On the Edge

Swords likely don’t come to mind when you think of the fur trade. While they weren’t official trade items, sometimes swords were exchanged as part of the personal belongings of employees of Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) and North West Company (NWC).

Of the 22 swords in the HBC Museum Collection, many have great provenance, but they weren’t issued only to the highest-ranking employees. This particular sword belonged to Henry Fisher Jr., who joined NWC in 1817 as an apprentice clerk and was later employed by HBC when the two companies amalgamated in 1821. Fisher’s initials are visible on the scabbard.

Sold to the HBC Museum Collection in 1925 by Fisher’s granddaughter, this short sword — the blade is only 38.7 centimetres long — was made by John Prosser, the sword cutler to the King in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.