Actually I wanted to share the true story of the Schmidt items in the Higgins and Metropolitan Museum of Art. There was a reason the replica armors were there, and while primary focus was on armor, other weapons were in degree included.
From "Arms and Armor: From the Atelier of Ernst Schmidt. Munich"
This is (ironically) a facsmile of the original book published c.1910. presented to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1934 by the widow of Bashford Dean (who was the first curator of the Met).
The copy I have was printed in 1967 by the late Andrew Mowbray.
Dean had acquired examples of Schmidt's work through a number of important collections and actually exhibited these alongside originals as educational items.
This was also the case with the Higgins Armory which opened in 1931. Authentic armor was scarce and costly and the Schmidt examples they had served well until Hearst and MacKay collections were sold in 1939, when Schmidt examples were withdrawn , though one example was again held for educational purposes.
In my original notes I was not fully aware of the circumstances of the display at these prestigious museums, and clearly far from being hoodwinked by them, they were of such quality that they were displayed as educational examples. While primarily referring to 'harness' (suits of armor) other arms were also present.
In Sir Guy Lakings venerable "Record of European Arms and Armor" there was an instance of an important armor with which an additional view was needed in photographs and a Schmidt example was illustrated adjacent to the original harness.
Hence, in the earlier days of collecting, these 'replicas' were made in good faith and served well as representative examples to educate prospective collectors.
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