Eagle head sword

[ccyooper]

Based upon Horseclover’s great post regarding these swords I decided to look at the sword link he provided. Under Widmann I found a sword that is almost like this one. The sword is in rough shape, missing the wire wrap and the guard is bent but it still has what appears to be gold wash on some of the artillery etching. I see a small W under the langet.  The blade is approximately 29.5 inches. Any opinions on this sword? 

[siclfde]

Don't know anything about em - but sweet!

[reschenk]

You're right - it's definitely a Widmann product as shown by the distinctive "W" on the blade and the grape leaves around the ferrule  at the base of the grip.  It is probably late 1830 to mid-1840 vintage. 

[Horseclover]

It is a Widmann type VI.  These are tiny swords.  Mine may be pretty late, or even a transitional sword using up parts from Widmann's shop.

 

 

 

 

In comparison, vertical on our left.

 

 

The continuation of the Horstmann use provides for some economical finds.

 

Cheers

GC

[ccyooper]

Thank you for posting the additional pictures and for the information. Cool that this could be early enough for the Mexican American war. 

[Horseclover]

Certainly so.  I would put the fancier type VI birds at the earlier period and this one you show would be one of them.  However as mentioned in the other thread, just because a sword was around before, or during, a conflict does not necessarily it was carried during action.   It was after the Mexican war that there were many fancy presentation swords but the fancy swords were not so limited in scope as to who might have owned one. 

 

The two threads here this past week prompted me to update my ongoing files with eagles 3.0 The files relate updates between 2017 and 2020  I have deleted my first G drive upload but both the 2.0 and 3.0 folders have those old files and are valid/retained.  There are now some 13, 300+image files in the 3.0 folders.  Again, this is just a worksheet for me and there are some non eagle swords in there.  My entire sword archive goes beyond eagles but the birds are my primary interest.  If I were to upload my entire blade library, the eagle files wold be about 80% of my image files. 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ndp0rNCqEuooH2EVkLNa6ei9HYFkIStB?usp=sharing

 

While I had hoped to add some notations by this time, real life has intervened.  Also, some will seem misplaced.  At times by accident but in other instances for my own purposes of comparison.  There are several books an eagle enthusiast should have on their shelves.  The following five cover most of them.

 

https://gunandswordcollector.com/product/eagle-pommel-sword/

https://gunandswordcollector.com/product/american-swords-philip-medicus/

https://gunandswordcollector.com/product/us-naval-officers-swords-and-dirks/

https://www.amazon.com/Small-Arms-Sea-Services-Revolution/dp/091059810X

https://www.collectorbookstore.com/Silver-Mounted-Swords-Hilts-The-Lattimer-Family-p/oop-2000-silvermount-x4.htm

 

There are more any American sword collector should have that include more eagle info including the two more recent Hartzler books, Peterson's old testament from 1954, Neumann, from the 1970s, Furr, Hamilton, Bezdek and others. Thillmann's Civil War Army swords book has both some refreshing and misinformed information but I enjoyed the book overall.  Even Mowbray the elder's old testament has some information that needs amendment but the first book linked covers the federal period pretty well.

 

Cheers

GC