American Eagle Head Sabre

[Norman McCormick]

Hi,
I have acquired this sabre and would like to know more about it. The net is not awash with info on these so any help would be appreciated. There is no name on blade or hilt. Bone grip which has been "restored" with car body filler which will require a bit of cosmetic attention. Nicks on the blade where one would expect them. Blade just shy of 30 inches long and 1 1/4 inches at widest. A fair amount of gilding left on the guard and pommel. I'm guessing European manufacture possibly second quarter of the 19thC and probably Solingen. Were bare blades imported into the U.S. and hilted locally? Many thanks for all and any help.
Regards,
Norman.

[Hotspur]

Hi Norman

These can be tricky to distinguish from where distribution/export to America happened. At first glance, I would say undoubtedly one of the Solingen consortium but then in seeing the bit of the blade decoration, the B&G looks like that was done in England. With S&K and other agents in England, it is not hard to figure at least parts of the sword were Prussian made. The spiral bone also more an English cutler trait. look close at the spine of the blade at the base and see if there is a little squiggle f a couple of lines.

This is of the floating big head and although similar to the "Ketland" bird. I would think generally speaking it belongs to the 1830s or perhaps a little earlier.

I am still (in a rather erstwhile fashion) looking at John Salter & Co of England, who really as a name belongs to an earlier period but the company remained as an exporter of swords to America well into the 1830s.

The blade decoration of blue&gilt another consideration for a possible time but blades were made and decorated, then held in stock with some of this fasion still turing up in the 1840s and even later.

The Prussian big head crested eagles do start to appear by 1812 but the b&g traits on the blades themselves can help to determine an early style vs post 1812 blades.

E.Alexander Mowbray, author of the early/federal period of eagle head pommels book really does not go into this family, as even his and other's thoughts place them after his 1830 benchmark for the book. He does allude to heads like the "Ketland" but not as directly associated.

Mowbray the younger and Flayderman then assemble the Medicus collection of swords and both leave a lot of leeway for speculation/investigation that still goes on. Both Solingen and Birmingham had so many shops going that it is only when a sword is specifically marked to a maker that some do get pigeon holed as Mowbray the elder did. Forever since, his chapters become a basic typology often based on a single marked sword.

My big head backstrap eagle has a definitely Prussian blade and decoration, as well as possibly a good bit earlier b ut the slim blade will always make me wonder. This one possibly from the Knecht family and maybe the 1820s.

Cheers

GC

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you Glen for the great information on these! As Norman has noted, it is typically pretty difficult to find useful and pertinant material on these distinctive swords from a cold search, and I had hoped you would respond as these American sword topics are profoundly your field.

[Hotspur]

You are welcome Jim. Eagles are pretty much a passion for me and while the later swords less recognized at times, a period I try to make sense of. Both the floating big crested and backstrap big head show up in British guise but I am certain many of the castings start in Solingen.

The example I showed with the backstrap has the mouth opened up but the profile of the big heads undeniably similar between backstrap and floaters.

Here is a floating pommel like Norman's that is similar to the A.W.Spies of New York swords. Spies was an apprentice as a teen in the Wolfe family shop of New York. He then went abroad to Birmingham and learned the business of export as well as cutlery but he was mostly interested in the import to his business which would blossom on his own.

There is some information I am compiling about Spies and had at one point started a thread over at SFI. I have some false conclusions of my own even in that thread but the framework is there.
http://www.swordforum.com/forums/sho...les-and-others

So anyway, a big head floater ala Spies and Salter, undoubtedly from England but we know Solingen is makeing birds like this. I have several Spies marked backstrap examples and the big head floating pommels seem to be a lot less common to find. I can't say that makes them earlier or later but they were (perhaps) to mimic the screaming eagles of Ames which had floating pommels and the spiral or slash marked grips. The Ames artillery sabres and infantry spadroons are of this period.

I will add some more examples of the floaters but I knew where to find this one in my Spies folder (I have some more scattered about in unsorted folders). I have a run to do today for my eyes to look for any floaters in the vitreous. This example may even be marked by a separate retailer but I'll have to look closer at that blade. The rest identical to several marked by Spies.

Cheers

GC

[Hotspur]

Also just to mention that they really do look like the older Ketland form and in time might be considered as a followup to the form as a type III but there is already enough confusion just between pre 1812 Ketland types and post war in the smaller head classification. Then you get into how much chasing of a casting a given shop might be doing.

Cheers

GC

[Norman McCormick]

Hi Glen,
First of all many thanks for your time and effort in attempting to educate a poor Brit on the knotty subject of American Eagles. I have gone over the sword from top to bottom with the proverbial 'fine tooth comb' but cannot find any mark or sign that would provide a clue as to origins. I like the idea that it might be of English manufacture. You mention the spiral bone grip and I must say I've spent a few hours on the net looking at 'Eagle Heads' and have not found one with the same pattern spiralling. It would be nice to pin down a date as it would enable me to speculate in which conflicts it may have participated in but I can see from your posts that this is much easier said than done. I look forward to your other examples of 'floating heads'. Thanks again.
My Regards,
Norman.

P.S. The second example you show has a very similar blade profile and angle of hilt to blade as mine, I don't know whether this is of consequence or not.