EL6914 - A good mid-Victorian Royal Artillery officer's sword , numbered 14402 for 1866, named to George Mackinlay. The blade is also etched with Mackinlay's heraldic crest and initials, so together with the Wilkinson proof book entry (see images) there is no doubt of the provenance. Mackinlay was a career soldier and rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Artillery, serving in Malta and the Punjab in India. Perhaps even more notably, he was one of the observers on the 1882 'Transit of Venus Expedition' in Jamaica ( https://ras.ac.uk/library/about-the-library2e45
). There is surely a lot more research to do on this interesting officer, and he lived to age 81, dying in 1928. The sword is in generally very good condition, with one flaw - the tip of the blade seems to have become corroded at some point, resulting in some pitting there. Ideally this could be ground and re-polished, but I simply removed the active rust there and have left it alone for the next owner. The rest of the blade is in very good condition, with good polish and deeply defined etching. The blade is firm in the hilt and has not been service sharpened. The hilt is in good condition and the grip shagreen and wire are good. Complete with field service scabbard. A good sword by the top maker, with lots of research potential.
