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Old 14th June 2018, 05:32 PM   #22
Jim McDougall
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
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I have been watching this thread with great interest, fascinating topic, one which has been largely overlooked by most writers and resources over the years. It seems that Andrew Mowbray was one of the only ones who thought it significant to note these letters which distinctly occur stamped in the ricasso of many British blades of the late 18th into 19th c.

I do have the Mowbray book, and I don't mind at all going through it, it is full of great detail, revealing the depth of knowledge Mr. Mowbray had on these swords. One thing I always appreciated about Andy, was how entirely open and selfless he was in always sharing that, and willingness to help in answering queries from anyone who asked.

In the book, he does note the 'G' as being used to designate Gill, and interestingly also notes an 'O' or an 'Ob' marked on the ricasso in the same fashion, which is suggested to represent Osborn. It is mentioned as well that the GG stamp may have been added by Gunby when he partnered with Osborn in 1808, and wanted to distinguish from Gill's single G.

As Bryce has well pointed out, this seems disputed by the many examples of Osborn blades which seem to carry the G stamp. I also am inclined to think against Gill using a simple letter to signify 'his' blades. He was indeed quite a self promoter, and his blades well illustrate that character. In these times of powerful competition, it seems well placed.

In 18th century it does seem that Sweden (perhaps even others) often used a 'P' letter at the ricasso and the suggestion was that it represented 'proved'. This sounds of course logical.

With the curious majuscule letters at the ricasso on these blades, and the well placed observations and queries Bryce has posed, the question begged is 'what do these signify'?

The obvious interpretation is that these are first letter abbreviations for the names of makers, however the evidence does not carry that through in some cases.
There is one instance of a number in the same ricasso location and likely other such instances. Is it possible these letters have other signified values which may have been coded in accord with production administration?
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