19th century fencing foils

[Ed]

Originally Posted by William V.

Hello over there

On the special whish of a single person I'm going to present to the forum a matching pair of late 19th century fencing foils. The "ethnographic" aspect may be found in their special grip. They are fitted with a so called "German handle" which means that the quillons are attached directly below the guard, leaving a very small ricasso (in contrast to the Italian style).
The blades were imported by J.H. Lau at 75 Chambers Street, New York. They are both forged at Solingen (Germany) etched with some kind of floral pattern. I assume that they were not used for actual fencing but are nevertheless in a very good condition.

Does anyone have further information on J.H. Lau? I found out a great deal, but I'm still looking for a date when he opened his shop in NY.

All the best


William

Hi.

He was a tall man as the clip demonstrates. And he entered the country in 1889.

Fortunately you can search over at the New York Times.



Here is the first page of a search I made

There are a lot of hits, perhaps what you are looking for is in there somewhere. You might find copies of the NYC Directory and see where his establishment makes it's first appearance.

Good luck.