Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim McDougall
Nice Tim!! These are sort of the unattended corner of arms collecting in most areas, and while most attention is given to the same military history that has been constantly written on and focused on. Most never realize that Italy, bother before and after unification had pretty rich and complex military history.
The best book on these weapons is on the regulation arms by Calamendrei, I forget the title and I'll see if I can get to it. My Italian is a bit rusty  but it can be navigated through. |
I believe Storia dell'Arma Bianca Italiana is the title. I've taken to listing reference books as christmas and birthday present requests as they are in a good spot of being not too expensive but affordable for present-level gifts, and they are actually useful for my own hobbies as opposed to the endless shirts I will never wear. Still looking for a copy of my own & unwilling to pay scalper prices.
I would be remiss without mentioning Matthew Forde's La Sciabola, which you can access via the internet with a 1-time-fee as well as a physical copy he occasionally has for sale. I owe him many sword photos when I get my army-in-waiting sent to me finally. It is in English with some photos in the back though more of a chronology of various patterns & tied to the Savoy history of unifying Italy. Would go so far as to say there is an implicit assumption the reader is mildly familiar with Italian sabres to begin with, or is able to supplement reading with google-fu, but that is by no means a criticism at large, just something to be aware of going in. From what I've learned over my brief tenure so far, the major roadblock in reprints and new books is less the information and more museum copyright laws for the photos listed which makes it quite difficult.
What is the most impressive element of the 1833 pictured above, to me, is that it has retained the throat of the scabbard! Not sure why those were such high priority thefts and only for Italian swords.