Swords for Sea Service

Extending the work begun by the Late Captain H.T.A. Bosanquet in his book The Naval Officer's Sword (HMSO, 1955, now out of print), this new study is based on the sword collection, which includes dirks and cutlasses, in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. it is founded on much research, for while the Museum's collection has grown to more than four times the size of that available to Captain Bosanquet, many weapons outside it have also been examined. Foreign naval weapons are described in much greater detail than before. Photographs of some 150 swords, dirks and cutlasses illustrate the more important variations relating to each type, and each general group is drawn together to present a coherent story, with weapons placed in a personal historical context by the provision of brief biographical studies of those by whom they were used. This work also provides much further information about the British sword trade, with comments on the industry and an extensive list of makers and retailers.