Use of Actual Vintage Arms as Props in Early Films

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by kronckew

Jim, there are a number of posts on the forum about the Khevsurli.



My favourite story there is that in WW1 They got finally the word that the Tsar was recruiting men for the war with Germany & Austria-Hungary, so they gathered in their hundreds, Mounted, chain mail on all, shields, lances, swords, etc. and marched to battle.



Only to find the pass out was snowed in and impassible from a set of particularly hard winters. By the time it cleared, the war was over.

Thanks Wayne, that anecdote was recounted by Halliburton in "Seven League Boots". The thing was that these Khevsur warriors were still wearing mail and dueling with these swords when Halliburton was there. When I found the Khevsur sword I got, the guy thought it was Zaporozhian cossack...I only knew what is was because of the pictures in the book.

Getting back to the main topic,it seems there were numbers of weapons and armor made for plays and such performances before the silver screen days. I am wondering if anyone has seen any specific literature on this apparently very esoteric subject. Jerseyman, do you know of references?
The books you noted on the actors as swordsmen, but nothing on the weapons they used.