137 - Miniature sabre, miniature sword Mont-Saint-Michel and miniature bayonet Solingen, letter openers

Miniature sabre, miniature sword Mont-Saint-Michel and miniature bayonet Solingen, letter openers Three miniature edged weapons (letter openers): 1) Miniature sabre with slightly curved blade, the brass-coloured hilt with knuckle guard and ribbed light plastic grip, L. 19.5 cm. 2) Miniature sword with straight blade, the brass-coloured hilt cruciform with fluted pommel terminals and ribbed grip, in the crossguard a shield with lion mask, at the base of the blade a round medallion with the legend “MONT ST MICHEL” and the view of the monastery mount, L. 20 cm. 3) Miniature of a dress bayonet with bird's-head pommel, the fullered, silver-coloured blade etched on one side with the lettering “Majoran-Werk” in Fraktur script and a second, only partly legible line, on the ricasso a maker's mark with king with sword, below it “SMF SOLINGEN”, the grip scales black and grooved, with the dark metal scabbard with ball chape, L. 23.5 cm. Condition commensurate with age, the blades stained, the pommel of the bayonet with paint losses. Miniature versions of sabres, swords and bayonets were made in large numbers in the late 19th and in the 20th c. as letter openers, souvenirs and promotional gifts. The Solingen blade industry supplied pieces with etched company names for this purpose, which firms distributed to customers and business associates. Places of pilgrimage and travel destinations also commissioned versions with a view of the place: Mont-Saint-Michel off the Normandy coast, a monastery mount since the 8th c. and a World Heritage Site since 1979, is one of the most visited destinations in France.