Anglo-Arabic sword with unclear dedication

[toaster5sqn]

Jim,
I believe you may have a detail backwards, it's my understanding that the folding guard was the standard option in 1822 with the stronger solid guard becoming standard in 1845. However the alternative was always an option in both cases so you can find examples of each over the entire service life of the gothic hilt.

Robert

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by toaster5sqn

Jim,
I believe you may have a detail backwards, it's my understanding that the folding guard was the standard option in 1822 with the stronger solid guard becoming standard in 1845. However the alternative was always an option in both cases so you can find examples of each over the entire service life of the gothic hilt.

Robert

Thank you for that correction Robert! I did indeed get it backwards not unusual more often these days I fear.

[Magey_McMage]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Thank you for that correction Robert! I did indeed get it backwards not unusual more often these days I fear.

As a fun point of interest, I won this sword mid november. A Pillin (maybe) patent solid hilt retailed by Robert S Garden of Piccadilly somewhere in the 1860s or 1870s. I say maybe as despite the fancy P proof disc and owning multiple Pillin patent solid hilts, I think there is some uncertainty or debate on whether or not the patent hilt blades were made by a white label maker such as Solingen or Birmingham. Regardless, Garden was one of the top outfitters, especially for the most adventurous officers and explorers heading to Africa and India with fine firearms.

But to get to the point, you can see what is the remnants of a folding guard there which is extremely uncommon both for a patent solid hilt and a sword made in the 'middle' Victorian era, with the pin slot and a broken leaf spring exposed. I am unsure on what, if anything, I can do to fix this one but hoping the assembly is threaded like some patent hilts so I can disassemble it. From there, a new hilt (with a folding guard) would be a matter of filing the new slot for the blade to be wider and seeing if the original backstrap would slot nicely. Maybe some mild bending work. Otherwise I would need to at least find a spare folding section or commission a new one and try and find someone who could grind off the broken pin slot and maybe braze on a new one? I don't usually endorse full modifications or defacing antiques but I believe in functionality and fixing broken things and this might be a learning process that may pay off in the future.

I have not researched the officer yet but there are initials, 3 or 4 of them but it is a lot of vertical and diagonal lines and I am unsure who it may belong to. WNR is my strongest guess.

[Will M]

I would not recommend replacing the guard on this Garden patent hilt.
Only a dozen or so Gardens are known.
Disassembly always raises questions of originality and can devalue swords.
An operational folding guard isn't necessary to a display sword.
I have a Garden patent hilt sword and the VR appears to be shot out and I do not plan on replacing the guard. Likely the officer left it as is because of the history behind the damage.
The number on the blade spine is 405, is yours numbered?

[Magey_McMage]

Originally Posted by Will M

I would not recommend replacing the guard on this Garden patent hilt.
Only a dozen or so Gardens are known.
Disassembly always raises questions of originality and can devalue swords.
An operational folding guard isn't necessary to a display sword.
I have a Garden patent hilt sword and the VR appears to be shot out and I do not plan on replacing the guard. Likely the officer left it as is because of the history behind the damage.
The number on the blade spine is 405, is yours numbered?

I believe so, only inasmuch as 1 of the phots of the flat is just angled enough that I can see indents on the spine indicative of some numbering. That is quite a long ricasso on your example! Am I mistaken or do the longer narrower ricassos tend to be associated with the Solingen trade blades? I know many makers used imported blades but the exact specifics on who actually produced the patent solid officer blades has always been a murkier area.

Good to see you on here, have not seen you on Facebook for a spell, glad to see you are doing well!