Rare Russian M1843 Luttich Carbine Bayonet by P J Malherbe
Leaf-shaped, double-edged blade with short, narrow central fuller. Brass cross hilt with twin forward-curving quillons, ribbed solid brass grip. External leaf spring secured with a single screw, its fixed button protruding from the opposite side of the grip. Black leather washer. No scabbard.
The ricasso of the blade is stamped on one side with the maker’s mark ‘P J MALHERBE A LIÈGE’ above an inspection stamp and the number ‘2’. The hilt is stamped next to the leaf spring near the pommel with a crown over ‘B’.
The .704 calibre Brunswick rifle was designed by Captain Berners, a Jaeger officer of the Brunswick Army, and adopted with some modifications by the British Army in 1836. The Russian Imperial Army essentially copied the British Brunswick as their M1843 Luttich Carbine. The carbines and associated bayonets were manufactured on their behalf in Liège, Belgium by the gunmaker Pierre Joseph Malherbe – “Lüttich” is the German name for Liège. Numbers produced are uncertain but low – anecdotally I read that the observed serial numbers on the carbines have been below 1000, and production of the bayonets was probably equal.
The Luttich carbines were used in the Crimean War, issued to specialist Russian sharpshooters as it was the only rifled long arm in their arsenal. The British had already replaced the Brunswick with the improved Minie rifle issued to all their infantry, and introduced the new Enfield rifle over the course of the conflict. Examples of the Luttich found outside Russia may well have been originally taken as trophies in that conflict.
The blade’s lower section has some light patination and spots of pitting, a larger patch of pitting around the tip section on one side. The tip of the blade is slightly chipped. The hilt is in good condition with an even patina. The locking mechanism moves freely.
