C & T Auctioneers and Valuers Ltd
Lot 856
Extremely Rare British Made (Firmin & Sons) Confederate States of America Dolphin Head Naval Officers Dress Sword, the sword with deep brass dish guard with relief of the confederate naval insignia of anchor over crossed cannons in oval cartouche, cotton plants and tobacco leaves relief through the knuckle bow leading to the sea serpent / dolphin head pommel and back strap designed to look like scales. Fish skin covered grip with the original wire binding. The slightly curved steel blade is finely etched with foliage and the 2nd pattern confederate flag with anchor behind. Other side of the blade has etched foliage, cotton plants and tobacco leaves, centre with the insignia of the confederate navy. Blade forte with makers details, “FIRMIN & SONS 153 STRAND & 13 Conduct St LONDON”. The blade 76 ½ cms in length. Some surface staining. Evidence of polishing to the hilt but generally good example. No scabbard. Provenance: This sword was originally purchased in a market in Preston (Lancashire, North West, England) in 1938 and was kept by a collector since then until October 1990 when the sword was sold / traded with another collector, the late Jerry Withers, who in turn had kept the sword until his passing in December 2020. The sword, along with other items from Withers collection has been consigned to C&T Auctioneers and Valuers Ltd. Paperwork relating to the transaction for the sword is included with the lot. The Confederate "Dolphin Head" Naval Officer's Sword was based upon the English Pattern 1827 Lion's Head Naval Officer's Sword, and retained the solid guard with folding counter guard of the English sword pattern, but introduced new decorative motifs including the sea serpent pommel cap with scaled backstrap, as well as the Confederate naval blade and guard designs. The design of the sword has been attributed to George T. Sinclair of the Confederate Navy. The swords are encountered with two different retailer markings. The first were made by Robert Mole of Birmingham and bear the marks of Courtney & Tennent of Charleston, SC. The other variation is the Firmin retailer marked sword, whose maker (or makers) are not currently known. Both versions of the swords from the two retailers exhibit two variations in the blade etching, with the primary difference being in the presentation of the Confederate national flag. The two known Courtney & Tennent variations use the Confederate 1st National Flag with three wide horizontal stripes and a square canton. One version depicts 11 stars in a circle within the canton, the other version leaves the canton blank. The two previously known variations of the Firmin blade etching depict a 1st National Flag as well, but with a 13-star St. Andrews cross in the canton, with the difference in the etching being that one variation is frosted, while the other one is deeply etched without frosting. The 2nd National Flag was not adopted until May 1 of 1863, and it is generally believed that the production of the Dolphin Head swords did not commence until the end of 1862 or very early in 1863. At that time, the 1st National Flag was still in use. The appearance of a 2nd National Flag on this blade suggests that this sword was a later production item, likely not produced until the very end of 1863 or even during 1864. The Dolphin Head is one of the rarest American swords you could hope to find, with many serious advance collections not having an example.
