as naval officer swords were still not under regulation. Some officers did have cutlasses made, although not common. The eagle head is a bit of a scratcher; while not common in the Royal Navy at this point, it is still possible. Or perhaps a US Naval officer had a British sword made? Possible. Everyone seems to conclude it is a Thurkle-made eagle head.

We can only point to specific pieces of this sword and give date ranges. The rest is all conjecture. The blade is excellent; it reminds me of the French "Sartine" style cutlasses. It was attained out of France, not that means anything.

Cheers

Edit: the blade is incredible, the entire reason I purchased it.

[Bryce]

G'day Guys,
A similar sword to the one that opened this thread has popped up at an auction. Although it has been heavily restored, and has a replacement blade, it does show what my hilt would have looked like when complete.
Cheers,
Bryce