[WAR OF 1812]. 1803 pattern British Light Infantry or Grenadier officer's sword made by noted Irish cutler John Reed, College Green, Dublin.

26 in. curved blade with clipped point. Overall length 31 1/8 in. With sculpted & beveled guard and lion head pommel & backstrap. Pair of complementary lion heads set upon both langets (all yet retaining considerable gilt finish and/or gold plating). Grip is covered in thin black leather (lightly scuffed with a small number of quaint worm holes) and wrapped with two sizes of stranded twisted copper wire in a threefold arrangement (loose and shifted in certain areas, with several fully restorable breaks). Constructed of similar quality, the wide leather scabbard is adorned with three large & imposing scrolled-edge brass mounts, two equipped with carrying rings and the other serving as a tailpiece drag. Upon the top scabbard mount, the name of one of the scarcest and most desirable makers of the period, John Read, is exquisitely engraved and inscribed, together with the College Green location in Dublin where he practiced his trade from 1796 to 1817. Lightly blemished with gray metal finish throughout (save for a small amount of gold still upon the oval "WARRANTED" marking at hilt), blade is etched with the typical military motifs, most notably the British Seal. Provenance: Found at a farm auction in northern Ohio where the only military items advertised were ancestral Civil War diaries and letters, this lone piece likely having been a souvenir brought home by another family member who fought in the War of 1812 (accompanying description provided by consignor).

A handsomely manufactured sword signed by noted Irish cutler John Read likely brought home as a souvenir from the War of 1812 by an Ohio soldier.


Property from the Inventory of James C. Frasca