[Tuthmose]

Greetings all,

For some reason antithetical to my bank account, I find myself lately drawn to Napoleonic era infantry swords; I particularly like the look and what I hear about the handling of French model 1845 and 45/55 blades.

Knowing how many fakes are out and about, and how dodgy the market can be – and having a limited budget – what reasonably-affordable/acquirable books do you suggest I procure to begin acquiring a decent education on the subject? French and British seem to call me the most, but I know how little I know about the subject, so no need to exclude similar blades from Germany/Austria/Belgium/etc. My searches have found several seemingly good tomes, but rather than waste money willy-nilly on everything I can find, I figured that asking the experts was a prudent course of action. Where should I begin?

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance!