Send us your own comments about this object.

Title:	SABER -  U.S. SABER MODEL 1840 CAVALRY OFFICER'S
Maker/Manufacturer:	WALSCHEID, W.
Date of Manufacture:
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 6666
Measurements:	OL: 92.7CM 36 1/2" BL: 35"

Object Description:

U.S. SABER MODEL 1840 CAVALRY OFFICER'S
Manufactured by W. Walscheid, Solingen, Germany - Model 1840 Cavalry Officer's saber as made by W. Walscheid of Germany. M1840 hilt with two-branch brass guard decorated laurel leaf design, pommel cap, brown leather pad. Wood grip is sharkskin covered with strands of gilded wire. Embellished blade with US banner, "US" and numerous floral designs as well as "E Plubribus Unum" in banner. Blade width: 1 1/8". Blade thickness: 5/16". Complete with 36 1/2" brass scabbard w/two rings (Army#4459.).

Markings:
Ricasso: W. WALSCHEID/SOLINGEN

Notes: "THE FIRM - Nothing is known about this firm. Apparently, it did not last long and did not produce any weapons (bayonets, cutlery, etc.) other than the model of 1840 heavy cavalry saber. None of their products seem to have been exported to England under contract, which was the mainstay of the Solingen cutlery trade from the 1850s through the 1880s. They seem to have been in business only long enough to produce sabers during the American Civil War. It is now known if their sabers were imported into the Confederacy or solely to the Union. The firm is not listed in the seminal work on Solingen makers by John Walter. Since Walter's book focused primarily on Imperial German makers and is fairly complete, we assume that the Walscheid firm did not continue manufacturing sabers far beyond the Civil War.
The sabers described here are representative of the W. Walscheid products that have been seen. And as mentioned above, the few than have been carefully examined to date have been the model 1840 saber, both enlisted and officers', and the steel hilted British officer's pattern 1822. No artillery sabers are known to have been manufactured by Walscheid.
The blade address, which is found on the ricasso reverse, reads: W. WALSHCEID/SOLINGEN
The ricasso obverse features a round brass disk (found on only the British pattern sabers), PROVED (around the inside diameter of the disk), and a cross (on the disk in the center bottom).
The common history is not known, but the examples of the sabers do give us clues about their manufacturer. They are clearly German made, and appear to be manufactured specifically for the Civil War, because none with later history or later styles have been sound. The hilt embellishment of the officers' sabers is typical of that used by all other Solingen manufacturers except for Horster." - Thillmann

References:
Thillmann, John H. CIVIL WAR CAVALRY & ARTILLERY SABERS: A STUDY OF UNITED STATES CAVALRY AND ARTILLERY SABERS, 1833-1865. Andrew Mowbray Publishers. Lincoln, R.I. 2001.