Dear Friends,

It is not very often that my hear flutters because I have made a great discovery in the field of hunting swords. I was the high bidder on a Hirschfanger last month on eBay, offered by a good friend of mine Jan Zajac who sets up a dealer table at various gun, civil war and militaria shows to sell his swords.
http://offer.ebay.com/ws3/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewB...2237863606

What makes this sword unusual is that it matched one that was clearly made by the same swordsmith in Germany during the 1740s, a very great odds against occurrance:

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Hirschfangers from the 18th Century differ from those typical of the 19th Century by the length and the robustness of their blades, these two swords have 23.5" blades although one looks a bit shorter because the blade was altered at some time in the past.

The inscriptions read as follows:
Der Jager haben ein Lustiges Leben The Hunters have a lustfull life
Wan Sie Das Wild in Walden angeheben When they hunt game in the forests.

Ein Jager hat allzeit Verlangen A Hunter is always has desire
Mit Wenig Muhe Viel zu ________ With very little to satsify it.

You are welcome to improve my translations if you can.

I purchased my first sword from Fred Coluzzi, a local sword dealer who publishes a catalogue three times a year for $475. in June of 1997. I picked up the one from Jan Zajac yesterday (4-17-04) at a local Civil War show, bringing the sword I had purchased from Fred with me. Everyone agreed that the odds of such uniting of 265 +/- year old swords in one collection is quite astonishing and noteworthy.

Let me know if you have any questions I have not answered or if you wish to add to the narrative.

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Beautiful pieces.

I'm curious as to what is leading you to believe they were both made by the same manufacturer? Is there a maker's mark on each piece or is it more the similar styles? (I admit to being a complete neophyte when it comes to this stuff)

Ein Jager hat allzeit Verlangen A Hunter always has desire
Mit Wenig Mühe Viel zu fangen. With very little trouble to catch.

Am I getting closer?

anyone know where I can find Jan Zajac now and inquire about current inventory??

A less literal but better Engliush tranlation might be: " A hunter always desires to catch his game with as little effort as possible."

"A hunter always desires/ to catch a lot with little effort

Thanks, I'll keep my eyes peeled on him there.