The British pattern 1822 infantry officer’s sword was the first of the “Gothic hilted” swords. The half-basket guard was also the first of its kind adopted by the British military. The P1822 was adopted with a pipe-back blade, popularised by John Prosser.
The 820mm slightly curved, pipe-back blade ends in a quill point. The blade is unetched and without makers’ details, which is not uncommon for the period. The original leather washer is present. The polished blade is in good condition with speckles of pale of tarnish and some very shallow pitting on the pipe-back and along the edge. The blade was service sharpened and retains a fighting edge.
The gilt brass guard has a folding section and bears an oval cartouche containing King William IV (1830-1837) Royal cypher. The guard is in good condition with a good amount of the original gilt finish. The action of the folding section is crisp and tight. The shagreen grip is in good condition with three strands of copper wire. The hilt’s back strap has acanthus style decoration flowing into the stepped teardrop pommel with a flower head tang button.
The sword is complete with its original black leather scabbard with brass fittings. The locket has an ornate frog stud. Officers below field rank carried their swords in a frog. Officers of field rank wore theirs in slings which required their scabbards to have two loose rings. The leather is in good condition, with slight crazing and small patches of loss to the original finish. The stitching is intact. The sword sheathes and draws smoothly and is held firmly within the scabbard.
This is a good example of a scarce William IV infantry officer’s fighting sword.
