Halberd mark ID request
 

I have a halberd which I always thought was Swedish (dating to 1580-1600), but I can't find the maker's mark in my books about Swedish halberds. German halberd smiths were brought to Sweden to start domestic production in the 16thC. One of the most prolific producers of halberds in Sweden was called Philipus Osterreich and he was active 1567-1609. His mark looks nothing like the one on my halberd. But the style of my halberd is very similar to Styrian (Austrian) halberds, although the way the blade is attached to the pole (probably a replacement) seems Swedish. Landeszeughaus Graz doesn't recognize the mark but suggest it could come from Steyr (upper Austria) or Wiener Neustadt (lower Austria) where the marks are apparently unknown, or indeed anywhere else in the German speaking world.

Interestingly, an earlier thread (see final picture below) in this forum mentioned two Styrian halberds of which the latter is similar to mine:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=halberd

The second Styrian halberd carries a stamped "HW" mark in relief. The mark on my halberd looks like it could be an upside down "HW" mark roughly incised in a similar spot. The marks of Philipus Osterreich in Sweden also appear upside down in a similar spot on his halberds.

Does anyone recognize the mark, or the place of origin of this halberd?

THE WEBPAGE IS http://myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.33304.html AND THEY INDICATE THE ADDRESS OF THE sTYIAN MUSEUM i THINK IN GRAZ... THAT WILL PRODUCE RESULTS...

Many thanks for your comment, Ibrahiim! I have already been in contact with the Styrian armoury in Graz and although the style of the halberd seems Germanic they are unfortunately not familiar with the particular maker's mark.

So the question is whether the halberd was 1) made in a Germanic country (where?) and found its way to Sweden (war booty from 30 Year War?), or perhaps 2) an immigrant Germanic smith manufactured it in Sweden as part of the new arms industry founded there in 16thC?

The attachement is taken from Vapenindustrierna i Arboga (1939) by Åke Meyerson and shows some halberds and shield mark of Philipus Osterreich. Interestingly the marks were stamped upside down. I think the mark on my halberd looks like an upside down incised "HW". There are also some strange scratches on one side which appear to have been made at the same time as the mark.

My opinion- Your halberd is Styrian and made by the same shop as the one in my earlier post. Considering the style, key hole shaped holes, location of the makers mark, etc, I think they are the same. Your HW stamp has likely been ground down during a cleaning at some point in the past.

Many thanks for that CSinTX!

I continue to keep an open mind about the halberd, and still researching. After all, that's part of the fun of collecting. Just now I found some similar halberds (see pics below) in Thomas Del Mar's old auctions which are described as "German 17thC." They show some similarity in the way in which the blade is attached to the shaft, langets and the absence of Zwinge (collaret).

I found a very similar halberd to mine in the Army Museum in Stockholm.

The digital records state that it carries the "HW" mark and its presumed place of origin is Austria. The museum archives contain a referenced letter from a Mr. Reid of the Tower of London dated 1966 which mentions that Vienna has several of these halberds, and that a Dr. Gamber said this type of halberd comes from Upper Austria. Two halberds in the same style found in Stockholm, which both carry the "HW" mark, were most likely made in the same place. So it seems that CSinTX's opinion is right.