Daggers & Bayonets — Bayonets — 19th century

About this collection

This collection covers 311 bayonet objects from the 19th century, delivered across 578 images in 11 ZIP assets. The 19th century was the golden age of bayonet development — from the socket bayonet, through the sword bayonet that combined blade and bayonet function, to the more compact knife bayonets of the century's end. The collection spans the full range of British and international bayonet types across the Victorian military period.

Why it matters

The 19th-century bayonet collection is one of the most significant in the digital catalogue — 311 objects spanning the complete evolution of the bayonet from its socket form through to the modern knife bayonet. As infantry small arms evolved from smoothbore muskets to magazine rifles, the bayonet adapted with them, and this collection documents every step of that evolution.

Use cases & time to value

• Historical production design: Accurate reference for edge weapons and bayonets in period film, game, and theatrical productions
• Arms scholarship: Study of dagger typology, bayonet evolution, and associated weapon traditions
• AI training: Labelled edge-weapon dataset for object-recognition and type-classification models
• Publishing & editorial: Ready-to-license museum-quality imagery for reference works on edged weapons
• Museum education: High-quality imagery for gallery programmes on cutting and thrusting weapons

Data schema

Collection stats

11 assets · 311 objects · 578 images · 19th century