EL7145 - A good early (pre-numbered) Wilkinson infantry officer's sword 1845 pattern, circa 1850. Sadly being pre-numbered and not having any initials or crest etched on the blade, we will never know who carried this sword, but it dates to before 1854 and has been service sharpened, so it was presumably carried in one of the 1850s or 1860s campaigns, such as the Crimean War or Indian Mutiny. This is a top quality sword of the day, and probably dates to after 1850, due to the placement of the maker's name on the ricasso, rather than on the base of the fuller as on Wilkinson's earliest examples from the 1840s. The blade is bright and clean, with minimal patina, and firm in the hilt with no movement. The hilt is in good shape, with patina to the brass, very good and complete shagreen and all the grip wire tight and in place. The scabbard was entirely covered in rust when it came to me and I removed the active rust, but have gone no further than that. The scabbard could be cleaned further. The end 'shoe' of the drag is missing, which suggests that this sword was worn in service for a fairly long time and hit the ground quite a bit. A very nice and desirable sword from a great period.
