My first smallsword

Jim McDougall · 28th November 2023, 07:20 PM

I agree with Keith, an outstanding choice, and in very historic times.
The Royal Armouries link is interesting , thank you for attaching this, and the example they hold with provenance to Prince Octavius, son of George III.
Most intriguing is that the example shown, indeed like yours, attributed to the Prince, who was only 4 yrs old when he died.

Clearly this was a traditional gesture (he was the 8th son of 13 children), George was a busy guy, despite his health issues.

The design seems to have been among the patterns of Matthew Boulton, who was a most prominent British inventor, and sword cutler. ...in his c.1775 catalog, according to the very informative Royal Armouries description.

While the design seems to have been in this British context, I wonder if the prevalent contact between the courts of France and England in these times, despite the otherwise guarded attitude overall, possibly the French influences might have been at hand.

By this time in the 18th century, the era of the smallsword was waning, and hilt features such as the pas d'ane had become entirely vestigial. Maybe this design was to bypass them altogether.

As Keith notes, the basic smallsword style and character was pretty ubiquitous and hard to tell those of one country versus another, so something a bit different is most interesting.

28th November 2023, 07:20 PM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,836	I agree with Keith, an outstanding choice, and in very historic times. The Royal Armouries link is interesting , thank you for attaching this, and the example they hold with provenance to Prince Octavius, son of George III. Most intriguing is that the example shown, indeed like yours, attributed to the Prince, who was only 4 yrs old when he died. Clearly this was a traditional gesture (he was the 8th son of 13 children), George was a busy guy, despite his health issues. The design seems to have been among the patterns of Matthew Boulton, who was a most prominent British inventor, and sword cutler. ...in his c.1775 catalog, according to the very informative Royal Armouries description. While the design seems to have been in this British context, I wonder if the prevalent contact between the courts of France and England in these times, despite the otherwise guarded attitude overall, possibly the French influences might have been at hand. By this time in the 18th century, the era of the smallsword was waning, and hilt features such as the pas d'ane had become entirely vestigial. Maybe this design was to bypass them altogether. As Keith notes, the basic smallsword style and character was pretty ubiquitous and hard to tell those of one country versus another, so something a bit different is most interesting.