Swords and sword pommels from the Schwerzenbach collection

With a history of sword and dagger

This book publishes Carl von Schwerzenbach's most comprehensive collection of 19th century sword pommels, which is unparalleled in its diversity and artistry of form. During his lifetime, von Schwerzenbach collected hundreds of different sword pommels from different centuries and countries and was thus able to make a significant contribution to the history of the European sword for historians and collectors.

Around 800 daggers, swords and sword pommels are described and illustrated in this book. Drawings have been made of the hallmarks and weapon foam marks, which are so important to collectors for determining authenticity, and details of their origin have been included. This work is thus a comprehensive reference work for dating and determining the origin of swords and rapiers and at the same time provides a deep insight into the history of the development of the sword in Europe as well as into the thinking and artistic practice of the weaponsmiths of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

The introductory text and the descriptions were written by Robert Forrer, at the time an art historian, archaeologist and museum director. This is the revised edition from 1905 and the photos have been digitally reworked. The text is in new German spelling.

Table of contents

Chapter 1 The development of the dagger and sword
Bone daggers in Palaeolithic times
Neolithic daggers
Copper daggers and short swords
Daggers and swords of the Bronze Age
Swords from the Hallstatt period
Swords of the Latène period
The Roman gladius
The scramasax of the Migration Period and its successors
The spatha of the Migration and Merovingian periods
The Carolingian spatha
Romanesque swords
Gothic swords
Gothic daggers
Renaissance daggers
Renaissance swords
Old artist's designs for sword and dagger hilts

Chapter 2 The swords and sword pommels in the Carl von Schwerzenbach Collection
Cast iron sword pommels
Sword pommels made of jasper, crystal and the like
Sword pommels with artist's plaques
Sword pommels as clock and balance weights and the like
Sword pommels and their dating
Provenance of sword pommels
Marks on sword pommels
Division of labor in the manufacture of weapons
The decoration of Renaissance pommels
About the ramifications of the pommel shapes
Descriptive text for plates I-LX
Illustrated plates I- LX
Index of weapon marks
Index of the places mentioned in the text
Places of manufacture and inspection
Names of the armourers
Artists' names
Sword and dagger names
Pommel shapes
Museums and collections

Included in the scope of delivery

• Language: German
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 252
• With 60 plates and 360 illustrations
• by Dr. R. Forrer (Strasbourg)
• Revised reprint from 1905