Original British Victorian P-1845 Officer’s Dress Sword by Simpson & Rook with Steel Scabbard c.1870 – VR Marked With Owner’s Initials Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an very nice British Infantry Officers Dress or Parade Sword (1845 Pattern Sword). The P1845 was one of several “Gothic Hilt” Infantry swords put into service by the British Empire. These originally had curved blades, but towards the end of the 19th century they became quite straight.

This Victorian-era infantry officer’s sword features a single fullered etched blade and beautiful gothic style hilt in brass, with a full guard. The basket is marked with the QUEEN’S CROWN / VR Royal Cypher of Queen Victoria, used before 1876 when she was crowned the Empress of India. This is also seen on either side of the blade in the etching, which is still clear.

The blade ricasso has the standard 6 pointed star around a brass plug stamped PROVED, and the reverse has the manufacturer or retailer information:

SIMPSON & ROOK
LITTLE BRITAIN

The grip looks to be shark skin shagreen wrapped wood, and the wire wrapping is intact and complete. The skin has wear with some minor loss but still presents itself wonderfully. The basket has a lovely lightly oxidized patina. The blade is tight to the grip, and the surface has a nice worn patina, without any major rust or damage.

The scabbard is the standard straight steel type, with two hanger rings. It looks to have been issued in bright steel, though it could have originally been blued and lost the finish. The throat at the top looks to be nickel alloy. There are some dents in the scabbard body, but they do not interfere with sheathing the blade. It has a lovely oxidized patina.

This would make an excellent display piece for any British Victorian Era collection. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Blade length: 30 1/2”
Overall length: 35 3/4”
Scabbard length: 31”
Basket dimensions: 4″ width x 4 1/2” length