Please help me identify the age and markings on this Rapier.

Jim McDougall · 7th September 2022, 02:44 AM

Thank you so much guys!
I believe this is indeed ivory, and clearly has been on this for a very long time. This is of course atypical for hilts on these kinds of swords, but in colonial situations there were were few limitations to the personalizing of a weapon. Actually, the use of ivory and the remnants of black japanning strongly suggests possible maritime provenance on a vessel in the Spanish Main, an intriguing thought!

Swords were indeed a key weapon and despite the advent of firearms, these quickly became primary arms with issues with misfires, lack of ammunition, inability to reload in heat of battle and in melee etc.
The fact that there is a subtle kind of art that resides in often the simplest of edged weapon in the design and character of many of the elements is something not often seen by most people.
Not the fancy ceremonial weapons often in high end catalogs, but the 'real deal' that were often 'there' in historic moments often portrayed in famed art work.

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7th September 2022, 02:44 AM	#18
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,196	Thank you so much guys! I believe this is indeed ivory, and clearly has been on this for a very long time. This is of course atypical for hilts on these kinds of swords, but in colonial situations there were were few limitations to the personalizing of a weapon. Actually, the use of ivory and the remnants of black japanning strongly suggests possible maritime provenance on a vessel in the Spanish Main, an intriguing thought! Swords were indeed a key weapon and despite the advent of firearms, these quickly became primary arms with issues with misfires, lack of ammunition, inability to reload in heat of battle and in melee etc. The fact that there is a subtle kind of art that resides in often the simplest of edged weapon in the design and character of many of the elements is something not often seen by most people. Not the fancy ceremonial weapons often in high end catalogs, but the 'real deal' that were often 'there' in historic moments often portrayed in famed art work.