The mysterious An XIII sabre Monsieur B of Klingenthal

An antique sword mystery, about the famous Napoleonic French An XIII trooper swords and sabres no less! Or perhaps this tale should read "The power of supposition leading to trusted documented misinformation!" Where someone's theory ends up becoming documented fact, when in fact the theory is flawed, nay, false.

I have read with interest certain notable sword experts, who shall remain nameless for the sake of peace in sword heaven, who exclaim that most of the French An XIII trooper sabres and swords found at British auction sales can not be Waterloo or other battlefield pick-ups (war trophies) all because of the tiny inspection stamp of the mysterious Monsieur B of Klingenthal.



Here it is, that troublesome little poincon (inspection stamp) of the naughty Monsieur B.

What is said, by certain experts, is this B poincon has to be that of Capitaine Louis Constant Balaran, who started inspection duties at the state French sword maker Klingenthal on January 1834, nearly 19 years after Waterloo. The claim that these swords are not Waterloo pick-ups by British soldiers being the sword stayed in French government / army hands until at least 1834. So none of these swords are war trophies; they can't be, right? This "fact" now published around the Internet, in books and in museums.

Oh dear, step in some new expert pretenders, not from the old school or rather circle of old experts. These nouveau experts say "Hold on, how come there are so many An XIII's in Britain? Did swarms of British tourists one day happen upon a sale of these weapons in France, snapping them up from under the noses of the large army of French collectors who savour these swords jealously? But common sense, which dictates these swords most likely must have come to GB as war spoils at the end of the 100 Days War is not enough, there needs to be substance over conjecture.

And now there is, which embarrassingly for the old school shows their fact is most likely fiction.

You see, the mystery B poincon does not actually resemble the known poincon of Capitaine Louis Constant Balaran, just take a look;

Les Marquages et les Poinçons de la Manufacture d'Etat

Balaran's poincon is rounded at the base, not pointed like the mystery B poincon. Balaran's poincon has a star over "B", not a crown over "B" as with the mystery poincon. Balaran's poincon has rounded tops to the "shield", whereas the mystery B has pointy tops. It is not the same poincon and therefore it is very unlikely to be the same Monsieur B.

But the truth is there for those who look. You see, there were two divisions of Klingenthal; the state armorer and the private sword cutler, the later called "Coulaux" as opposed to "Klingenthal". And normally never the twain shall meet. But in 1815, the reinstated emperor Napoleon was short of weapons followng the earlier defeat of the French by the Russians. So Napoleon ordered private sword makers to fill the void and produce / be involved in state sword production. At that time there was a Coulaux inspector, whose name is now lost to the winds of time, who had such a poincon as those found on An XIII trooper sabres coming onto the auction market in Britain.

Les Marquages et les Poinçons de la Manufacture Coulaux

So there is almost if not absolutely certainly is our mysterious Monsieur B of Klingenthal; a Coulaux inspector commanded to inspect and approve state swords for cavalry troopers of the Imperial French Army in 1815. After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, the private sword makers went back to making swords for officers, who paid for their own swords. And the mystery Monsieur B stopped inspecting Klingenthal swords.

So do you have a "B" under a crown in a pointy shield poincon on your An XIII? Do not worry, unless you can find a documented Klingenthal inspection mark or blade date that shows it was produced and / or inspected by the French army after Waterloo, it is certain your sabre / sword was a battlefield pick-up / war trophy. Why? Because the French changed their sabres / swords soon after Waterloo, although many pre-Waterloo blades ended up in post-Waterloo hilts, the post-Waterloo hilts were different, not An XIII's. And later documented / known Klingenthal inspector's poincons, such as that of Joseph Innocent Krantz, appeared on what An XIII's stayed in service with France, of which the mystery Monsieur B was clearly not one of them.

Sorry old school, you can not be right all of the time, no matter how much you think you may know. So what will happen now about the documented "facts" regarding An XIII trooper sabres / swords, will they continue and prove you can never fully trust what you read, or will common sense prevail?