Memorabilia - Militaria - Japanese Swords

Ancient Japanese swords were straight and two-edged. During the 9th century, the "modern" style of sword, which has a single-edged curved blade, was developed. From this time on, sword making flourished in south-west Japan.

During the 11th and 12th centuries, widespread civil war created a great demand for swords. The samurai warrior caste arose during this period. The samurai carried a pair of swords, one long and one short, called a "daisho". Merchants and others could carry a single sword but wearing the daisho was an exclusive privilege of the samurai.

The Emperor Go-Tuba, who reigned from 1183 to 1198, was a connoisseur of swords. He encouraged swordsmiths to develop their art and his reign was a peak in the history of the Japanese sword.

Between 1250 and 1350, swords were made by three swordsmiths, Goro Masahune, Toshiro Yoshimitsu and Go Yoshihiro, who are regarded as the greatest of Japanese sword makers.

In Medieval times, swords were tested by highly respected, expert testers. These tests were carried on on condemned criminals or corpses. Some twenty tests were prescribed ranging from severing a hand to cutting through the hips. An expert tester with a first class blade could cut through three bodies at one stroke.

Edo Period sword

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Memorabilia - Edged Weapons (European)

The first bronze swords were made about 2,000 BC. Two types of bronze swords were made: a cutting sword with a broad leaf-shaped blade and a thrusting sword with a longer, narrow blade. The Assyrians are believed to have introduced the sword as a weapon of war.

Iron swords were used by the Greeks from the seventh century BC. Because of rusting, very few iron swords from before the 15th century have survived although older bronze swords are relatively common.

The modern Nepalese Ghurkha kukri is a shortened adaptation of the Greek kopis, a slashing sword used in the 5th century BC.

The main European source of iron ore was Styria, in present-day Austria, and the cities of Innsbruck and Passau produced the best blades for knives throughout the Middle Ages.

In the 8th century, the Vikings revolutionised sword making with their discovery of the process of carbonising iron by repeatedly folding and beating the heated metal. This allowed them to make tough, hard swords that held a superior edge and did not easily bend. The Japanese developed similar techniques some centuries later.

 Viking sword

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Memorabilia - Militaria

The term "militaria" is used for military collectables excluding weapons. Firearms and edged weapons are, of course, collectible in their own right. Types of collectible militaria include uniforms, headdress, badges and medals.

Relatively few uniforms from before the 20th century have survived; not only were they usually subject to extremely hard ware but they tend to be very susceptible to moths. 

Headdress has generally survived little better than uniforms. Examples prior to the late 19th century are rare. The British officers’ spiked blue cloth helmet, the "pickelhaube", worn between 1873 and 1914, is the earliest widely available example. The pickelhaube was replaced by peaked caps for the infantry and a variety of small, round pillbox caps for the cavalry. These  were replaced, in turn, by the field service cap and the beret.

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