Here is my other hunting sword

[Triarii]

Originally Posted by urbanspaceman

It's Keith - by all means.
Attachment 246547
Attachment 246548
Attachment 246549
it is still a very sharp blade.

Thanks Keith. Much appreciated. I have two, one with the usual form of shell guard and the other identical to the one in Stuart Mowbrays work. Which means I missed the one that's similar to yours.

[Jim McDougall]

It seems there was a confluence of actual Solingen blades which came into the shops in the Hounslow enterprise, and while certainly some of the German makers there do appear to have made blades, there is good potential for numbers of swords hilted there with imported blades.

The marking of blades with the makers own name was contrary to the conventions of English makers, and possibly there might have been some resistance to doing so by the German and English both in some cases.
The seemingly small number of blades marked with Hounslow or the makers known in such blades are not representative of the numbers of swords of the styles associated with Hounslow.

By the later years of the Hounslow shops c. 1640s, the familiar style of the hilts of these hangers (riding swords) had gained renown, and became somewhat known as of the 'Hounslow school'. As such the hilt style continued in degree for some time after the shops in Hounslow had ceased, likely in about 1670s, though unclear it appears they were mostly gone.

Keith, this amazing example of yours with the curiously unique date which appears outside the normally seen sequences of numbers associated with magic etc,......might be related to the following.
'
In Wallace Collection (Mann, 1962, p.365) there is a 'falchion' which I have seen in various references and known as the PRINS ANGLIE sword. Mann describes it as English c. 1600-20, with the blade being 'either English or German'. The inscription on the blade;
EDWARDVS . PRINS. ANGLIE
In the catalog, A717 (the falchion) the famed collector/writer the Baron de Cosson, wrote in "Society of Antiquaries" proceedings, 2nd series, XVIII, 21 Jun 1900, p,206:
"...early in the 17th c. there was a strong antiquarian movement in England which found expression in books on heraldry containing much fictitious lore, "

further, noting the PRINS ANGLIE swords, he notes a number of swords with this inscription (described in 1786) and a running wolf (717) noting the wolf does not preclude its being marked by a smith in England rather than in Solingen. A mark of a bell accompanies the wolf on the blade.
this mark was known to John Phillipes of the armorers company in London in 1578.

Mann notes further;
"...the existence of several 17th century swords mounted in English hilts and bearing a like inscription ".
Similar blades bear the names;
ROBERTUS BRUSCHIUS SCOTORUM REX 1310 (Robert the Bruce of Scotland (1274-1329)
MARCHIO RODERICIS BIVAR (Rodrigo de Bivar, THE CID) marchio=brand, mark
HUGH LUPUS. King of the Goths (1047-1101) Norman England known as 'the wolf'.

Perhaps, your 'Hounslow' might fall into this category,which seems to have been the climate of historical and heraldic lore of the times ?
What is confounding is the word ANNO with the numbers 1553.........which would defeat the 'magic numbers' category summarily. Again, this would move toward something commemorative as you have neatly described.

It is noted that English blades copying German were certainly in place in Hounslow, and possibly even earlier (Greenwich?). Look at the blade point with clipped tip on example A717, and the curious neoclassic helmeted head pommel.

My Hounslow has a distinct German running wolf, and in latten (brass) as with German convention, but in the serrated back blade common to Hounslow. dating 1630s-40? No name, noting many of these makers there did not add their names.

The last pic of a Hounslow 'lionhead' which I think dates c1650s and represents what I take as 'Hounslow school' (Nuemann, 1973).

[Triarii]

Interesting hilt on that bottom right photo. Style of the ribbon and piercings is very much like that often seen on the English Type 87 and Type 91 hilts as AVB Norman calls them, like this one.

There's one of those Prins Anglie swords in the Fitzwilliam collection.

The part of this thread discussing makers names on blades, and someone asking me how long it took to make a single sword (no idea) has made me think, noting the caveat that we don't have that many survivors from the mid C17th, did smiths mark every blade that they made? If not, why only certain ones?

[Hotspur]

I would think the unmarked blades may have just been more a trade thing. I see a lot of US swords without any makers marks and I'm certain they are British production. Then British, German and French blades in American hilts. Italy, Spain and other forgings.

Cheers
GC