La Sciabola: Italian Swords, 1815 to 1915

 
 

La Sciabola

The identification of Italian swords of the 1800s is challenging. Almost nothing has been written in English regarding the sword models, their makers and their markings, and the subject is not a mainstream one amongst Italian researchers and academics. This book is the culmination of years of collating information from a variety of sources, wheedling out discrepancies and painstakingly attempting to distil truths from what was left over. Many thousands of hours have been dedicated to translating texts, communicating with museums and corroborating as much information as possible. Many of these findings are being presented in English for the very first time. The decision to publish this book’s manuscript via my website, as an archive, wasn’t easy to make. I’d always intended to release it as both an ebook and then a print-on-demand book through Amazon KDP but, with the average cost of this sort of book starting at £50, the majority of that would go directly to Amazon. Frankly, I’d rather pass that on as a saving to my fellow researchers and collectors, and so, taking into account the extra Squarespace and PayPal fees for setting this up I am able to sell permanent access for a more reasonable £34.99. Publishing the manuscript here also offers many advantages as the contents are searchable, any corrections or updates will be adjusted immediately*, high definition photographs can be viewed and inspected in detail, and readers can message me whenever they like.

* For instance, a new section on sidearms has just been added.

La Sciabola
£34.99
One time

The book includes entries on all of the most important swords of the period 1815 to 1915, many high-resolution illustrations and around 100 brand-new schematical drawings. If there is enough interest in this archive then a print book will follow, as will a new chapter on sidearms and so on. For now, I’m happy to grant permission for purchasers to download the pages and print them for a single personal copy. The book’s contents:

Preface

The Post-Napoleonic Swords

  • The 1774 Model Sword for Infantry Officers, the ‘Sciabola d’Epoca’

  • The 1814 Model Sabre for Light Cavalry Troopers and Lancers

  • The 1814 Model Sword for Heavy Cavalry Troopers

  • The 1819 Model Sabre for Infantry Officers

  • The 1819 Model Sabre for Artillery Officers

  • The 1819 Model Sabre for Engineer Corps Officers

  • The 1819 Model Sabre for Fort Officers

  • The 1824 Model Sword for Line Cavalry Troopers and Mounted Carabinieri Troopers

  • The 1829 Model Sword for Heavy Cavalry Troopers

  • The 1829 Model Sabre for Light Cavalry Troopers

The Era of Carlo Alberto

  • The 1833 Model Sword for Infantry Officers, the ‘Albertina’

  • The 1833 Model Sword for Administrative Service Officers

  • The 1833 Model Sword for Medical Officers

  • The 1833 Model Sabre for Artillery and Train Officers

  • The 1833 Model Sabre for Mounted Artillery Officers

  • The 1833 Model Sabre for Mounted Artillery Troopers

  • The 1833 Model Mounted Artillery Non-Commissioned Officers’ Sabre

  • The 1833 Model Sabre for Infantry Quartermasters and Bandsmen

  • The 1833 Model Sabre for Guard’Armi Personnel

  • The 1833 Model Heavy Cavalry Officers’ Sabre

  • The 1833 Model Cavalry Officers’ Sabre

  • The 1834 Model Heavy Cavalry Troopers’ Sword

  • The 1834 Model Sabre for Cavalry Troopers and the Mounted Carabinieri

  • The 1843 Model Sabre for the General Staff Officers

The Era of Vittorio Emanuele II

  • The First War of Italian Independence

  • The Siege of Rome

  • The Reforms of Alfonso La Marmora and Camillo Benso

  • The 1850 Model Sabre for Bersaglieri Officers

  • The 1855 Model Sabre for Infantry Officers

  • War in the Crimea

  • The Second War of Italian Independence

  • The 1860 Model Sabre for Cavalry Troopers

  • The 1860 Model Sabre for Non-Commissioned Cavalry Officers

  • The 1860 Model Hungarian Legion Sabre

  • The Expedition of the Thousand

The Kingdom of Italy

  • The 1864 Model Sabre for Cavalry Officers

  • The 1864 Model Sabre for Officers of the Regiment of Guides

  • The 1864 Model Sabre for Officers of the Piacenza Hussars

  • The Third War of Italian Independence

  • The 1871 Model Sabre for Cavalry Troopers

  • The 1871-29 Model Sabre for Cavalry Troopers

  • The 1873 Model Sabre for Cavalry Officers

The Era of Umberto I

  • The Adoption of Parise

  • The Death of Garibaldi

  • The 1887 Model Sabre for Colonial Infantry Officers

  • The 1888 Model Sabre for Infantry Officers

  • The 1888 Model Sabre for Artillery Troopers

  • The 1900 Model Sword for Cavalry Troopers

  • The 1900-09 Model Sword for Cavalry Troopers

The Swords of Giuseppe Garibaldi

Makers and Markings

Key Points in Italian History

Glossary

Gallery

Acknowledgements

Sources and Recommended Reading List

Matthew FordeComment