British 1845/54 Infantry Officers Sword. Scottish Officer

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British Pattern 1854 Infantry Sword Pattern 1845/54 Victorian Army Sword British 1845/54 Infantry Officers Sword. Scottish Officer #3 British 1845/54 Infantry Officers Sword. Scottish Officer #4 British 1845/54 Infantry Officers Sword. Scottish Officer #5 British 1845/54 Infantry Officers Sword. Scottish Officer #6 British 1845/54 Infantry Officers Sword. Scottish Officer #7 British 1845/54 Infantry Officers Sword. Scottish Officer #8 British 1845/54 Infantry Officers Sword. Scottish Officer #9
The British 1845/54-pattern infantry sword differs from the earlier Gothic hilted British swords in that it has a fixed, not folding guard, married to the Wilkinson pattern 1845 blade.

The 830mm single-edged blade is double-edged for the last 230mm and has a flat spine. A broad single fuller runs for 535mm from the ricasso on both sides. The blade terminates in a spear point. The blade is in good condition with some very pale, speckled tarnishing and one small patch of shallow pitting to the beginning of the fuller on one side. This is a robust fighting sword and the last third of the blade was service sharpened and is still very sharp. The spine is 7mm thick at the ricasso and the ricasso is 28mm wide. The ricasso bears the cutlers’ name, Robert Fraser & Sons, Church Street, Inverness. The obverse ricasso bears a proof slug known to have been used by the Pillins, a top 19th Century blade making family.

Interestingly, the blade is unadorned, which is unusual for an officer’s sword. Officer’s swords were status symbols as well as weapons. The blade was probably supplied to the retailer un-etched in order to allow a future customer to choose their adornment. Either this sword was the property of a cash strapped entry level officer, a second lieutenant, or it was purchased as a fighting sword (in addition to their beautifully etched dress sword) by an officer due to embark on campaign. The fact that the blade was service sharpened supports the latter theory. 

The solid brass guard is the Gothic 1854 pattern that replaced the folding guard of the earlier 1822 and 1845 pattern swords. The guard bears an oval cartouche containing Queen Victoria’s Royal cypher and is in generally good condition. There are minor dings and dents to the guard and the bars.   

The ray skin grip is in good condition with a single twisted brass wire. The hilt’s back strap has acanthus style decoration flowing into the stepped pommel with a rounded tang button. The blade is firm in the hilt.

This is a good example of a Victorian officer’s fighting sword.

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