Ian and Ed,
What you write is true, as it does take a lot of time, and a lot of stones to turn.
Ian has been lucky to have a work which made him research at the same time - on the spot so to say. Unfortunately I did not have this option, so I had to do my studies from books. This is all right, but you need to have a lot of books, and not all authors write the same about the same episode, so you have to check it once more, to find the description which you believe most in.
Like in my article Saadat Khan Bahadur the First Nawab of Oudh. In one book it says that he took poison, by in another book, written by someone who knew him, it says that he had cancer, and from that he died.
Ed, you hit the nail right on the head. HOW do you start? Reference books and notes in books and articles are very good starters. Time to wait for an opening - which can take a very long time, if you are not lucky.
The first tulwar I bought in 1967, and only recently I saw a picture of a hilt which must have been made at the same place, maybe of the same man who made my hilt. Ok it does not have to take such a long time. A Pesh Kabz I have with a very special decoration, recently I saw a picture of a sword hilt with the same decoration. only a picture without any comments. The Pesh Kabz I bought is 1973.
This may sound frightening, but it is really not, as research can be done in many ways, depending on how deep you want to dig.
Jens
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