Item #69617 : Original period manufacture. Standard Bavarian M1855 Infantry Officers Sword by WKC, purchased by us a number of years ago while attending the SOS Show in Louisville. The sword exhibits honest service wear and use attesting to an emotive testimony of a weapon carried into battle during the first weeks of WWI. The gentleman we purchased the sword from has been known to us for many years through associations made while attending the old Great Western show in Pomona. He in turn bought the sword while attending a local antique gun auction, instantly appreciating the historical significance of the weapon by the engraving on the top of the guard. The engraving is of course in German and the English translation is as follows "Captain and Adjutant Edgar Martin of the Royal Bavarian 6th Infantry Regiment, He Died a Hero's Death on 29 Aug.1914 near Sauley in France". This engraving provided an inspiration for him to find out more regarding this soldiers story. This inspiration led him to contact the German authorities to obtain what information they might have on Hauptmann Martin. They were kind enough to reply to this American's request, which stated that the Hauptmann Martin's death was caused by a shrapnel wound to the left chest during the Battle of Lorraine in 1914. He was buried at Saulcy-sur-Meurthe (period engraver's spelling error on the guard, substituting an e for a c). In 1921 he was reburied in a Kameradengraben (common grave) at Bertrimoutier France. Armed with this information, our friend traveled to France and documented Hauptmann Martin's gravesite. All of this he meticulously prepared and assembled in a 3 ring binder, truly an effort worthy of publication, which it eventually was. In the April 2018 edition of Man At Arms, page 34 is the article entitled A Battlefield Memorial Sword, with an excellent presentation of his efforts in bringing the Hauptmann's story to light. It has been our honor to have the been the caretaker of this sword, but now it is time for a new one. A final note, the sword knot that originally came with the sword was extremely fragile and during our ownership, time and gravity won out. So we replaced it with an appropriate original, period correct Bavarian officers knot.