Published Japanese Army Officer’s Type 19 Company Grade Sword with Presentation Blade

The sword offered here was published in the book “Swords of the Emperor: A Guide to the Identification of Imperial Japanese Swords, 1873-1945”, by John E. Plimpton, with this sword illustrated on pages 486 and 487. The type 19 Company Grade Army Officer’s sword has an overall length in the scabbard of approximately 35 inches, with a blade length of approximately 27 inches. The blade is generally very bright, with only some minor disturbance of the plated surfaces, primarily on the cutting edge. The blade has a visible false temper line. Both sides of the ricasso have engraved kanji, this being the presentation “Gifted by the officers of the 19th class of the Infantry Officers School to Mr. Futami”. The leather covered grip is tightly triple wrapped with brass wire. The grip leather shows age but it is without damage. The guard and the pommel all have a dark and uncleaned patina. The plated scabbard shows some speckling of the finish, but the scabbard is entirely presentable. Overall the sword is in very good to excellent condition.