Osborn's G Stamp

[Jim McDougall]

Hi Bryce,
It remains a mystery, the actual purpose or meanings of these capital letters at the forte in these blades.
Bezdek ("Swords & Sword Makers of England and Scotland", 2003) notes on p.32 that a crown over letter and number indicates"
E=Enfield
S= Solingen
W=Wilkinson
B= Birmingham
It is unclear exactly when these letters might have been used in this manner, obviously Wilkinson was not making swords until 1850s; Enfield was not officially producing until early 1800s.
Also, these were crowned stamps, not just capital letters.

On the 'IP' 'OVER' the etched Prosser on the blade. This is truly an anomaly. As far as I have known, officers swords were not required to be inspected or 'proved' as they were private purchase by officers.

Bezdek (op.cit. p.141) notes"
Prosser (John) registered his 'IP' mark at Goldsmith Hall in April, 1796.
So clearly this ligature is his mark, and as he was indeed an official artisan for the Crown, the mark is well representative......but why deface the etched makers motif ?

[Hotspur]

Shiloh has/had a sabre not marked to Osborn but with an American motif etch and stamped G.

I've no other comment aside from including it here.

Cheers
GC

[Bryce]

G'day Guys,

Thank you GC for posting the G stamped sword above.


Here is another G stamped Osborn and Gunby marked blade. This one also has the sans serif G. I am yet to come across an Osborn and Gunby marked sword which has the G stamp with "serifs".


Cheers,

Bryce

[Bryce]

G'day Guys,

Came across this Osborn and Gunby marked sword at the Royal Armouries (Object IX.354). There are good photos showing the ricasso on both sides of the blade. There are no G stamps on the blade, so this supports the theory that Osborn and Gunby stopped using the G stamp at some stage. Unfortunately this sword has no features we can use to narrow down the date of manufacture.

Cheers,
Bryce

[Jim McDougall]

Hi Bryce,
Thank you for keeping us up to date on this topic! This is an interesting example of the M1796 officers sword, which I think was used for some time even beyond the 1822 patterns as it was entirely a dress sword. It seems I read somewhere that British officers hated these for use on campaign.

The Osborn & Gunby inscription and motif and absence of the forte letter stamp we have been discussing is most interesting. It seems that Mowbray had suggested as partners (1808) the use of a GG was used instead of the O or Ob formerly used.

Without really having a better idea of what these letters stamped at the forte actually meant it is hard to really say if a blade without them can be placed in a certain time frame. At one point it seems it was suggested that these letters may have been indicating a blade or sword for export to America. If that was the case, perhaps this was simply one that was for British use?

[Bryce]

G'day Jim,

All Osborn marked officers' swords have either a G or GG stamp. Most Osborn and Gunby swords have either a G or GG stamp, so the GG stamp does not differentiate Osborn and Gunby made swords from those made solely by Osborn. I have never come across an Osborn marked sword with an O or Ob stamp. What does differentiate Osborn swords from those made by Osborn and Gunby is the font of the G stamp. Osborn and Gunby made swords have a sans serif G stamp. There is also no correlation with swords made for export to America with the presence or absence of a G stamp. If enough dated Osborn and Gunby officers' swords could be examined, I am sure we would find that past a certain date, Osborn and Gunby stopped using the G stamp.


Cheers,

Bryce

[Jim McDougall]

Thanks very much Bryce! That insight explains a lot, and I know you've done extensive research on this topic and with these swords so I will definitely amend my notes.
All the best
Jim