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Description
This American infantry officer's sword dates ca.1820-1835, and is mounted with a blade by the Solingen cutler P.D.Luneschloss; initials P.D.L. are on the ricasso. The elegant design of the sword fittings has a pronounced French feel. Blade is surprisingly long, measuring 32"/82 cm. Usually one encounters these spadroon-bladed American swords with 29" blades. Silver wash is essentially intact, and the sword furniture has acquired a uniform grey patina. Vast majority of the swords of this vintage have been over-cleaned and played with by generations of boys and girls, but this one survived in nearly pristine condition. There is some looseness to the hilt, but overall the sword has a solid feel. Blue and gilt is largely intact, and has a beautiful electric glow. To help imagining how the sword looked when silver was polished, take a note of the scabbard throat, where the langets covered it for almost two hundred years.