General Officer's Sword

Iliad · 16th May 2009, 11:33 PM

Hi all, Jim has requested that I post photos of items in my collection, so here is another one; I hope that it is if some interest. I believe that the crossed sword and baton indicate that it is a General Officer's Sword. An enthusiastic batman seems to have polished the blade so much that the etching on it is hard to make out. I was told that it may date from the 1820's. Any information will be gratefully received.
Brian
P S. Jim, I have 120 items in my collection, so posting photos of them all may take a little time!

Norman McCormick · 16th May 2009, 11:48 PM

Hi,
This is the 1854 variant of the 1845 pattern infantry sword not 1820's I'm afraid. The crossed sword and baton do indeed indicate a General/Staff Officers sword, crossed batons would be for a Field Marshal. If there are any numbers on the spine or initials on the blade it might be possible to find out about the military career of the original owner. Hope this helps.
Regards,
Norman.
P.S. If there is no maker/retailers name on the blade or it has been erased the info on the proof slug can be utilised to find out who exactly this was.

Iliad · 18th May 2009, 11:15 AM

Hi Norman, thanks for your reply. There are no initials, numbers or markings of any sort on the sword, but I have attached a pic of the proof slug. I hope that this may tell you something.
Brian

Norman McCormick · 19th May 2009, 08:44 PM

Hi Brian,
The slug is too badly damaged for me to I.D. the maker I'm afraid, maybe another member might have a better idea. This photo is of a Henry Wilkinson proof slug on an 1821 pattern Heavy Cavalry Officers sword from about 1870/80, as you can see it is quite easy to I.D. the maker from this slug. There is a list of others on oldswords.com but I believe there are still some that have not been matched to a maker. Sorry I could not be of more help.
My Regards,
Norman.

16th May 2009, 11:33 PM	#1
Iliad Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 187	General Officer's Sword Hi all, Jim has requested that I post photos of items in my collection, so here is another one; I hope that it is if some interest. I believe that the crossed sword and baton indicate that it is a General Officer's Sword. An enthusiastic batman seems to have polished the blade so much that the etching on it is hard to make out. I was told that it may date from the 1820's. Any information will be gratefully received. Brian P S. Jim, I have 120 items in my collection, so posting photos of them all may take a little time! Attached Images

16th May 2009, 11:48 PM	#2
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,597	Hi, This is the 1854 variant of the 1845 pattern infantry sword not 1820's I'm afraid. The crossed sword and baton do indeed indicate a General/Staff Officers sword, crossed batons would be for a Field Marshal. If there are any numbers on the spine or initials on the blade it might be possible to find out about the military career of the original owner. Hope this helps. Regards, Norman. P.S. If there is no maker/retailers name on the blade or it has been erased the info on the proof slug can be utilised to find out who exactly this was. Last edited by Norman McCormick; 17th May 2009 at 08:41 PM.

18th May 2009, 11:15 AM	#3
Iliad Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 187	General Officer's Sword Hi Norman, thanks for your reply. There are no initials, numbers or markings of any sort on the sword, but I have attached a pic of the proof slug. I hope that this may tell you something. Brian Attached Images Last edited by Iliad; 18th May 2009 at 11:18 AM. Reason: Forgot to attach photo!

19th May 2009, 08:44 PM	#4
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,597	Hi Brian, The slug is too badly damaged for me to I.D. the maker I'm afraid, maybe another member might have a better idea. This photo is of a Henry Wilkinson proof slug on an 1821 pattern Heavy Cavalry Officers sword from about 1870/80, as you can see it is quite easy to I.D. the maker from this slug. There is a list of others on oldswords.com but I believe there are still some that have not been matched to a maker. Sorry I could not be of more help. My Regards, Norman. Attached Images