This is a rare survivor, with leather and gilt mounts, of an increasingly uncommon sword, namely the levee pattern, normally only found in a steel scabbard. This example, retailed by Levy of King William Street, Strand, London, belonged to H L Stirling, Royal Marines, and is accompanied by his warrant as a 1st Lieutenant, dated 1862.
The warrant is on fabric-backed paper, somewhat frail from age, with the signature of Queen Victoria at the top left and various other signatures to the bottom. The warrant describes him as 'Henry Luxmoore Stirling Gent. First Lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Marines'. The commission document on its own is worth ?100+ with the Queen's signature, but I am selling the two as a unit, as this is how I bought them.
The sword has its original black patent leather lining, somewhat frail and distressed in parts. The scabbard mounts appear to be lacquered. I have not endeavoured to remove this, having cleaned only the hilt, which was covered in old grease and varnish, traces of which remain. The blade has been stored in the damp at some stage and has been carefully hand cleaned, most of the etching is fairly clear, but the original frosted finish has vanished. There are small scattered patches of old pitting, mostly at the bottom end of the blade beyond the engraving. This sword could date to as early as the tail end of the Crimean War. I will look him up in an Army List to find out when he was first commissioned as 2nd Lt, which will give me the answer to this.
If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.
[Edged Weapons : Swords : British : 19th Century]
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