[Daniel Parry]

Dear all

I haven't been on this site for a year or so, not through any lack of enthusiasm but due to a car accident which left me a little the worse for wear for 9 months. Anyway, now fencing and collecting again in fine fettle I have a query to put to people.

I was recently offered for sale (Nathan - concious of what we are allowed to say and auction influences re your recent post - this is an item offered privately not in open auction but I declined and subsequently sold to another buyer so shouldn't have any issues on that front - purely a historical query) an unusual smallsword. I wish I had pictures but didn't have my newly acquired digital camera with me when I saw it.

The smallsword was presented as a circa 1690 transitional smallsword, typical late 17th/ early 18th century straight hilt and straight squarish knuckle-bow with a double shell guard, copper bound turk's head hilt. Nothing unusual about that. I personally think the style of the hilt suggests 1710 -1720 rather than late 17th century transitional. The odd thing and what I wanted to find people's views on (particularly the Scottish specialists like Mac) was that the blade was a 32 inch, wide, double edged blade, diamond not triangulated, with an AFARARA mark, a variation of the Andrea Ferrara mark . Now first impressions were that this might have been a cut down scottish broadsword blade from the 17th/18th century as the blade is very wide - much wider than would be the norm for pre-triangulated 'fighting blades' . Certainly when I felt the balance it wasn't anything close to most early smallswords in that it was very blade heavy. You could potentially do linear fencing with it but it wasn't exactly nifty and would have a serious cutting power to it. This didn't seem strange as (echoing a recent thread) I think many users would have seen the advantages of both styles and not merely adopted one.

The scroll-work on the hilt seemed very French to me which made me think there was a stronger case for an 18th Century Scottish connection. The closest thing I can find is a similar sword in Lyle's 1979 review and also one which I vaguely recall being in the Royal Armouries (probably in Leeds now as most of the good stuff is).

To cut a long story short has anyone seen a variation of the Ferrara mark on a smallsword ? Has anyone seen an example of a remounted broadsword blade in a smallsword ? Has anyone seen something in the Scottish realm which might span the fashionable period style for the smallsword hilt versus the owner's desire for a traditional broader blade of the Scottish sword type ?

regards

Daniel

[Jonathan Hopkins]

I have not seen an Andrea Ferara or broadsword blade mounted on a small-sword hilt, but I have seen such blades remounted on later 18th century and even 19th century hilts. One such example is a British Pattern 1805 Naval Officer's Sword with a Ferara blade that is pictured in Harvey Withers' excellent British Military Swords. Another is a British Pattern 1897 Infantry Officer's Sword with a much older broadsword blade. I will attach photos of each below. Perhaps Scotland maintained some kind of family blade tradition in which older blades were remounted with more up to date and fashionable hilts? The threaded tangs found on some broadsword blades might suggest that remounting was expected. (Just making it up as I go along...)

Jonathan

[Daniel Parry]

Jonathan

Thanks for that and for the PM. Like you I had seen what appear to be remounted Scottish broadsword blades on other broadswords or military swords of a heavier nature but never on a smallsword. When you look at these sorts of pieces you get a kind of feel for them and I certainly had the impression that someone had remounted a blade, perhaps a family sword, on a more fashionable hilt, though the combination was odd to say the least, almost looking like a cavalry smallsword if you can imagine. In that sense it is probably a rare piece but ,like many people, despite the obvoius importance of transitional swords in the development of fencing and swordsmanship I don't like the look or feel of them. At the last London international fair one stall had 6 very good transitional rapiers (depending on your terminolgy - I tend to call them transitional rapiers if they are ealier and more rapier-like in overall appearance and transitional smallswords if the look more towards the smallsword end of things but it's six of one and half a dozen of the other really) and I saw a number of people examining them in great detail with academic interest but no one actually buying. The same guy had a couple of nice early 18th century Scottish broadswords too but they are going into auction I think.

Thank you again for the response and info.

Regards

Daniel