EL6725 - A fantastic early Victorian (1837-1845) heavy cavalry officer's sword by Hamburger, possibly carried by a Household Cavalry officer in the Crimean War era. This is supposition on my part, but with some good evidence. Firstly, Hamburger were the official suppliers to the Household Cavalry and a lot of their officers' swords came from Hamburger. Secondly, this has an unusually long blade, at nearly 36.5 inches (1 inch longer than standard heavy cavalry officers' swords). Lastly, this has been service sharpened well and is still quite sharp. During this era (1837-1845) not many heavy cavalry regiments saw active service, but the main obvious exception is the Crimean War, and a sword purchased between 1837 and 1845 very likely could have seen service in that war. Therefore, regardless of whether this sword was for an officer of the Household Cavalry or not, it is very likely to have seen service in the Crimea. The sword is solid and sound, firm in the hilt, a bright blade with only light patina, just in need of light cleaning. The hilt has a lovely dark patina matching the scabbard, and the grip with silver wire is also good. The only flaw worth mentioning is that the scabbard throat is missing and the top of the scabbard has been damaged from repeated drawing and sheathing. There are mentions in period sources of this being done to preserve a sharp blade edge, and we can see that this sword was certainly sharpened for active service and did indeed retain a good edge, even to this day. A great sword, one for the Crimean War/Indian Mutiny era cavalry collectors.
