A Brief History of Klingenthal Swords Manufacturing
By Jean Binck
Regulation French swords of
the 19th century were primarily issued by two major government manufacturers: Klingenthal, in the east of France near Strasbourg
(Alsace) and, later,
Châtellerault in the centre of the
country near Poitier.
During the Napoleonic period, regulation swords were also produced
by the smaller manufacturer
of Versaille, near Paris, which assembled weapons with blades
from Klingenthal. Swords bearing the stamp "BOUTET",
Directeur Artiste from Versailles, on the hilt and
are very desirable to collectors.
History of Klingenthal
At the beginning
of the 18th century, king Louis XV decided to create a state-controlled sword manufacturing company in order to limit the imports of Solingen blades to France. In 1733, the
Manufacture d'Armes Blanches d' Alsace commenced operation with the help of 25 skilled workers from Solingen, Germany. The Alsace province, in East of France, was chosen for the availability of iron mines,
forges and woods for charcoal, but also because the local language was similar to German.
In 1768, accommodation for the Director
and his staff (artillery officers) was built in a place called Klingenthal (Klingen=blades, thal= valley), the factory became
Manufacture de Klingenthal . Under this name,
thousands of blades were produced until
the end of the 19th century.
Organization
The Manufacture de Klingenthal
belonged to the government, but its general management was entrusted to a government-appointed
entrepreneur. The entrepreneur operated
in a purely fiscal role. His task was
to buy the source material (iron ingots, charcoal etc.), pay with his
own money the salaries of the workers, and
organise the company in order to comply with the contracts
of the government. The government then bought the
finished products from him, leaving
him a profit of about 20%. The
plant Director controlled the production for the military contracts. He was an artillery
senior officer, appointed
for only a few years (2-4 usually), and helped
by a staff of around four artillery
officers. It was his responsibility
to maintain quality control
and control of speed of production etc. to fulfil the government
contracts. He reported immediately to the army, and
earned no more than his officer's salary.
The Revisers and Controllers were highly skilled
workers in charge of the
training of the other workers and the
quality control of blades and swords for the military contracts.
From 1808 onwards, they were considered
members of the artillery corps.
There is no doubt that COULAUX was the best-known
entrepreneur of Klingenthal. The
Coulaux brothers applied for the job of
entrepreneur in February 1801 and
the family remained in charge of the
management of the Manufacture de Klingenthal
until the firm ceased business in 1962.
Markings of Klingenthal
This chapter gives a quick view of the style of markings of Klingenthal through different period. These are the most common
markings, it is not an exhaustive list. The company's name marking is usually
found on the back of the blade when
present.
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The ricasso bore the stamps of the Director, the Controller and the Reviser. On trooper swords these marks stood also on the guard.
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Example of regulation stamps on the ricasso and main branch of the guard of a Light Cavalry sword Model 1822 dated May 1824 on the spine of the blade. |
The following abbreviations are commonly found on French swords:
For the months (referring to the Latin sound of the figures):
7 bre =
Septembre
8 bre =
Octobre
9 bre =
Novembre
X bre =
Décembre
The other months being written
in full: Janvier, Février, Mars, Avril, Mai, Juin,
Juillet, Août.
Manuf e = Manufacture = Manufactory
M re
Manuf re
Manuf.
Mf ture
M ture
R le = Royale = of the King
Rl e
R ale
Natl e = Nationale = National
Nl e
N le
Impal e = Impériale = of the Emperor
Impe ale
Impa le
Imp ale
Imp le
Imp.
Starting in 1733
Manufacture d' Alsace
Manufacture
Royale d' Alsace
M ture R le d' Alsace
From ca. 1768 to
ca.1800
During the reign of Louis XVI and the French revolution, the name Klingenthal
appeared.
Manuf re
de Klingenthal
Klingenthal
Note that along the years, both
wording Manufacture du Klingenthal
and Manufacture
de Klingenthal can
be found.
ca. 1801
The word nationale and the name
of the entrepreneur Coulaux
is often mentioned.
Mf ture
de Klingenthal
Mf ture
N ale de Klingenthal Coulaux
frères Entrep rs
ca
. 1806 French Empire of Napoleon I
The word impériale is mentioned (Impale)
Mf ure Imp ale du Klingenthal
Coulaux frères
Mf ure Imp ale du Klingenthal
Coulaux
In 1810, it was included in the new contract between the French government and Coulaux that
the name of the entrepreneur was now replaced with
the month and date of fabrication.
Mf ture
Imp ale du Klingenthal
Fev 1811
1814, during Napoleon's exile to Elba
and the return of Louis
XVIII:
Klingenthal Novembre 1814
Manf re
R le du Klingenthal Janvier 1815
Rle = Royale (of the King Louis XVIII)
The Restoration
of the Monarchy, July 1815
In July 1815, with the restoration of the monarchy the word
Royale replaced Impériale. There
were many variations in abbreviations.
Manufacture
Royale de Klingenthal Mars 1818
Mf ture
R ale de Klingenthal Mars 1818
Mnuf re
Royale du Klingenthal Mars 1822
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Manufacture's marking on the double edged blade of a regulation Model 1816 officer's sword (left side - right side) |
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Marking on the spine of the blade of a trooper Model 1822 Light Cavalry sword issued May 1824 |
In the new contract of
1823, the government confirmed that the marking Manufacture Royale de
Klingenthal followed by month and year
was only allowed for swords issued to the government.
The other blades issued for other commercial purpose should bear the
marking:
Coulaux frères à Klingenthal
The blades and swords for general commercial use were made
by the workers of the government manufacturing company for the account of the entrepreneur. This was authorised by the Director (an artillery senior officer) when government
orders were not sufficient to provide enough work for the firm. Military
controllers were not allowed to stamp these weapons which,
in this case, bore the stamp of an employee of the company in charge of the quality control of these commercial swords.
The revolution of
1830
After the little revolution of 1830 in
Paris, King Louis-Philippe ordered the suppression of the symbols of the old monarchy. The
« Fleur de Lys » present on several sword patterns were erased.
From 1836 to 1962
In 1836, the French government
decided to rid itself of the Manufacture de Klingenthal. The period was the
beginning of instability in
Europe and the French ministry of war did not want to depend on a state manufacturing company so close to the borders of the country. Klingenthal was found to be
exceedingly vulnerable. The production of regulation swords was removed
to a more central geographic location: Châtellerault
(near Poitier).
The Coulaux family bought the
company premises and became owner
of the Manufacture de Klingenthal.
The company continued to produce swords and blades
for private cuttlers and retailers as well as tools for agriculture (sickles etc.). No longer subjects
to the quality control of the Artillery inspectors,
some of these commercial blades were of poor quality.
Manuf re
Klingenthal Coulaux &
Cie
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Marking on a non-regulation officer's sword issued second half of the 19th Century |
The disastrous Franco-Prussian war of 1870 showed that the
French were right to move the government manufacture to
Châtellerault; on September 1870, Klingenthal
was captured by the Germans. Alsace remained a German territory until 1918. The company produced
some bayonets for the German Empire (bearing the mark C )
but was never able to
challenge the manufacturers
of Solingen (Germany). The making of tools and the few orders
for blades for private swordmakers were not sufficient to stop the decline of the Manufacture de Klingenthal.
In 1815, six hundred workers
were making swords in Klingenthal, in 1910 they were one hundred.
In 1955 only fifteen men were employed
in the tool manufacturing company of Klingenthal, which closed its doors
permanently in 1962.
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Late marking on a privately purchased model 1923 officer's sword : Coulaux & Cie Klingenthal France |
References:
COTTY (Col.), Dictionnaire de l'Artillerie, Paris, France (1822)
C. ARIES, Armes Blanches Militaires Française, Nantes, France ( ca.1965-1990)
Buigne/Lhoste, Armes
Blanches, Edition du Portail, La Tour du Pin, France (1994)
Magazine "Gazette des Armes"
Swords in Author's private
collection
Text and pictures are the property of the author
Contact the author: jeanbck@hotmail.com