Earlier today I thought I'd make one simple post decrying the inability of the "expert" on Pawn Stars to authenticate the McElroy sword on that show and the similar difficulty Jen and I had when conferring with a authority on Confederate militaria regarding the McElroy we have in our shop.
Well, I am now on my third post wrestling with this thorny issue.
In my last post I set up a framework to type antique weapons against:
Good:
-Original weapon with all-original components
-Reproduction weapons clearly labelled as such
Bad:
-Original weapon altered with components it was never associated with to increase its value
-Reproduction altered and aged to resemble original antique with intent to deceive
Ugly (grey area):
-Original weapon with components either original or reproduction added to replace missing components that the piece initially had
-Reproduction with components added or removed for reenacting purposes ("de-farbed")
So how does Old Truck's McElroy weigh in?
On the "good" category: it has no repro marks so it can't be an honest repro. It could be all original, however.
On the "bad" category: it has no sign of alteration. Theoretically it could be a fake made from scratch, although there would have been a lot of effort involved.
On the "ugly" category: it has no sign that anything was replaced (other than perhaps the leather wrist-strap, more on that below). The sword is definitely not a run-of the mill repro either (more on that below).
So what are we left with?
Good:
-Original weapon with all-original components. Possible
Bad:
-
-Reproduction altered and aged to resemble original antique with intent to deceive. Possible but not likely
Ugly (grey area):
-
-Reproduction with components added or removed for reenacting purposes ("de-farbed"). Possible but not likely
OK so our sword is possibly an original and possibly, but not likely, a modified repro (either faked or de-farbed) or an out-and-out from-the-ground-up-fake.
The saying goes that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" and, apparently, authenticating a Confederate sword is an extraordinary claim.
So what extraordinary evidence can I bring to the table to show that the McElroy at Old Truck Antiques is the real McCoy, er McElroy, that is, and that it is most unlikely that it is a fake?
Well, I suppose I can start by comparing the shop's McElroy to its evil twin- a direct copy of it that is being manufactured in India for Legendary Arms, Inc. Yours for only $199, on sale from $299! http://www.legendaryarms.com/noname1.html
Like I said, it is the evil twin of the McElroy we have at the shop. The natural impulse is to wonder if somebody got ahold of one of these Legendary Arms McElroys and faked it up and the result is what we have in the shop. Well, let's see about that-
Digging around on the 'net I found a few more images of the Legendary Arms McElroy. Take a look at the etching of the "CS" on the blade:
Now, Here's the CS on the McElroy @ Old Truck Antiques:
Notice how the style of the "S" is different, the Old Truck McElroy "S" has a much more pronounced split in it. Also notice how the etching on the Old Truck sword is more free-hand and less regular. Especially pay attention to how DEEP the etching is on the Old Truck McElroy- that is because it's blade has been deeply acid-etched whereas the mass-produced Legendary Arms sword has been photo-etched.
In William A. Albaugh III's "Confederate Edged Weapons" New York, 1960, Albaugh provides the following primary source account of the etching work at McElroy's factory:
"AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT of an operation always carries more weight than a secondhand observation. In my files is a letter from Bridges Smith, who, at the time of its writing in May, 1922, was the Judge of the Bibb County (Ga.) Juvenile Court, Macon, but who in the 1860s was an operative of the C.S. Macon Arsenal. Says Judge Smith:
"... W. J. McElroy & Co., tinsmiths turned over their large factory for the purpose of making canteens, and later by reason of having some skilled men in their employ, began to make swords. In the course of time, this shop was turning out some of the finest weapons of this class, beautifully ornamented by the then process of dipping the blade in melted wax and chasing the designs with a steel pointed instrument, and then pouring acid all over and letting it “eat” into the blade. This may have been very crude compared to modern methods, but we used to regard the product as almost perfection.
"At any rate, I am satisfied that these were the first swords made and worn by the officers of the Confederate Army. This factory continued until the war ended and the swords were made into plowshares, as the saying is. The government had no sword-making establishment of its own in Macon. "
Here is a comparison of the McElroy "signatures," one from Legendary Arms:
And the one on the Old Truck Antiques McElroy:
Again, notice the difference in the script & the depth of the etching.
In the discussion with the authority on Confederate militaria he was of the opinion that the etching did not look right. Compared to other Civil War swords that may be true, but in reading the letter from Judge Smith quoted above it can be seen that McElroy had a distinctive manner of etching.
So it is safe to conclude that the McElroy at Old Truck Antiques is NOT a modified Legendary Arms McElroy. As far as this commentator knows, Legendary Arms is the only company having a reproduction McElroy saber made. Besides the physical differences, another reason to conclude that the Old Truck McElroy is not a modified Legendary Arms is that the consigner who has placed it with us has had it in his collection for over seven years. I have a 2003 catalog for Legendary Arms and at that time they did not offer the McElroy reproduction.
So, having ruled out the possibility that the McElroy in our shop is a modified reproduction, what are its chances of being a fake from the ground up?
Well, in addition to the Confederate miltiaria authority, Jen and I have also spoken to a gentleman who has done extensive weapons research and served as a film consultant on period arms. He was of the opinion that if it was a fake the workmanship was so demanding as to make it extremely unlikely that anyone would attempt it.
Let's look at what's involved- forging the blade, casting the highly-ornamented brass guard, turning a wooden grip, making a steel scabbard out of sheet-metal and soldering the lap seam with brass.
Oh, and acid etching the blade and scabbard. One delightful quirk about the McElroy at Old Truck Antiques is that the brass solder actually fills some parts of the etched design. Either it is because the incomplete scabbard was etched before it was soldered or because the acid used for the etching could not eat through the brass.
Well, I think I have written myself out on this topic (for now). In the meantime, here are a few links with images of ID'd McElroy foot officer's swords. Note the variation in the engraving. There were obviously several folks doing the etching work at McElroy's during the war.
http://www.oldsouthantiques.com/os943p3.htm
(A sword handed down in the McElroy family)
http://content.liveauctioneers.com/item/46144
(Same sword with different pics on an auction website)
http://www.oldsouthantiques.com/os1378p1.htm
(Sword carried by two CS officers who died in battle)
http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/civilwarantiques/mcelroy.html
(Sword brought home by an Ohio soldier)
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