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Hello!
I'm a bladesmith and occasionally restore old weapons. A client recently sent me this. He's not 100% sure what it is but he purchased it thinking it's possibly a French First Empire sabre.
I've been trying to pin down exactly what it is and still don't have a warm fuzzy. Gebruder Weyersburg in Soligen made the blade (now WKC...I emailed them hoping they have decent archives, no response yet). The 'G' on the blade bothers me, I can find no examples of French blades having a 'G' without also denoting which guard the officer belonged to. I tried to see if it's a gendarmerie ceremonial sabre, no luck there. The sun etching says French to me BUT I can't find a similar blade prior to the First Empire.
It could be one of any number of European sabres patterned off the French style, but again...I'm not finding a close enough match. At this point I'm assuming it's a personal purchase blade...but which nation?
(I've also posted to r/SWORDS and pinged Schola Gladiatoria via email)
any good books for a nonspecialist interested in learning more about the Maya and other civilizations in the precolumbian americas?
How easy was it in the US Military to fake being an officer? We’re there any stops in place to prevent random people just buying a uniform?
Did U.S. President Nixon have a speech where he admitted to "being caught with his hand in the cookie jar"? I seem to remember from high school history class that Nixon, when confronted with an abuse of his power, responded by saying sometimes you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar. Now, I can not find a record of Nixon or any other politician saying this or something similar. Is this a real quote?
How tall were middle and upper class people, i.e. not malnourished peasants, during the napoleonic era? Online it says Napoleon was average height for a frenchman, but I frequently see references to his height from the letters of those that knew him, e.g. "runt", "little bastard", etc.
How many people voted in the election of 1796? Can John Adams’ascension to the presidency be called democratic ?
What was the social and cultural relationship between Macedonia and the Greek states prior to Phillip II?
How were battlefields cleaned up throughout history if at all? I'd imagine something was to be done with all the bodies other than just let them be crowfood Edit: spelling
Is there a way to filter posts in /r/AskHistorians so that I can browse posts that have actual answers and not just "Your comment has been removed" comments?
An example used in the book I'm reading posed the probability of Nixon meeting Chairman Mao, which would be the meeting of two rival leaders in person. This had me wonder, what if one of them personally killed the other? Of course in modern history leaders no longer participate as agents in conflict, deferring to their militaries or some variation of executioner. So, the question is, when was the last time a leader personally killed his rival leader?
When did “Gentlemen’s clubs” stop having the connotations of leather chairs, cigars, and bushy mustaches to the connotation of cheap cigarettes, sticky floors, and bushy ...
Did all aristocratic men in Europe wear wigs in the 18th century, or did some choose to show their natural hair?
Can someone recommend me some WWII memoirs? I'm mostly interested in memoirs from generals (I recently ordered Mainstein's) so I would really appreciate a suggestion.
Also, are these types of questions (recommendations, suggestions etc) allowed as topics on this sub?
Was Professor James Moriarty a germanophile in the original Sherlock Holmes stories as he appears to be one in the 2011 film.
If so, was this indicative of the growing tensions between the two nations? Was there growing tensions between the peoples and not just rival governments?
When and why did operatic singing diverge from your more common singing style?
Saw some interesting military helmets at someone’s house. I recognized one as a Nazi helmet but I didn’t know the other (there was one canvas covered green one in the center).
I didn’t discuss them as I was there on business and it was not Germaine (pun intended) to the conversation. What are these helmets origins?
Why were people generally shorter in times before now?
A friend of mine is obsessed by the idea of a past advanced civilization that has been here on Earth, he's discussing Enki and Anki(?), basically the annunaki. While I like to ponder the what if factor, the main point of them not existing is that we would have found something.
Couldn't they have build a advanced society that couldn't be tracked back, using , for example,stones as material, and other organic building materials, like hemp as another example?
Were tools made of mostly tin ever made in the Chalcolithic period or previous? Not bronze, only tin.
About how many surveillance files did the GDR's State Security Service compile?
Every time I hear about that giant cement structure they built to contain the Chernobyl power plant, it's called a "sarcophagus" this is a weird term for it, why do people use such an unusual term to describe this concrete structure.
I want to learn more about the Krupp dynasty, what are some good books on the subject? Prefereably ones written after the company stopped being a "family company" in 1966
Who is this man? Featured at The Depot (converted old city train depot) in Florala, AL. Hostess said he was the train conductor for the train that passed through town. No one knows who he is. The station's original name was Tyner Station built in 1902 before it was restored and converted into a restaurant. https://imgur.com/a/mG6YUw7
How did infantry repulse heavy calvary charges in the Middle Ages?
I am currently reading “The Black Prince” by Michael Jones and it chronicles the battle of Crecy from the English perspective. He mentions the man-at-arms setting down their arms, locking arms with the man to the right and left, and bracing while being slammed into by heavily armored French knights.
Was this the best that could be done before pole arms came into heavy usage? A calvary charge is always depicted as terrifying in many sources but it often doesn’t mention just how lines or groups of infantry could withstand them.
Alright, I've read God's Playground cover to cover. Where do I go next for some good old Polish history, specifically Commonwealth-era?
Are there any sourcebooks for the Roman empire similar to Lynda Garland's Ancient Roma: From the Early Republic to the Assassination of Julius Caesar ?
There are stories of ancient civilizations salting the earth of their defeated enemy’s land. Is there any example of this having an effect on modern agriculture?
Why did the Persians build bridges to cross the Dardanelles instead of the Bosphorus? The Bosphorus seems narrower on maps today. Did it have a stronger current?
What percentage of Jews killed in the Holocaust were observant?