Item ended: Boer & WW1 British / Australian Pattern 1897 Infantry Officer Sword - Edward VII (details below)

Boer & WW1 British / Australian Pattern 1897 Infantry Officer Sword - Edward VII

$641.16
Listing ended Sun, February 5, 5:10 am EST

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AN ORIGINAL BRITISH / AUSTRALIAN PATTERN 1897 INFANTRY OFFICERS SWORD AND PATTERN 1901 STEEL SCABBARD MANUFACTURED BY ROBERT MOLE & SONS BIRMINGHAM BETWEEN 1901 AND 1910 AND ETCHED WITH THE ROYAL CIPHER OF KING/EMPEROR EDWARD VII (1901 – 1910). The Sword, Infantry Officer, Pattern 1897, as it is officially designated, was the last of a family of 3 swords (Infantry Patterns 1892,1895 and 1897) that were universally recognised as the finest swords ever produced for British and Commonwealth infantry officers. As Brian Robson in his excellent reference work ‘Swords of the British Army’ writes these swords: ‘with (their) excellent guard and vicious thrusting, blade – were unquestionably the best fighting sword(s) ever prescribed for British infantry officers’. The only difference between the last two patterns was in the shape of the guard. The sharp inner edge of the Pattern 1895 guard was found to damage uniforms and as a consequence the Pattern 1897 was introduced fitted with a guard with a turned edge. The Pattern 1897 Infantry Officers Sword has remained in service until the present day. The basic characteristics of the Sword, Infantry Officer, Pattern 1897 were similar to the Pattern 1892 and the Pattern 1895 which had preceded it with the exception of the guard which was an improved version of the design fitted to the Pattern 1895. As with the Pattern 1822 sword there were two versions of the Pattern 1897, a standard and a light, with the light pattern being far less common. In terms of size, there was no difference in length between the two versions, the differences being the girth of the hilt and width of blade. The straight blade was optimized for thrusting in line with the common wisdom of the time, which stated that ‘the point will always beat the edge’. The new guard was a three quarter basket hilt in plated sheet steel with a scroll pattern inset with the royal cypher and crown that provided very good protection to the officers hand. The grip is sharkskin covered wood bound with brass wire. This particular example is fitted with its original plated steel Pattern 1901 Scabbard. The Australian War Memorial holds 2 similar swords, by the same manufacturer: RELAWM14942 and RELAWM15946. The second of these belonged to Lieutenant C. T. M. Heath, 5 Field Artillery Brigade, AIF who was killed in action in 1917. The swords can be viewed online at: http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/RELAWM14942 and http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/RELAWM15946 . With regard to Australian service, the majority of swords supplied to British and commonwealth officers throughout the Empire were purchased via London suppliers or local suppliers selling swords made in the UK. Robert Mole & Sons of Birmingham were one of the most best known and most highly regarded sword manufacturers in Britain and supplied swords to order. It’s worth noting that swords supplied directly from the manufacturer to the Dominions were usually fitted with a guard inset with the Imperial ERI cipher seen on this example (as opposed to the ERVII cipher more common on British used swords). This is a first class example of a British and Commonwealth Sword, Infantry Officer, Pattern 1897 manufactured between 1901 and 1910. The sword is fitted with a straight etched steel blade in excellent original condition, the etching being particularly good. The steel three-quarter basket guard with the inset imperial royal cipher (ERI - Edwardus Rex Imperator - Edward King Emperor) of King Edward VII (1901 – 1910) is in very good condition with the usual patination seen on swords of this age. The sharkskin covered wooden grips are original and are in very good original condition with minor deterioration to the silver wire reinforcing. The original plated steel Pattern 1901 Scabbard is in similarly good condition with a patina consistent with age and use. One blade ricasso is etched with the manufacturers stamp Robert Mole & Sons Maker Birmingham. The other ricasso is characteristically etched with the ‘Damascene’ star and the Prooved cartouche which on this sword includes the makers initials RM&S. The blade etching is of very high quality with the usual scrollwork, royal cypher and royal coat of arms and (see pictures). Type: Pattern 1897 Maker: Robert Mole & Sons Birmingham Overall Length: 999.0 mm Blade Length: 825.0 mm Blade Width (at guard): 26.0 mm Scabbard: Steel Pattern 1901 Overall Length of Scabbard: 856.0 mm From Australia, a very good Boer and First World War era British and Commonwealth Sword, Infantry Officer, Pattern 1897 fitted with its original Pattern 1901 Scabbard and marked with the royal cipher of the King/Emperor Edward VII. This sword is fitted with a particularly nice etched blade. It has everything you look for in a Pattern 1897; condition, patina, and provenance. A really high quality example of an Imperially marked Edwardian Pattern 1897, a variant still in service with the Australian and British Army’s today. No question that this sword is this weeks ‘best on the net’. POSTAGE: I don't charge more than the actual cost of shipping so what you pay is what it costs.