Hi Jim,
Many thanks for your comments. This is the officers’ version of the M1869 and a private purchase. The cavalry trooper’s sabre has a 3.6cm wide blade and a simpler guard perforated with holes (made it lighter). What’s common for both versions are the elegant double slits for the wrist cord with tassel. The officer version has a more elaborate decorated guard, sometimes with an added optional St.George or the Habsburg eagle as in this case. The dimensions of the officers’ sabres vary based on the preferences of the owners, and whether they were intended for dress wear or field service. This sabre for dress wear was manufactured by Ludwig Zeitler Wien VIII, who also made daggers and bayonets (est. in 1840?).
The photo below shows Austro-Hungarian hussars in Budapest.
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