This is a fencing foil. It has a blade 88cm long with a rectangular cross-section. There is a red plastic tip on the end of the blade. The blade is slightly wider at the base and connects to a circular metal section that curves slightly towards the handle. This is lined with a layer of black rubber. The handle is made of metal and designed to fit around the hand and fingers of the user (the “pistol” grip). There is a cross-hatch pattern on the section of the handle where it connects to the circular guard.
Accession Number: 2019.ast.233
Alternative Name:
Primary Materials: Metal: Iron Alloy, Rubber, Plastic.
Engraved on the metal guard: “CARMIMARI
MILANO”
Dimensions (cm): Diameter = 10, Length = 104.
This is a fencing foil. It likely belonged to a member of staff at the David Dunlap Observatory.
Good: The metal of the blade is rusted across the length of its surface, although this rust is slightly worn away along the edges of the blade. The metal guard is marked with a few scratches. The rubber that lines the interior of the guard is degraded and broken around the edges, although still intact. The metal of the handle (grip) is dulled but in good condition.
Associated Instruments:
Manufacturer: Carmimari, Milan, Italy
Date of Manufacture: After 1938
It is not clear where this foil came from or why it might be at the Department of Astronomy on the U of T St George Campus or the David Dunlap Observatory. Following its use, this artifact was kept at the David Dunlap Observatory until 2009. Upon the sale of the Observatory in that year, it was moved to the University of Toronto’s Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the St George Campus. In 2017 it was moved to a new storage location in McLennan Physical Laboratories.
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