Plimpton Swords Going to Auction

[mdiddy]

Hello Everyone,

 

Just wanted to share a quick update that some of the swords from John Plimpton’s collection, set to be published in the upcoming book A Guide to the Identification of Imperial Japanese Swords, 1873–1945 are going under the hammer! 11 swords, including some of the marquee items in my opinion, will be auction by Cowan’s on April 27th in their Arms & Armor sale.

 

The auction can be viewed here: https://www.cowanauctions.com/auction/4272022-arms-armor-13005

 

The Plimpton swords are lot #’s 156 to 166. If anyone has any questions on these swords, please let me know, I would be happy to help. 

 

Happy Bidding!

 

Matt

[mdiddy]

Here are a few excerpts and photos of some of the swords including the Ambassador sword.

[PNSSHOGUN]

Very low estimates, the turtle shell General grade court sword is exceptional. It appears to have a Murata-To blade.

[mdiddy]

11 hours ago, PNSSHOGUN said:

Very low estimates, the turtle shell General grade court sword is exceptional. It appears to have a Murata-To blade.

 

Yes, I can confirm the blade is a murata-to blade. The mounts are exceptional and besides their rarity they are in premium condition. There is a star on the handle indicating it was carried by a one-star general. 

[lonely panet]

On 4/3/2022 at 1:27 PM, PNSSHOGUN said:

Very low estimates, the turtle shell General grade court sword is exceptional. It appears to have a Murata-To blade.

yeah, theres 2 Gen grade swords with modest values

[mdiddy]

Just a quick update, the Plimpton book is now available for pre-order here: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/purchase/swords-of-the-emperor-standard-edition

[Peter Bleed]

I just listened to the announcement on this book and I think it is a BIG DEAL. I certainly plan to buy a copy, but I also think it will be an interesting thing to observe. Information on these swords is not completely "new" but it has been less that well organized. I also think that it has not been recognized as worthy by the Japanese players. I book like this can pull the field into focus and into action in a new direction.  I think this volume will expand Japanese sword collecting at a time when most of us felt it had peaked.

Peter

 

[Bruce Pennington]

Just ordered my copy (shipping was only $8 USD).  From the few times his collection and book have been discussed, it seems he's got some photos of swords in the book not found in the Dawson and Fuller books.  Top notch photography too.  So, I suspect it will be a valuable reference to add to the working set. As to cost, it's cheaper than either of the Dawson or Fuller books.

[Mark]

just a reminder -- the auction is tomorrow morning

 

maybe some good deals - we will see

[Ontario_Archaeology]

Anyone pick any of these up? I went for the Nomura sword but 7000 + 18% USD was too much for me!