The 91st London Antique Arms Fair

Transcription

The 91st
London Antique
Arms Fair
Autumn 2013
Hotel Ibis London Earls Court,
47 Lillie Road, London, SW6 1UD
Friday 27 September
Saturday 28 September
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The London Antique Arms Fair Guide
A rare medieval sword from the Mamluk Arsenal at Alexandria.
Second half of the 14th Century, probably Italian. Sold by Bonhams
Knightsbridge on 18 November 2012 for £163,250
HERMANN HISTORICA
A gold- and silver inlaid splendid rifle, F. Morgenroth, Gernrode/Anhalt, dated 1844
Parts of a Maximilian
armour, Nuremberg,
circa 1510/20
N E x T Au C T I O N :
4 Nov. - 16 Nov. 2013
6 catalogues of military and historical significance
including 2 special collection catalogues
- The Friedrich Hebsacker collection
of Arms & Armour
- uniforms of German Military
and Political units 1933 - 1945
All catalogues online by the end of September:
International Auctions
Antique Arms and Armour ✦ Orders ✦ Historical Collectibles
A Spanish/Italian
left-hand dagger, circa 1670
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www.hermann-historica.com
A drop barrel
target pistol,
Anton Vinzent
Lebeda,
Prague,
circa 1880
A magnificent wheellock pistol,
Nuremberg, circa 1590/1600
A fine chiselled bichwa, South India, Tanjore, 17th century
Antique Arms & Armour
A Swiss flintlock pistol,
circa 1640
Wednesday 27 November
Knightsbridge, London
Entries now invited
A magnificent silver stirrup, Ottoman
or Transylvanian, 17th century
A late Scythian/early Sarmatian
steppe-nomadic silver bowl, late
4th - 3rd century BC
A Greek Illyrian helmet,
5th - early 4th century BC
A Balochistan/Afghan (?) khanjar
with silver handle, 17th century
Hermann Historica oHG ✦ Linprunstr. 16 ✦ D-80335 Munich ✦ Phone +49-89-54726490
The Fax
London
Antique Arms Fair Guide ✦ E-Mail: [email protected]
+49-89-547264999
Enquiries
+44 (0) 20 7393 3807
+44 (0) 7768 823 711
[email protected]
A fine pair of silver-mounted
flintlock holster pistols,
by Benjamin Griffin, London,
London silver hallmarks for 1750
Sold for £17,500
International Auctioneers and Valuers – bonhams.com/arms
Values stated include buyer’s premium. Details can be found at bonhams.com
Master Gunmaker
Restorer of Artillery
Antique Arms
The London Antique
Arms Fairs 2013
Cased pair of D/B Percussion Officers
Pistols by John Manton.
Cased Percussion Pepperbox
Revolver by Parker of London.
The London Antique Arms Fair
is promoted by Arms Fairs Ltd.
Chairman: John Slough
Secretary: Adam Slough.
Arms Fairs Ltd., PO Box 355,
Hereford HR2 9YE
Tel: 07780 663819
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.antiquearmsfairsltd.co.uk
Cased pair of Percussion
Dueling Pistols by Samuel Nock.
The Saving of a 6in BL Howitzer circa 1917
By John Slough
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Editors: John Slough and Adam Slough
Index of advertisers
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The London Antique Arms Fair guide
is published on behalf of Arms Fairs Ltd
by John Good.
Index of exhibitors
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Table plan for the fair
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The Duel By F Wilkinson
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King Joseph’s Chocolate Pot by Paul Wilcock
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Factory Gold Inlaid Colt Percussion Revolvers
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© Arms Fairs Ltd., 2013.
Printed in England.
PO Box 355 • Hereford • HR2 9YE
Tel: 07775 643762
www.johnsloughoflondon.co.uk
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A welcome from the Chairman
All material contained within is strictly
copyright and all rights are reserved. The
opinions expressed are not necessarily
those of the publishers. Every care is
taken in compiling the publication, but
the publishers can bear no responsibility
for effects arising therefrom or from the
advertisements contained herein.
All information correct at time of printing.
by R.L. Wilson
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A W elco m e fro m the C ha i r m a n
Welcome to the 91st London
Antique Arms Fair
This year we will have considerably more exhibitors than ever with more tables full of the best examples of arms and armour from
all around the world.
It always amazes me that when the London Arms Fair time comes around so many high quality items come out of safes, cupboards
and lofts, out of private collections to see the light of day and be on display at the fair.
Cannon and artillery for hire for film industry, TV, theatre, concerts and gun salutes.
John Slough of London have been in the business of restoration and conservation of cannon and artillery of all periods for over 40 years.
The film industry’s increasing need for blank firing big guns with experienced armourers and firing team means we now have a dedicated stock of
period cannon and artillery ready for hire as well as the ability to produce any custom made piece for individual requirements.
9 Pdr RML Field gun
18 pdr QF Field gun
Complete on period field carriage
Complete on its original field carriage
Record prices achieved for items of arms and armour selling at auction in the last six months proves yet again that exhibitors at the
fair are providing one of the best forms of investment available at the present time. Confidence in banks and building societies
is at an all time low and there are few attractive alternatives to collecting items of such craftsmanship and quality as we have to
offer, not to mention the joy of owning them.
This April saw the introduction of a new and exciting feature at the fair. On the second day we staged the first ever exhibitors’
auction to be held at a London fair. This type of auction is very popular at many American gun shows.
There is no entry fee, the auctioneer’s commission is only 10% and most radically of all, there is no buyer’s premium.
Members of the public wishing to put items into the sale may do so through any one of the current exhibitors.
Lots may be entered into the sale from early September and will be on view at the fair in a designated area. The sale commences
at 12 midday on Saturday.
Over the years I have been approached by collectors and exhibitors to hold such an auction at the fair. This in no way reflects
on the existing auction houses as there is no doubt that they have an essential role to play in our business bringing to the market
items of interest and importance from great collections from around the world.
200 muzzle loading cannon and mortars
24 pdr reproduction cast iron Scottish carronades
Used for the Battle Proms concerts
Complete on period carriage
However, I believe that there should be an opportunity for items to be sold by exhibitors at auction at no extra cost to the
purchaser. We are able to do this by cutting out many of the overheads and extra costs that have arisen over the years for the
auction houses such as the huge cost of premises in London, the production of beautiful, detailed sale catalogues distributed
worldwide. They provide telephone bidding and now also internet bidding all of which has to be staffed and paid for and none
of it comes cheap.
At our auction a list is produced in advance, sale entries are displayed at the fair in a designated area. People wishing to bid should
register at the admission desk and receive a Bidder’s number. There will be no telephone or internet bidding and most importantly
no Buyer’s premium. It is in fact a good old fashioned sale where you view the lots, bid for them, pay only the hammer price and
clear the lots all on the same day!
I myself have some experience in this field having once worked for the last auction rooms in the City of London, B. Norman &
Son of Little Britain, EC1. Sadly it closed in 1967 having been in the same family since 1824, thus marking the end of an era.
I do hope you all enjoy, not only the fair, but also the auction where you can make sound investments for the future and enjoy
some wonderful examples of outstanding craftsmanship.
‘Here’s to the good life’
John Slough of London, Master Gunmaker, The Old Forge, Peterchurch, Hereford HR2 0SD
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The London Antique
Arms
Fair 643
Guide
Tel:
07775
762
Email: [email protected] www.artilleryhire.com
John Slough
Chairman
7
an HiSToric GErman (SaXon)
WHEEL-LocK carbinE, DrESDEn,
dated 1589
Provenance:
From the former Electoral armouries in Dresden,
from a series of one hundred carried by the
Trabantenleibgarde of christian i,
prince Elector of Saxony (r.1586-91).
SpEciaLiSTS in anTiquE armS,
armour & rELaTED obJEcTS
38 & 39 Duke Street,
St James’s,
London SW1Y 6DF
Tel:
+44 (0)20 7839 5666
Fax:
+44 (0)20 7839 5777
www.peterfiner.com
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T he S a v i n g of a 6 i n B L H ow i t z er c i rca 1 9 1 7
The Saving of a 6in BL Howitzer
circa 1917
By John Slough
The 6in BL naval gun dates from 1899, as well as a naval gun it was also used for coastal defence. In
1915 these guns were used as heavy field artillery in the First World War.
The earlier gun of the 1890s needed to
be upgraded to increase its rate of fire
and trajectory. After much experimenting
it was decided that a 6in BL gun could
be loaded and fired as quickly and as
smoothly as a 6in QF gun. The cordite
charges in their innovative silk bags were
deemed to save a considerable amount
of weight in the magazine compared to
the bulky brass of the QF cartridge cases.
These guns were considered to be state
of the art by the Royal Navy and went on
to see service on armed merchant cruisers
well into and beyond the Second World
War. In field service these guns were
manned by the Royal Garrison Artillery;
their successful deployment in the Battle
of the Somme as counter battery fire has
always been seriously under-rated. Fitting
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them with the new 106 fuse enabled the
shell to burst above ground on instant
contact instead of forming craters. The
MK VII was superseded by many 6in guns
but its durability and its place in history is
assured.
With a maximum range on the field
carriage of 13,700 yds with a load of
13lb 5oz of Lyddite the shrapnel shell
contained 874 steel balls weighing a total
of 27lbs. The muzzle velocity is 2,775
ft per second, the rate of fire 8 rounds
per minute, and the barrel length of 22ft
4in. A total of 898 guns of all marks were
produced between 1915 and 1918.
The restoration of this 6in Howitzer started
in earnest in October 2011. This was not
just a matter of the refurbishment of a
complete existing gun but the culmination
of several years of us searching for parts
far and wide throughout the country with
the idea that once the major components
had been identified and procured then
our goal could be achieved. ‘Us’ being
myself and my gunmaker Derek Jenkins
who has been restoring guns with me for
over twenty years.
A major problem we faced was that after
the Great War many of the remaining big
guns were scrapped, sold to overseas
countries or converted to meet the
requirements of our modern army.
The MK 2 carriage we were lucky enough
to find was one of the first carriages
designed for the 8in Howitzer by Vickers
& subcontracted to Beyer & Peacock of
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to see that before they ever arrived at
Shoeburyness they had been used as
artillery in the field with either 6in or 7.2
guns and that they had been converted
to have pneumatic tyres before being
further altered to static mounts used for
proofing guns.
Two of these four carriages were given to
English Heritage: they had no barrels and
so were scrapped. Two were donated to
Royal Armouries, one of which went to
a dealer on the south coast but it only
consists of the saddle and the front half
of the trail; it still exists.
Manchester. These early carriages were
prone to failure in the field because of
the weakness of the metal along the
slideways. Vickers proceeded to beef up
the design in later marks to accommodate
the 8in Howitzer. It should be noted that
this type of box trail enabled the gun to
fire at a greater trajectory and was used
on the 4.5 Howitzer in the Great War; it
became the basic design for the 25pdr
Gun/Howitzer that was used by British
and Dominion artillerymen through World
War 2 and beyond even to this day.
At the outbreak of the First World War
Britain was, not for the first time, short
of heavy artillery but we did have an
abundance of 6in BL MK VII guns which
were used for coastal defence. At first the
Ministry of War called upon the expertise
of Admiral Percy Scott who, as a captain
serving on H.M.S. Terrible during the
Boer War removed the 12pdrs and 4.7
guns from his ship and designed and had
field carriages built in South Africa to fit
his guns. These guns played their part in
winning the victory over the Boers. So
it was that his services were once again
used to design a stop gap carriage for the
6in MK VII BL gun. It was designated as
6in BL MK VII on the Percy Scott carriage.
The early carriages which failed on the
8in Howitzers were sent to Beyer &
Peacock for conversion to 6in Howitzers
in 1916. They did this by putting a smaller
new slideway inside the existing 8in
slideway and fitting a new recuperator
thereby reducing the recoil of the original
from 47in down to just 20in. However
it made the whole gun and carriage roll
back by about 6ft when the gun was fired
so this was addressed by the building of
ramps for the carriage to run up. It clearly
worked but could not have done much
for accuracy.
It was one of these carriages together
with three others which were discovered
at Shoeburyness in the 1980s. It was plain
The one remaining passed from Royal
Armouries to a private museum in
Stratford upon Avon where it remained
for a number of years. We were aware
of this carriage and its location but left it
in abeyance until we could find a barrel.
This I must say was quite a daunting
prospect. However at Firepower, the
Royal Regiment of Artillery museum,
a 6in barrel was discovered during
the course of their move from the old
Rotunda building and thanks to our long
association with the museum we were
delighted to receive it.
We were now in a position to buy the
carriage from the Stratford museum. We
already had most of the breech which
came from a disposal at Shoeburyness
some years before.
The first thing we did was to remove all
the components that had been added
to the original carriage including the
hubs for the pneumatic tyres and the
static adaption metalwork ,leaving the
trail, saddle, axle and recuperator to be
dismantled, repaired, sandblasted then
treated against the onset of rust inside
and out before repainting in WW1 green.
We acquired a pair of original wheels that
had been converted for farm use from
an auction in Bury St Edmunds and using
original drawings from the Firepower
archive we were able to restore them
to fit the carriage. We converted back
from the pneumatic tyres the brake
system and put back the original brass
hand wheels from Shoeburyness. Then
came the serious task of bending and hot
riveting the angle supports which run the
whole length of the underside of the trail
using the traditional hot rivets in the time
honoured fashion.
Then came the recuperator which
needed to be re-machined together with
the slideways, it had been distorted over
years of wear as a proofing mount. This
part of the job was quite an undertaking
as it weighs about 4 tons and had to be
put up on a milling machine and allowed
to travel 6ft in each direction. This would
have been no problem to Beyer &
Peacock as they made steam locomotives
on a huge scale.
The quadrant was our next task: with this
there should be the angular piece which
transforms the power from the turning
of the elevation wheel to the elevating
and depressing of the gun in its cradle.
This was missing from the carriage, so
with no chance of finding an original, we
decided to make one, again with the help
of drawings from the Firepower archive.
We made a wooden pattern and had it
cast for us at Shentons Foundry in Tipton
in the Black Country; this company has
been a great help to us over the years,
they have a good sense of history and
understand our aims in preserving and
saving heavy artillery for the future.
We then set about restoring the barrel
from the Rotunda. It was minus its breech
ring so we made this by machining the
outer ring in three pieces then bolting
and welding it together to form a piece
of steel with an outside diameter of 24in
and a thickness of 18in. The front two
rings encompassed the outside of the
chamber, then bored internally to fit the
o.d. of the inner ring that was machined
to fit the interrupted thread of the original
breech block.
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The carrier support, that is to say the
female half of the hinge that carries the
breech block was then added to the
outside of the ring. The making of the
inner ring with the interrupted thread was
carried out by David McLaughlin of Rossshire he has a C.N.C. Machine big enough
to cope with this job and the experience
necessary for making interrupted threads.
He was able to use our breech block as
a male pattern to calculate the correct
thread to make the female thread in the
ring. With this in place we were able
to assemble the entire original breech
mechanism along with an original firing
pistol and block. This mechanism works
by inserting a firing charge contained in
what appears to be a centre fire rifle blank
cartridge: when struck by the firing pin
the charge is sent through the obturator
then into the bag charge.
At this stage we began the assembly
of the complete gun, leaving only the
peripheries which include the sights and
tools to add to the gun when assembled.
The sights were made up from drawings
and period photographs: the No.7 dial
sight is original as is the telescope sight,
the mounts were made to suit. The
photographs of the original also showed
a No.1 dial sight which is very rare so we
made a copy using the one at Firepower
as a pattern. With the exception of the
original No.7 dial sight case all the leather
boxes on the carriage are newly made by
our cordwainer Mike East.
With a 1 inch aiming rife complete in its
box strapped to the rear of the trail with
the hand spikes and loading tray, the gun
is now complete.
Proofing of the gun was undertaken
outside our factory at Peterchurch in
Herefordshire by Jeff Darbon from
the London Proof House using a two
pound black powder blank bag charge
compressed with 4lb of sand. We alerted
our neighbours to the event so we were
joined by quite a few people keen to
witness the event of firing the first 6in gun
from the First World War for nearly 100
years.
The finished gun in all its glory has made
its final journey to a film maker in New
Zealand.Everyone involved in this unique
restoration is pleased and proud to have
“saved the gun”.
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Master Gunmaker
Restorer of Artillery
Antique Arms
requires
ANTIQUE FIREARMS
DRAGOON • POCKET • NAVY • ARMY • POLICE • DERRINGER
SEMI-AUTOS • 1873 SINGLE ACTIONS • 1877/8 DOUBLE ACTIONS
Plus ALL COLT Accessories, Cases, Moulds, Flasks, Holster,
Books and Associated Material
Beautiful Nimschke-style engraved Smith & Wesson Second Model American single
action revolver serial number 17837 with eight inch barrel and two-piece ivory grips
manufactured circa 1873
A 13pdr Q. F. field gun – P.O.A.
PO Box 355 • Hereford • HR2 9YE
Tel: 07775 643762
www.johnsloughoflondon.co.uk
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BUY • SELL • TRADE
ALSO DEALING IN REMINGTON l S&W l WINCHESTER
P.O. Box 1199, Guildford, GU1 9JR
Telephone: 01483 277788 Fax: 01483 277784 Mobile: 07778 008008
email: [email protected]
Website: www.peteholder.co.uk
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FISCHER
Auctions of Antique Arms and Armours
A magnificent imperial Austrian wheel-lock rifle, ca. 1650. Stock carved from the so-called Master of the animal
headed scrolls. Butt with the monogram E inlaid in silver, the empress Eleonora was the third wife of emperor
Ferdinand III. of Austria. Sold in September 2013 for CHF 96.000 | GBP 65.000 (incl. buyer's premium).
Galerie Fischer Auktionen AG
Haldenstrasse 19
CH - 6006 Lucerne
tel. +41 (0)41 418 10 10
fax +41 (0)41 418 10 80
e-mail: [email protected]
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www.fischerauktionen.ch
Next auction sale: 11 to 12 September 2014
We are pleased to accept your consigments.
19
SPRING
2014
25 & 26 April
Antique Arms, Armour,
Sporting Guns & Militaria
The oldest and most prestigious
antique arms fair in the country
Don’t want to carry valuables?
We offer a secure delivery service
fully insured
door to door within the UK
for items purchased at the Arms Fair.
O pening T imes
Friday 9.00am – 6.00pm
Saturday 9.00am – 2.00pm
T ickeT i nfOrmaTiOn
Friday £15
Allows access both days
Saturday £7
Children under 14 – free with
an adult. Admission on door
a Fine cased Pair OF
44-bOre FLintLOck
dueLLing PistOLs by
JOhn mantOn & sOn,
dOver street, LOndOn,
nO. 6395 FOr 1815.
sOLd by bOnhams
knightsbridge On 18 aPriL
2012 FOr £38,450.
Speak to our staff on the admissions desk
or ring 07780 663 819.
The 92nd London
Antique Arms Fair
Hotel Ibis London Earls Court, 47 Lillie Road, London SW6 1UD
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Organised by arms Fairs Ltd directOrs John Slough & Adam Slough
07780 663 819 www.antiquearmsfairsltd.co.uk
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i n de x of ad v ert i sers
Index of advertisers
Name
Britain’s Specialist Auctioneers of
Arms, Armour, Medals & Militaria
Page No
Antique & Classic Arms Fairs
Arms Fairs Ltd
20 - 21
Artillery Hire
6
Battle Proms
33
Page No
Gwilliam, E.A.F
51
Henry Krank
10
Hermann Historica
2
Hertsmere Fine Antique Arms Fair
35
Bonhams3
John Slough of London
Bristol Fine Antique Arms Fair
35
Magazin Royal
34
Combat Stress
19
Magnificent Colts
39
Pete Holder Antique American Firearms
17
Finer, Peter
A cased pair of cavalry officer’s pistols by Joseph Manton,
reserved for the Autumn Connoisseur Collectors’ Auction
23
Name
8-9
4 & 16
Fischer Auctioneers
18
Thomas Del Mar Ltd
52
Martin Giles Antiques
34
Wallis & Wallis
22
&
THE BISLEY ANTIQUE
A cased double barrelled percussion sporting gun by Manton, together with a percussion pistol/walking stick gun
by Edward London, reserved for the Autumn Connoisseur Collectors’ Auction
OCTOBER 15 & 16
Autumn CONNOISSEUR COLLECTORS’
AUCTION & SALE 557
Connoisseur Collectors’ colour illustrated catalogue £16, R of W £17
Regular Sale catalogue £9.50, Europe £10, R of W £10.50
(All prices include postage)
‘Get to know the real value of your collection’ – our last ten sale catalogues
are available, complete with prices realised, price £30 incl. postage.
All our auctions are ‘live’online with
www.bisleyarmsfair.co.uk
THE BISLEY PAVILION
Sunday 27th October 2013
Sunday 30tH March 2014
A SPECIAL DAY FOR COLLECTORS AND SHOOTERS.
ALL THE LEADING DEALERS.
DEALERS AND COLLECTORS’ PREVIEW 8.00am, £6.00
PUBLIC ADMISSION 10am, £3.00
ENQUIRIES: PHONE 020 8452 3308 or 020 8200 6384
No charge for payment with debit card
email:The
[email protected]
London Antique Arms Fair Guide
22
CLASSIC ARMS FAIR
website: http://www.wallisandwallis.org
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i n de x of e x h i b i tors
Index of exhibitors
Name
Address and contact numbers
A.A.S.N. Ltd. (Andrew Kiselev)
Office 3 17 Holywell Hill, St Albans, AL1 1DT, Tel. 07989 236341
Table No(s)
[email protected]
Akaal Arms Ltd (Runjeet Singh)
Warwickshire, UK Mob. 07866 424803
www.akaalarms.com [email protected]
29
18 - 19
Antique & Classic Arms Fairs (Cliff Fuller) Mob. 07850 373197 Tel. 0208 200 6384
www.bisleyarmsfair.co.uk [email protected]
49
Antique Sword Trader (Geoff Sherwin) Hamley House, Appleton Le Moors, York YO62 6TF 01751 417487 07795 344795
www.antiqueswordtrader.co.uk [email protected] 48
Appleby, Michael
Wimbledon, London SW20 Tel. 020 8946 2495
Arbour Antiques & Arian Trading
1 The Monkery, Church Rd, Great Milton, OX44 7PB
(George Yannaghas)
Tel. 01844 278139 Mob. 07768 604202
www.arbourantiques.co.uk
[email protected] Arms and Armour Research Group
www.hud.ac.uk/armsandarmour
(Paul Wilcock)
University of Huddersfield/Royal Armouries [email protected] Arms & Armour Society (A. Dove)
PO Box 10232, London SW19 2ZD
Ashoka Arts
Tel. 07870 105285 www.ashokaarts.com [email protected]
Asian Arms (Tony Paul)
Mob. 07973 822 996 www.asianarms.com [email protected] - 71
Battle Proms Concerts (Adam Slough)
Tel. 01432 355 416 www.battleproms.com [email protected]
61 - 62
www.ariantrading.com
Beadle, Alan
72 - 74
50
101
30
88
85 - 86
Mellanoweth House, Back Lane, Angarrack, Hayle, Cornwall TR27 5JE
(Terry English)
Tel. 01736 753444 Flintlocks at War (Richard Smith)
Taunton Antiques Market, Silver St, Taunton, TA1 3DH
Mob. 07969 599 076
www.flintlocksatwar.com [email protected]
31
34 - 35
Garth Vincent Antique Arms & Armour The Old Manor House, Allington, Nr Grantham, Lincs NG32 2DH
(Dom Vincent)
Mob. 07809 710599 Tel. 01400 281358 Fax. 01400 282658
www.garthvincent.com [email protected]
Gwilliam, E. A. F. Candletree House, Cricklade, nr Swindon SN6 6AX
Tel. 01793 750241 Fax. 01793 750359 Mob. 07836 613632 [email protected]
[email protected] www.edredgwilliam.com
H.B.S.A. (David Frohnweiser)
BCM HBSA, London, WC1N 3XX
Tel. 07703 218 639 Mob. 07919 574423
www.hbsa-uk.org [email protected]
Hatford Antiques (P. Smith)
Hatford Cottage, Faringdon, Oxon SN7 8JF Tel. 01367 710241
97 - 98
7-9
54
[email protected]
109
Hobson, G. J.
Daccombe Mill, Coffinswell, Devon TQ12 4SY
Tel. 01803 873121 [email protected] Mob. 07812 133 149
Huw Williams Antiques
The Antique Shop, Madoc St, Porthmadog, Gwynedd LL49 9NL
Tel. 01766 514741 Fax. 01766 514741 Mob. 07785 747561
[email protected] www.antiquegunswales.co.uk
Iosson, Andrew
211 Ringinglow Road, Bents Green, Sheffield S11 7PT
Tel. 0114 2366360 Mob. 07979 648663
www.finesportingcollectablesltd.co.uk [email protected]
JC Militaria Ltd (John Carlin)
1 South Parade, Bramhall, Cheshire SK7 3BH Tel: 0161 476 0436
Mob: 07786 707 191www.jcmilitaria.com [email protected]
John Slough Auctions (John Slough)
Items for sale at Saturday auction on view Tel. 07775 643 762
John Slough of London
PO Box 355, Hereford HR2 9YE Tel. 07775 643762
www.johnsloughoflondon.co.uk [email protected]
John Wilson Antiques
Mob. 07941 477043 [email protected]
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37
36
64 - 65
44
Bonhams 1793 Ltd Antique Arms and Armour Department, Montpelier St, London SW7 1HH
Tel. +44 (0)207 393 3807 Fax. +44 (0)207 393 3932 Mob. 07768 823711
www.bonhams.com [email protected]
Bottomley, A. S.
Holmfirth, Yorks Mob. 07770 398 270 Tel. 01484 685234
Jonathan Barrett Limited
The Old Vicarage, Church Lane, Lewes BN7 2JA
[email protected] www.andrewbottomley.com
Tel. 01273 486501 Mob. 07717 743 061 Fax. 01273 486501
www.jonathanbarrett.com [email protected]
Ken Trotman Ltd.
PO Box 505, Huntingdon, PE29 2XW Tel. 01480 454292 Fax. 01480 384651
(Richard Brown)
www.kentrotman.com [email protected]
M. L. A. G. B. (Ken Hocking)
PO Box 340, Sevenoaks, Kent Tel. 01732 463214
Magazin Royal
65 Steenstraat, B1800, Vilvoorde, Belgium Tel. 0032 475492450
(Gilbert Putterie)
Fax. 0032 22677537 [email protected] www.magazinroyal.be
Manuela Gil Antiguidades (Jose Silva)
Rua Marquesa de Alorna 38c, 1700-304 Lisbon, Portugal Tel:(351) 218-464-313
Mob: (351) 964-055-915 www.manuelagil.pt [email protected]
Martin Giles Antiques
Barnet, Herts Tel. 020 8441 3380 Mob. 07860 782 286 Fax. 020 8441 3432
www.mgantiques.co.uk [email protected]
Michael D. Long Ltd.
86 Ireton Rd, Leicester LE4 9ET Tel. +44 (0) 845 260 1910 Mob. +44 (0)7970 161701
(Bob Hedger)
Fax. +44 (0)871 250 1910 www.michaeldlong.com [email protected]
102
105 - 107
British Cavalry Sword, The (Richard Dellar)50 King Edward Rd, Bath BA2 3PB07913 652 228
24
English Arms & Armour
www.thebritishcavalrysword.com [email protected]
103
Bryan, N.S.
Mob. 07860 225 535 [email protected]
Cartlidge, Michael
Tel. 07810 766755 [email protected]
Cook, A. S.
132 Rydens Rd, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, KT12 3DU,
Tel. 01932 228328 Fax. 01932 243126
www.antiquearms.co.uk [email protected]
Craddock, Richard
Tel. 07747 117472 [email protected]
Davinder Toor Ltd (Davinder Toor)
95, High St, Langley, Slough SL3 8NG
Tel. 07939 200 087 [email protected]
Dyson, P & Son Ltd 3 Cuckoo Lane, Honley, Holmfirth, W Yorks, HD9 6AS Tel. 01484 661062
Fax. 01484 663709 www.peterdyson.co.uk [email protected]
69
82 - 83
43
27-28
14
1-6
94 - 95
25 - 26
99 - 100
51
90 - 91
87
75 - 76
41 - 42
25
Table plan for the fair
Nobre, Eduardo
Apartado 4217, 1503-001, Portugal [email protected]
88
Oriental Arms
PO Box 55293, Haifa, Israel 34580 Tel. 00972 50 7587101 Fax. 00972 50 8251380
(Artzi Yarom)
www.oriental-arms.com [email protected]
Parr, Ralph
Sidegarth, Aughton, Lancaster LA2 6PG Tel. 01524 811808 Fax. 01524 811445
55
10 - 11
Pete Holder Antique American Firearms PO Box 1199, Guildford, GU1 9JR Tel. 01483 277788
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
24
104
105
103
94
92
32
23
93
33
fire exit
106
102
95
91
22
34
107
21
35
108
101
96
90
36
109
100
97
89
37
110
99
98
88
20
87
38
111
39
40a
40
41
fire exit
42
19
80
69
59
57
58
81
82
83
84
70
18
Fax. 01483 277784 Mob. 07778 008 008
www.peteholder.com [email protected]
45 - 47
Petty, David
2 The Grange, Green Lane, Burnham, Bucks SL1 8EN Tel. 01628 605519
77 - 78
ROA Antique Arms (Sue Davies)
P O Box 1904, London WC1N 3XX
Tel: 01223 968 684 Mob: 0033 684 182 054
www.roaantiquearms.co.uk [email protected]
Rod Akeroyd & Son (Rod/Jason)
20 Ribblesdale Place, Preston, PR1 3NA 01772 203845 Fax:01772 203855 07765 251532/07836 599464 www.firearmscollector.com [email protected] Seidler, Christopher F. (Chris Seidler)
PO Box 59979, London SW16 9AZ 0845 644 3674
www.antique-militaria.co.uk [email protected]
Spoils of War (David Hughes)
Hop Hill Cottage, Aubourn, Lincoln, LN5 9DZ Tel. 01522 788807
Mob. 07784 002826 www.spoils-of-war.co.uk [email protected]
Stand of Arms (Chris Berry)
Southgate, London N14 Tel. 0208 886 4730 Fax. 0208 482 2204
Mob. 07790 806364 www.standofarms.co.uk [email protected]
Thomas Del Mar Ltd
25 Blythe Rd, London W14 0PD Tel. 020 7602 4805
[email protected] www.thomasdelmar.com Wallis & Wallis (Roy Butler)
West St Auction Galleries, 7-9 West St, Lewes, BN7 2NJ 01273 480208
Fax:01273 476562 www.wallisandwallis.org [email protected] West Street Antiques (Jon Spooner)
63 West St., Dorking, Surrey RH4 1BS Tel. 01306 883487 Fax. 01306 883487
Mob. 07855 519934 www.antiquearmsandarmour.com [email protected]
23
16 - 17
53
93
38 - 40
110
20 - 22
67 - 68
Wilson, Pete
56 – 60
Yorke, P.
80 - 81
‘Quills’, Bagshot Road, Chobham, Surrey GU24 8DE Tel. 01276 857576
43
85
78
86
46
44a
73
65
1
74
64
63
53
50
48
47a
reception
47
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77
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15
67
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16
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68
60
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fire exit
2
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9
8
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7
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3
loading bay
26
27
T he d u el
T he d u el
The Duel
identical pistols. Since each was the
result of the combined efforts of several
craftsmen pairs of pistols usually differ very
slightly in detail if not in pattern. The next
step was to supply these pairs of pistols
complete with all necessary accessories
and by the late 18th century there was
an increasing market for cased duelling
pistols. There seems to have developed a
growth in the status value of these cased
sets and many gentlemen apparently felt
the need to own one. The owners often
had an escutcheon on the case engraved
with their coat-of-arms. Today cased pairs
of duellers are highly prized by collectors
as well as being highly priced.
By F Wilkinson
During the 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries a man’s life expectancy seldom exceeded
about forty years. Apart from the normal hazards of health and accident any gentlemen with a claim
to social status faced an extra danger; that of being called out or challenged to a duel. Honour or
respect was a quality often valued above life itself by ‘gentlemen of quality’. Any personal insult or
sign of disrespect inevitably generated a demand for satisfaction, a challenge. Failure to accept and
fight ensured that the challenged faced a life as a social outcast, shunned by all with any pretension to
gentility; accepting it meant putting his life at risk. It was essentially, but not exclusively a male problem
and a few duels between women are recorded.
The reason for the challenge could be
anything from an intentional insult, a
casual comment, a light-hearted remark
or a quizzical look. At least one Irish duel
in 1792 was fought because one man
used a coach that had been booked by
another. Over the centuries prescribed
rituals for the management of these
deadly affairs developed and generally
were followed by those involved. One
feature of the various prescribed systems
or codes of honour was a basic concept
that, as far as possible, neither combatant
had any physical advantage; each must
have an equal chance of surviving.
formed a guard for the hand. The rapier
was gradually modified and by the 18th
century was a lighter, shorter bladed
weapon known as the small sword;
decorative but still a potentially lethal
weapon. The sword could be used on
its own or in combination with a dagger,
lamp or shield held in the left hand.
The Weapons
Typical rapier of Northern European
dating from the second quarter of the
17th century. It has a shallow disc guard
with straight quillons terminating in ovoid
finials. The grip is wire bound with a fluted
ovoid pommel. The flattened diamondsection blade is just under 44 inched long.
28
Until the middle of the 18th century duels
were normally fought with swords and
for most young gentlemen part of his
education was learning to fence. There
were a number of schools of fence in
London and various styles of sword play
were developed and supported with
published manuals1. When swords were
used the blades were supposed to be
of the same length but there was no
allowance given to the fencing skills of
the duellists and a vicious few dedicated
duellers delighted in picking a fight with
less adept swordsmen. Before the duel
began instructions were made clear to
both duellists as to when and how the
duel might end and unless an apology was
offered the duel had to proceed.
From the 16th century until the 1780s
most gentlemen carried a sword as part
of their costume. During the 16th century
the most common sword was the rapier
A pair of percussion duelling pistols by
John Manton & Son (No. 9129) dating
from 1822. The 40 bore barrels are rifled,
a most unusual feature suggesting they
may have been intended primarily for
target shooting rather than duelling. They
are very early example of percussion
pistols, a new feature, but conservative
in style...The barrels are octagonal and
sighted and have platinum plugs. The
signed locks have set triggers with safety
bolts. The box retains many accessories
including a three- way powder flask.
An English cup hilt rapier of mid 17th
century with shallow, pierced cup,
recurved quillons, knuckle bow and a
globose pommel. The diamond section
blade is just less than 37 inches long.
which usually had a long stiff blade with
any one of a variety of hilts, composed
of a series of bars, shells or cups which
With the demise of the wearing of a sword
and the growing availability of reliable
firearms the pistol began to replace the
blade as a chosen weapon for the duel.
At first it seems that any two similar
weapons would suffice but because of
the social standing of the participants
these were likely to be better quality
or officer’s pistols. In any situation that
necessitated the use of a pistol reliability
was obviously of prime importance and
in a duel, even more so. The essential
features of shooting in a duel were a firm
grip of the pistol, a rapid assumption of
a good aiming position and a guarantied
discharge of the shot on pressing the
trigger. Ever conscious of a growing
demand gunmakers began developing a
pistol specially designed for the duel and,
aware of the need for matched weapons
were soon manufacturing pairs of virtually
In Britain in the late 18th and early
19th centuries there was no specific
law forbidding duelling but if it was
known that a duel was planned the law
attempted to stop it in order to prevent a
breach of the peace. Once a challenge
had been issued every effort was made
to prevent news of the forthcoming fight
from becoming common knowledge.
The chosen site was usually well away
from the public eye. When swords were
used it was important to select a level
piece of ground since fencing involved
much footwork and there should be no
chance of a stumble. The selected time
was usually early morning before most
people were about although at least one
well recorded duel in 1782 took place in
the evening.
Essential to the whole procedure were
the seconds, chosen friends of the
duellists, who had to be of an appropriate
social standing and were responsible for
delivering the challenge, fixing the time
and place and the routine to be followed.
It was not a task to be undertaken
without thought for, legally, the seconds
were deemed to be as responsible as
the fighters if any death occurred. There
are several well recorded cases when
the second and the principal were both
charged with murder but in very few
cases was a capital verdict returned.
The seconds were responsible for the
weapons and one of their tasks was to
supervise their loading. In the mid 18th
century the typical good quality pistol
would have probably been fitted with a
tubular barrel, mounted on a walnut stock
with either brass or steel mounts, and the
lock signed with the maker’s name.
The most important feature of all flintlock
pistols was obviously the lock and
naturally the gunmakers concentrated
their efforts on improving its reliability.
Despite its basic simplicity the sequence
of events was complex involving a number
of actions, each of which occupied a
small finite period of time but, added
together, amounted to a slight delay
between the pressing of the trigger and
the shot firing. In a duel this might create
just that difference between a lethal shot
and a miss. The aim of the lock-maker
was to reduce friction between moving
surfaces and so shorten the time taken to
complete the action.
It was difficult to improve the basic
internal mechanical system apart from
ensuring that bearing surfaces were as
smooth as possible. Pressing the trigger
set the whole sequence in motion and
the cock, holding the flint between its
jaws, swung forward, striking sparks of
glowing steel from the L-shaped frizzen.
In order that the glowing sparks fell into
the priming pan the frizzen needed to tilt
forward lifting the pan cover and exposing
the powder and here it was possible to
speed up matters. The toe of the frizzen
pressed down on the spring and by
inserting a small wheel or roller at the
point of contact friction was reduced.
The flame from the burning priming
powder passed through the touch hole
to initiate the main charge but burning
powder left a deposit. If not removed this
could reduce or even block the touch
hole potentially leading to a misfire as
the flame failed to ignite the main charge.
On many duellers the barrel was drilled
and a plug of gold or, from early in the
19th century, platinum was inserted and
the touch hole was drilled through it.
Both gold and platinum are noble metals
which resist corrosion so ensuring a clear
passage. Another development was the
damp-proof pan, its shape so designed as
to reduce the chance of moisture seeping
into the priming powder.
On some pistols there is an internal safety
device known as a detent; this is a wedgeshaped block which drops into position
when the pistol is held with the barrel
pointing upwards. When in place the
detent prevents the trigger activating the
mechanism rendering the pistol safe but
when lowered the detent disengages and
the weapon is ready to fire. It is a matter
of conjecture as whether the detent ever
jammed?
29
T he d u el
T he d u el
Converted duelling pistols are far less
desirable for the collector and they fetch
lower prices, a fact that encourages some
enthusiasts to re-convert percussion
back to flint. Some conversions are so
good that it is very difficult to detect the
changes. Close examination of the lock
plate, front and back may expose traces
of the changes but this involves removing
locks and not all dealers are so obliging.
Cased pair of percussion duellers by F. Barnes & 0Co. of London, circa 1840. The
mahogany case is particularly well fitted with accessories including a wad cutter punch,
sundry turnscrews, rods and a fluted powder flask. The pistols are half stocked with a kind
of transitional butts, retaining the earlier curve but thickened and with a splayed base with
pommel cap... The furniture is of blued steel. The locks have sliding bolt safety catches,
detents, some engraved decoration and the triggers are sat. The 40 bore octagonal barrels
are fitted with sights and secured to the stock by a sliding bar.
There was a further improvement to some
locks and that was the hair or set trigger.
This internal system could be adjusted to
regulate the amount of pressure on the
trigger needed to activate the action. It
was set by a small screw positioned by the
trigger or by a second wire-like trigger.
The setting of the trigger was important
as too light a touch might well lead to a
premature shot. It is debateable as to
whether the possibility of accidental
discharge outweighed the slight gain in
efficiency.
A well-made lock incorporating these
improvements
represents
probably
the peak of perfection for the flintlock
and with the use of good quality flints
probably guaranteed a shot. The proud
owner of a set of flintlock duelling
pistols by a top maker probably counted
himself set for life but in the 1820s the
situation changed with the advent of the
percussion cap. The new system offered
a better performance than the flintlock
and most dedicated shooters were then
faced with a difficult choice. Continue
with the old-fashioned system or change
to percussion with a heavy price to pay
for new pistols?
Fortunately the gunmakers came up with
a cheaper system to convert the original
pistol from flint to percussion. The lock
was detached and the pan, frizzen
and cock removed and the plate was
smoothed, some minor alterations made
and any holes filled. In place of the cock
30
there was a solid hammer with a recessed
nose; internally the lock was unchanged.
The barrel had the plug section with the
touch hole drilled out and a drum and
nipple was fitted into the space. The
plug had the nipple set vertically and so
positioned as to be struck by the nose of
the hammer. A copper percussion cap
was placed on the nipple and was struck
by the falling hammer and detonated the
chemical compound in the cap. The flash
passed directly to the breech through
nipple and drums and so fired the shot.
This system was much cheaper than having
a new barrel made with an integral nipple.
From the 1820s fewer flintlock pistols
were made but by no means all shooters
were won over to the percussion cap and
flintlock pistols dating from the 1840s and
later are not uncommon.
Walnut was the most popular wood
for the stock as it was readily available,
durable and grown in a range of differing
colours. The early style duelling pistols
conformed to a basic pattern but were,
in general, plain lacking decoration. The
butt was gently curved and either plain or
perhaps with a little chequering to provide
a less smooth surface to encourage a firm
grasp. A common variant style was the
slab-sided butt with plain flat panels. The
stock was usually plain but some pistols
were embellished with inlaid wire and
some of the fittings, trigger guard, ramrod
pipes and very occasionally a butt cap
were of silver although brass or steel were
more usual.
Duelling pistols were expensive and no
doubt the customer probably had some
input as to details of the pistol. Since the
size of individual’s hands varied the butt
shape may well have been tailored to sit
more comfortably in his grip. The degree
of curve to the butt may therefore have
been adjusted slightly by top quality
makers and the careful examination of
different duelling pistols seems to confirm
this2.
the grip, they made changes to the shape
of the butt. It was straightened and
thickened and the pommel splayed so
that the whole hand was engaged with
the butt, again strengthening the grip...
On some later pistols an earlier feature
was reintroduced and the broad flat base
of the butt was fitted with a pommel
plate. To improve the grip by giving it a
little extra support, the top of the butt
was extended back in a spur shape which
sat on the web between first finger and
thumb. This style of butt commonly has
the main part chequered.
There was yet one more optional extra
fitting introduced to improve the grip; a
small curved projection set at the rear of
the trigger guard and positioned so that
the first finger of the shooting hand could
curve round it. These extra features first
appear on London-made pistols and were
taken up later by the provincial makers.
Barrel design changed and the old tubular
barrel was replaced by a thicker octagonal
one. Many barrels had sights fitted on the
top flat but there were some who argued
that they were a distraction and if of
silver might even flash in the sunlight so
confusing the shooter. It was important
that the barrel sat securely in the wooden
stock and the earlier pistols use the lug
and pin system. The bottom of the barrel
had one or two down pointing small lugs
which fitted into appropriate recesses
cut into the stock and a pin was passed
through stock and lug. In the 19th century
a different system was more common and
the breech end of the barrel had a small,
sturdy hook-like projection. The stock
had a plate set into the face of the breech
end section with a recess into which the
hook fitted. In place of the pin which had
secured the lug the newer models had a
slim plate which served the same purpose
but was easier to remove when releasing
the barrel. Most early duellers are full
stocked with the wood extending, almost
to the muzzle but there was a growing
fashion, particularly in the early 19th
century’ to have only half stocks.
Another feature over which the customer
might well have had some input was the
diameter of the ball to be fired. This size
was defined by the bore –the internal
diameter of the barrel. In general pistol
bores varied between ten and forty which
represents a variation of, very roughly, half
to three quarters of an inch. The size of
the ball would affect the ballistics of the
shot although at the range at which most
duels were fought this difference would
probably be only marginal. The larger ball
would be less likely to penetrate deeply
but might well inflict a larger wound and
carry in more debris such as shreds of
clothing and dirt so increasing the chances
of infection. The size of the ball would
also decide the amount of gunpowder for
each shot but again the effect of differing
powder charges would probably be small.
One job for the seconds was to supervise
loading the pistols prior to the duel but
most of the Codes of Honour have no
mention of size or quality of powder to
be used.
There was some discussion amongst the
shooting fraternity of the period about
how the barrels should be bored, Most
favoured a simple central bore drilling but
others argued that the bore should be
slightly angled and some measurements
taken on pistols made by Rigby and
Wogdon suggest that some pistols were
so bored; once again what benefit, if any,
was gained is unknown. 3
From the later part of the 18th century
there was a growing fashion for makers
to supply pistols in wooden boxes. The
advent of duelling pistols led to the
production of quality oak or mahogany
cases. The inside of the lid was often
covered with a trade card or label listing
the maker’s skills and products. The main
body was usually lined with green baize
and the space divided by wooden fences
creating appropriate spaces to hold
sundry accessories. The number and
type of accessory varied but most carried
a powder flask, a bullet mould and some
cleaning rods. Some flasks were designed
to hold, in addition to the powder, a few
balls, (a two-way flask), whilst others had
receptacles holding balls and a spare flint
– (three-way).
As with most fashions a certain hierarchy of
makers of duelling pistols developed with
one or two being regard by the ‘quality’
as the best. London makers naturally lead
the field and most developments first
appear on London made pistols but the
provincial makers soon followed on. Soon
a group became the top recommend
suppliers with two or three seen as the
very best; Manton, Mortimer, and, above
all, Wogdon. Certainly their products are
of top quality but some of the provincial
makers could match them but whether
The majority of early pistol butts have
this simple shape but gunmakers were
innovators and, with the idea of improving
Originally made by the doyen of makers Robert Wogdon these pistols have been
converted to percussion after about 1820. The half stocks are of typical form with flatsided chequering. The furniture is of silver, hall marked for 1779; the 28 bore barrels are
signed in gold and have silver foresights... The mahogany case has an inset carrying handle
and contains a leather powder flask.
Pistol by Galton of Birmingham with octagonal 20 bore barrel. It dates from about 1810 and exhibits most features found on the earlier
examples.
31
hasty departure because the law made no
exception and this was murder and both
shooter and seconds were considered to
be liable for trial. Some duellist fled to
Europe but some were tried and found
guilty but a death penalty was rare and a
manslaughter verdict was returned with a
fine and a short prison sentence.
Typical fully developed duelling pistol of about 1840 with latest type butt, spurred trigger
guard, 40 bore octagonal barrel with sights, signed lock and safety bolt catch and made by
Lyell of London.
there was any great difference in shooting
qualities is debateable. For the collector
pistol bearing any of these names rate top
prices but there are others who produced
fine pieces; Rigby, Parker, Brunn, Jover
and Nock. The changes of detail are
useful pointers in dating examples but
fortunately some work books of the
makers have survived and specific dates
and details of the original purchasers can
still be found.
Before the duel could take place it was the
duty of the seconds to see if an apology
would be made and accepted and once
this formality had been observed the
deadly sequence began. If the code was
followed strictly the seconds loaded the
pistols just prior to the duel and normal
loading procedure was followed although
there are hints that there were some
dubious variations. Once the pistol was
loaded it was handed to the duellist and
some codes specified exactly how this
was to be done4.
The next step was to set the distance at
which shots would be exchanged, again
agreed by the seconds, this was paced
out, usually about ten or twelve steps.
The duellists now turned to face each
other and adopted the shooting position
which was normally with the right side of
the body facing the opponent. The signal
to fire might be verbal or visual such as
the dropping of a handkerchief and then
shots were exchanged, normally at once
although there are recorded examples of
one shooter holding position and taking
a steady aim. In some rare instance one
combatant might fire his shot in the air as
a sign that the matter was resolved and
honour satisfied.
Generally any wound signalled the end
of the affair but if neither shooter scored
a hit it was up to all to agree whether
honour was satisfied or another shot
should be fired. Two shots were usually
considered sufficient but at least one
duel in 1796 is recorded when six shots
were fired. In the event of a wound a
surgeon was at hand since the seconds
were bound by their duties to ensure at
least one was in attendance. In the event
of a death the victorious duellist made a
b at t l e
p
r
o
m
s
pIcNIc coNcerts
Jsl productIoNs preseNts
T he d u el
By the beginning of the 19th century
British public support for the duel was
waning and although opposition increased
there was still no specific law prohibiting
them. The advent of Queen Victoria
may have strengthened the opposition
but a big step leading to the virtual end
of duelling came in 1844 when army
officers were forbidden by regulations
from taking part. It was more of a threat
than a veto for if they were involved then
there were penalties such as no pension
for the widow in the event of a fatality.
It was not the complete end and one or
two duels took place but virtually it was
over. For the keen shooter target practice
took over and the duelling pistol became
a target one, often with rifled barrels.
The author and the organisers of the London
Arms Fair are indebted to Thomas Del Mar
for permission to use his photographs which
remain in his copyright.
Bibliography
The best references for details of the makers
see:
Blackmore H.L. A Dictionary of London
Gunmakers 1350-1840 London and Brown
Nigel British Gunmakers Vols 1 and 2
Anon British Code of Duelling 1823
The art of Duelling 1836
Atkinson, J Duelling Pistols London 1964
Baldick, R The Duel London 1965
Douglas, W Duelling Days in the Army 1887
Hamiliton, J Duelling Handbook London 1829
Hopton, R Pistols at Dawn London 2007
Landale, J Duels 2005
Neal, W.K & Back, D The Mantons Gunmakers
and The Manton Supplement 1967 and 1978
British Gunmakers Their Trade Cards Cases
and Equipment 1980
Wilkinson, F Death or Dishonour Cambridge
2012
A History of Handguns 2011
Wilson , J Code of Honour 1858
Burghley house - 5 July • Blenheim Palace - 12 July • hatfield house - 19 July
highclere castle - 2 august • althorP Park - 9 august • ragley hall - 16 august
a celeBration of
classical music with...
fireworks
sPitfire
cannons
cavalry
(Endnotes)
1 See Aylward. J The English Master of Arms
London 1956
Aerobatic Team
wIth charIty FlIght booKINgs
2 Some interesting work on this topic is
being carried out by De Witt Bailey and John
O’Sullivan see Death or Dishonour
Good quality flintlock pistol of 1760-1770 of the type which might well have been used
in an early pistol duel. The e 18 bore barrel is of brass as are the mounts. It has a full stock
with spurred butt cap with grotesque mask. It was named by William T Wilson who worked
in the area near the Tower of London known as the Minories, the name engraved on the
barrel.
32
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34
35
K i n g J oseph ’ s C hocolate P ot
King Joseph’s Chocolate Pot
by Paul Wilcock
It would not be unreasonable when perusing the articles in a guide to the London International Arms
Fair to expect that they would feature a range of topics relating to the wide selection of antique
weaponry arrayed upon the dealers’ tables. Outstanding cased flintlock pistols; exquisitely decorated
swords; fine uniforms and pieces of armour; orders and decorations from campaigns fought in
centuries past…but not a chocolate pot.
“Taken from King Joseph Buonaparte’s
baggage at the
Battle of Vittoria on the 21st June 1813
by Capt. Anderson
14th Light Dragoons.”
While the journey the pot took from
that day in 1813 to the present remains
shrouded in mystery, the circumstances of
its ‘liberation’ do not.
King Joseph-Napoleon Bonaparte was the
elder brother of the Emperor Napoleon.
Having helped Napoleon gain power
during the later years of the French
Revolution he continued to support him
after the establishment of the Empire,
being made King of Naples in 1806. Two
years later Joseph reluctantly accepted
the ground, and the fact that many of
the more experienced troops had been
recalled to France to repair the broken
remnants of the Grande Armee after the
crippling Russian campaign. Wellington
had succeeded in advancing from the
Portuguese border into North Eastern
Spain with an army comprising not only
British troops but also significant numbers
of Portuguese and Spanish, both regular
and irregular forces. The advance was so
effective that, with his customary lack of
insight, Joseph withdrew with his Chief of
Staff and Governor of Madrid2, Marshal
Jourdan in an effort to consolidate his
forces. On reaching the town of Vittoria,
Joseph had united three of his now
depleted armies3, the Army of the South,
the Army of the Centre and the Army
the 1st Hussars, King’s German Legion
and the 14th Light Dragoons. As they
pressed forward in the face of the French
retreat they captured the siege train along
with King Joseph’s baggage train. Losses
numbered around 5,000 on either side
with almost 3,000 French also being
captured, however the French losses
should have been much greater had they
been effectively pursued as Wellington
intended. As it was, the troops fell to
looting allowing the French to escape.
Wellington in a letter to Lord Bathurst was
appalled by their behaviour
“We started with the army in the highest
order, and up to the day of battle nothing
could get on better; but that event has,
as usual totally annihilated all order and
discipline.”4
Clearly the sight of the whole royal
baggage train proved too tempting an
opportunity for the victorious soldiers
and, it should be remembered, the local
population. The scene that met them is
vividly described by Colonel Sir Augustus
Frazer:
“Yelling and cheering the men fell on
the van. Smashing open its doors with
their musket butts they dropped back in
astonishment for the interior was packed
to the brim with church plate, bags of
coin, caskets and treasure chests”5
Charming as it may be, it is an unlikely
exhibit in a room otherwise filled with
antique arms and armour. In any other
year that might be the case, but 2013 is
the 200th anniversary of the Battle of
Vittoria, not only a significant event in the
Peninsula campaign but also in the history
of this small chocolate pot.
While the great majority of the historic
artefacts of the Yorkshire Regiment and
its antecedents are, as with most other
regiments, housed in the respective
regimental museums, there still remain
some unusual and historically fascinating
items occupying the variety of unit bases
still attached to the Regiment. While
not receiving the same exposure as the
museum exhibits, they are often equally
interesting and have similarly unusual
stories behind them.
36
In a small alcove beside the fireplace
in the Officer’s Mess at the Drill Hall in
Huddersfield, once the Battalion HQ of
the 5th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment,
stands a small silver jug. It measures only
eight inches in height, four and a half
inches at its widest point and has a lid
surmounted by what was once a gilded
crown. To one side is an ebony handle
to allow for hot liquid to be poured. It
dates from the beginning of the 19th
century and while simple in design has
an understated elegance. The style
and design lead to its identification as a
chocolate pot. While these are by no
means rare, they would be unlikely to
form part of the accoutrements of most
local households in Huddersfield in the
early 1800’s. Yet the chocolate pot has
been a feature of the Officer’s Mess in
the Drill Hall since beyond living memory.
Its journey to that comfortable alcove
however is somewhat more elusive.
In December 1980 Major General Donald
Isles, then the Colonel of the Duke of
Wellington’s Regiment received a letter
from Major General Palmer, Colonel
Designate of the King’s Royal Hussars.
Essentially the text of the letter indicated
that he was aware of the chocolate pot
and, while making no claim upon it by
right, wondered how the trustees would
feel about returning it to his regiment.
Major General Isles reply is not recorded,
but no doubt with his customary
politeness he declined, evidenced indeed
by subsequent correspondence, and the
fact that the chocolate pot remains in its
place by the fireplace today. However,
the reason for the enquiry can be elicited
from the inscription on the artefact itself,
for while there is no doubt as to its
current owners, the inscription provides
a fascinating insight into its history. The
inscription reads:
the title of King of Spain1 and arrived in
Madrid at the outbreak of the revolution
in 1808. His tenure was little short of a
disaster: progressively losing any support
he might have previously enjoyed from the
Spanish nobility; his reign was effectively
ended in all but name by the defeat at
Vittoria. This finally resulted in him being
forced to flee his domains and return to
France heralding the final recapture of
Spain by Wellington.
The Battle of Vittoria can be regarded as
the turning point in the Peninsula War
and arguably one of Wellington’s greatest
victories. By 1813 Napoleon’s military
ambitions in the Peninsula were in a state
of near collapse. This was principally due
to a combination of poor leadership on
of Portugal and awaited reinforcements
from General Clausel and the Army of
the North.
Wellington launched his attack with troops
commanded by Lieutenant General
Rowland Hill who in a bold and cunning
manoeuvre, advanced through the La
Puebla defile. Lieutenant General Sir
Thomas Picton’s forces then successfully
crossed the Zadorra River despite being
under heavy artillery fire from the
opposite bank. As the French defensive
lines began to waiver Major General
Victor von Alten led his cavalry brigade
in a fearless charge into the centre of
Vittoria and the French forces collapsed
and retreated in disarray leaving all behind
them. Von Alten’s brigade consisted of
Interestingly however, one of the items
looted by a Corporal Fox of the 18th
Hussars was Marshal Jourdan’s baton.
Presumably much to Fox’s chagrin, it was
eventually recovered from him, (including
the solid gold finials!) by his commanding
officer and sent by Wellington to the
Prince Regent who responded by sending
a Field Marshal’s baton to Wellington, in
confirmation of his new appointment with
the message:
“Your glorious conduct is far above
human praise and far above my reward.
I know of no language the world affords
worthy to express it.”6
It appears however that Wellington’s
views on the behaviour of the troops
were not entirely shared by the whole of
his staff. Brigadier D’Urban, commander
of the Portuguese cavalry writes in his
journal entry for the day:
37
“The French completely defeated and
dispersed leaving to the victors 150
pieces of cannon, immense quantities
of ammunition, his (King Joseph) military
chest, equipage etc. etc. The troops
behaved splendidly.”7
Despite
Wellington’s
vehement
instructions to the contrary the
opportunity for significant financial reward
meant that the looting continued and it is
still estimated that goods and money to
the value of around one million pounds
in the currency of the day was taken by
looters8. The 14th Light Dragoons were
at the forefront and as a result of one
famous acquisition they became known
as the ‘Emperor’s Chambermaids’. The
highly prized item was another of King
Joseph’s valuable treasures, his silver
chamber pot which still resides in the
King’s Royal Hussars Officer’s mess to this
day. It is still frequently utilised, but now
as a punch bowl rather than its original
intended function!
The sacking of the baggage train is most
likely the point when Captain Anderson
‘liberated’ the chocolate pot since many
contemporary accounts detail the spoils
taken from Joseph’s baggage train9. There
were serious consequences for officers
who were found looting as Wellington
had consistently made clear, and Francis
Anderson was a career soldier with
much to lose. He had been initially
commissioned in 1797 as a Cornet in
the 23rd Light Dragoons. He was then
promoted Lieutenant ‘without purchase’
in 179810. He appears in the 1812 Army List
as Captain in the 14th Light Dragoons from
August 181011. His promotion and change
1. Almanach Imperiale MDCCCXII p.93 Joseph
is listed as being appointed from 6th June 1808
and noted as ‘Roi des Espagnes et des Indes,
Prince Francais, Grande-Elector de l’Empire’
2. Almanach Imperiale MDCCCXII p.278
Jourdan’s main title after being a Marshal of
France is listed as being Governor of Madrid
3. In practice the armies of the Centre and
Portugal consisted of only four Divisions.
4. Gurwood J. (ed.) Letter to Lord Bathurst
in Dispatches of Field Marshal the Duke of
Wellington volume X p.473, London 1834-38
5. Esdaile C., The Peninsula War – A New
History, London (2002) p.428
38
of regiment is confirmed in the London
Gazette where he is described being
promoted Captain and as taking command
of a Troop12. His final appearance is in
the 1818 lists but not thereafter. During his
time in the Peninsula there is no doubt
that Anderson saw significant action and
he is recorded on the Military General
Service medal roll with bars for Talavera;
Salamanca; Vittoria; Nive; Orthes and
Toulouse13. There are no further records
of his activities and he does not appear
on the Waterloo Medal Roll since the
14th Light Dragoons were not present at
Waterloo.
At some point in its history the pot
has been expertly engraved with the
attribution above, probably at the same
time it was plated with a higher grade of
silver than the original pot14. It also carries
the mark ‘BB’ which appears to predate
the engraving describing how the pot
came into Anderson’s possession. On
the base are two hallmarks indicating
its manufacture in Portugal15 so it would
appear that this was a ‘local’ purchase
for Joseph rather than one he had
brought from Naples or France. There
is however another design above the
inscription which depicts a tree behind a
cross. This holds no significance in any of
the heraldic emblems of the Bonaparte
family: however it may be a corruption
of the clan emblem for Anderson as both
the tree and the cross of Saint Andrew
feature prominently. The positioning of
this emblem is above and exactly central
to the inscription.
“A magnificent classic on Sam Colt and Colt firearms.” – Norm Flayderman
Officer’s Mess in Huddersfield Drill Hall.
None of the antecedent regiments who
were associated with the Drill Hall fought
at Vittoria. The most likely explanation, of
which there are many other examples, is
that the chocolate pot was retained by
Captain Anderson’s family and one of
his successors served with the Duke of
Wellington’s Regiment and donated the
item as a gift to the Mess. Regardless of
all this, it remains an important reminder
of past victories and of the rich heritage
that is still retained in local regimental
outposts.
The First of Five Titles from The Art of the Gun Series
Coauthored by Robert M. Lee and R.L. Wilson
Two Volume Set, 600 11x14” Landscape Pages
Available in Classic and Deluxe Editions
Deluxe Edition
$
2900 per set
Paul Wilcock
21st March 2013
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my grateful thanks to
Capt. Ian Fillan (Retd), Col. Tim Isles (Retd)
and Major Stephen Armitage (Retd) for their
assistance in researching this article, and to my
fellow Trustees of Huddersfield Drill Hall for
permission to publish.
Signed & Numbered
Limited to 500 Sets
Hand-bound
in Premium
Tuscan Leather
King Joseph’s Chocolate Pot is exhibited at
the Fair by kind permission of the Trustees of
Huddersfield Drill Hall. Images are copyright
Trustees of Huddersfield Drill Hall.
Hand-crafted
clamshell case
DVD & Blu-ray
disc sets included
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Of course there in now no record of how
the chocolate pot came to rest in the
6. Haythornthwaite P., The Armies
Wellington, London (1994) p.251
of
12. London Gazette 31st July 1810 number
16392
7. D’Urban B. The Peninsula Journal 1808-1817,
London (1988) p.307
13. Military General Service Medal Roll
courtesy of Dix, Noonan & Webb, London
8. This is the figure quoted by Wellington
earlier in his letter to Lord Bathurst
14. The surface of the pot is 92.55 sterling
silver whereas tests indicate the original silver
is of a lower standard
9. The event is well documented both because
in Wellington’s eyes it was a further example of
break down in discipline, but also for the huge
financial gains made by individual soldiers.
10. London Gazette 6th March 1798 number
14096
11. Hart’s Army List 1812
15.I am grateful to Emma Paragreen from the
Sheffield Assay Office for her assistance in
identifying the markings
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39
F actory Gold I n la i d C olt P erc u ss i o n R e v ol v ers
Factory Gold Inlaid Colt
Percussion Revolvers
cited Magnificent Colts Selections from the
Robert M. Lee Collection and Colt Factory
Engravers of the Nineteenth Century by
H.G. Houze (2012). Pete Holder’s article in
The 75th London Antique Arms Fair guide
(Autumn 2005), stands among the most
important of breakthrough publications in
a firearms-related periodical.
by R.L. Wilson
The Revised Article, Updating
the 1969 Arms Fair Guide
“Gold Inlaid Colt Revolvers”
Is As Follows:
Note: The original of this article was a feature in the Guide for the September 2627, 1969 London Arms Fair. The author updated that piece, based on research
discoveries made over the past 44 years. Ed.
The honour of an internship at The Royal
Armouries, H.M. Tower of London in
1960, led the writer to the UK for the first
semester of his senior year at Carleton
College, flying the 4,000 miles from
Northfield, Minnesota. Arrangements for
that internship had been made through
Sir James Mann, Master of The Armouries,
HM Tower of London, who had been
contacted on my behalf by Hermann
Warner Williams, Jr. (Director, Corcoran
Gallery of Art, Washington DC), Stephen
V. Grancsay (Curator of Arms and Armor,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York), Colonel Frederick P. Todd (Director,
West Point Museum) and officials from
Carleton College. The applicable student
exchange program was through the
Experiment in International Living, Putney,
Vermont.
That first trip to London led to a long
time association with the UK, including
not only in antique arms, but the works
of modern makers like Purdey, Holland &
Holland, Peter Nelson and Boss & Co.,
plus a comprehensive fascination with
Britain, particularly the captivating genre of
Country Houses.
The experience at the Royal Armouries,
particularly under the guidance of William
Reid, Deputy Keeper, at a time when
Sir James Mann was Master, and Norris
Kennard was Deputy Master, greatly
broadened the writer’s interests in arms
and armour.
Rare daguerreotype of Colonel Samuel Colt, c. 1851-52. Courtesy Albert Brichaux
Collection. Reproduced in Magnificent Colts Selections from the Robert M. Lee
Collection, © Robert M. Lee Trust. Featured in Chapter III, revealing that the portrait of
Samuel Colt on the Navy pistol presented by the Colonel to E.N. Dickerson (Serial No.
3769) was based on this photograph.
40
Immediately following the Royal Armouries
internship, the writer returned to the U.S.
and was given a one-year leave of absence
from Carleton College, in order to work
full time on the loan exhibition, “Samuel
Colt Presents.” The accompanying book,
Gunmaker’s pull from frame of an as-yet undiscovered Colt Dragoon Model revolver.
Discovered by the author in the attic of Robert Young, grandson of Gustave Young, in
Springfield, Massachusetts, c. 1967. Print believed pulled by Gustave Young, and a key
source in attributions of certain deluxe arms to that artisan. Courtesy The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Department of Arms and Armor. Gift of John Gangel, 2012.
subtitled A Loan Exhibition of Presentation
Percussion Colt Firearms, was produced
as a Museum Assistant (and later Curator
of Firearms) at the Wadsworth Atheneum
Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut.
The extraordinary opportunities of the
Tower Armouries internship, and “Samuel
Colt Presents” were instrumental in
allowing a career in which arms and armour
became a full-time passion and profession.
Relevant to those experiences is a detailed
review of the evolution of the study of
engraved Colt firearms, appearing in “The
Engravers” section of the newly published
Magnificent Colts Selections from the
Robert M. Lee Collection, co-authored
with Robert M. Lee. That review begins in
Magnificent Colts, and then is continued in
detail within the website, yellowstonepress.
com.
The revisions made in the article which
follows could not have been done without
some 44 years of opportunities, among
these communications with collectors,
dealers, auction houses, independent
scholars in various fields, studies of
the extraordinary career of engraver
(principally in banknotes) W.L. Ormsby,
and the vehicle of computer “search
engines.”
Scholars, students, collectors and a variety
of experts who have contributed to this
explosion of knowledge are too numerous
to note here, but the two most up-todate references in print are the above-
Of all the American gun makers, Colonel
Samuel Colt was the acknowledged
master-salesman and entrepreneur - and
the leading manufacturer, innovator and
inventor - of his time. His fast-paced
success in the years 1847-48, when the
Colt-Hartford operations began, propelled
him into national and indeed international
renown. Keenly aware of potential
firearm markets the world over, Colt eyed
European sales and profits with a special
interest and enthusiasm.
As a young seaman (c. 1831-32), Colt
had visited London, touring the Tower
Armouries, and delighting in the products
of British gun makers. A genuine love
for Britain and things British was one of
several factors influencing the Connecticut
Colonel’s decision to not only aggressively
pursue sales in Britain and the continental
countries, but in fact to open a factory on
the Thames (near Vauxhall Bridge), where
The magic of computer technology
has allowed significant advancements
throughout scholarship, and that is no less
true in the study of engraved firearms.
Since Colts are the most examined of
all engraved American weaponry, the
results of the “search engines” and related
progress have contributed to identifying
specifically numerous engravers, and to
resolve many unanswered questions.
A list of the writer’s earlier works with
relevance to Colt specifically is at the end
of the present article. But of all those
titles (not to mention several articles in
periodicals), the most up-to-date is the
600-page, two volume Magnificent Colts,
as exhibited at the 2013 Arms Fair, and
advertised in the present Arms Fair Guide.
Model 1851 Navy revolver, Serial No 14332/., attributed to W.L. Ormsby, and the earliest
known gold inlaid percussion Colt revolver known to the author. George F. Gamble
Collection, donated to the Autry National Center of the American West. Featured in A
Life’s Tapestry of a Collector The George F. Gamble Collection, coauthored by George F.
Gamble and R.L. Wilson (2013).
41
Gustave Young’s Years with
Smith & Wesson - Rarity of
Gold Inlaid Revolvers for That
Firm
Collectors of Smith & Wesson arms will
note an occasional magnificent pistol by
that maker engraved or gold inlaid in a
similar style. After the Colt fire of 1864,
Gustave Young is known to have accepted
commissions from S & W (whose factory
in Springfield, Massachusetts, was but 25
miles from Hartford), and in fact the year
1869 saw Young and his family move from
Hartford to Springfield where he became
chief engraver for the Smith & Wesson
firm. Among the fancy pistols done by
Young for his new employer were gold
inlaid presentations for American President
U.S. Grant and for the Russian Grand Duke
Alexis, plus miscellaneous display pistols
for the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
of 1876 and the Columbian Exposition of
1893, in Chicago, Illinois.
Model 1849 Pocket revolver, rosewood cased set. Serial No. 63303. Engraving attributed to W.L. Ormsby. George F. Gamble Collection,
donated to the Autry National Center of the American West. Featured in A Life’s Tapestry of a Collector The George F. Gamble
Collection, coauthored by George F. Gamble and R.L. Wilson (2013).
Dragoon, Navy, and Pocket model pistols
were manufactured under Colt’s patents
from 1853 through 1857. For decades
thereafter, Colt’s maintained an Agency in
London, among the many London-related
subjects expertly covered in Joseph G.
Rosa’s Colonel Colt London (1976).
Two of Samuel Colt’s prime promotional
techniques – exploited by him on as grand
a scale in Europe as in America – were
displays at fairs and expositions and special
presentations to monarchy, military brass,
and selected politicians. At the Great
Exhibition of All Nations (1851) in London,
Colt’s stand was among the most popular of
the American exhibits. Some other widely
heralded showings of Colt arms were the
Industrial Exhibition and Exhibition of
the Industry of All Nations at the Crystal
Palace in New York (1853), the Universal
Exhibition in Paris (1855) and the Universal
Society for the Encouragement of Arts
and Industry (London, 1856). Always
there were engraved specimens featured
in Colt’s displays. A great many notes in
contemporary reports commented on
these elaborate firearms in “assorted sizes,
engraved and highly finished...” Generally,
the finest of deluxe Colt firearms were the
specific commissions of Colonel Colt as
special display pieces or as special orders
for presentations.
42
Gustave Young – Master
Engraver, Inlayer and Artisan
In 1853 the potential of a promising future
far from Germany inspired a youthful
but brilliantly talented engraver named
Gustave Young (1827-1895) to emigrate to
the New World. An association between
Young and his future employer may well
have come from meeting Samuel Colt
at the Great Exhibition of 1851; records
reveal that Young was among the millions
of attendees.
Young came to Hartford, Connecticut
soon after his arrival in New York City
(June 4, 1853), and joined the Colt
firearms company. In Gustave Young,
Samuel Colt hired the services of a man
trained in engraving and design - and fully
experienced through approximately fifteen
years of professional pursuit of his craft and
art. For the creation of lavish presentation
and display arms, Gustave Young was the
perfect candidate, and the perceptive
Colt was destined to make full use of the
special abilities of his new engraver.
Few engravers in America, before or
since, could match Young in his complete
mastery of the Germanic style. Leaving a
rather substantial legacy of fine arms, more
has been published about this artisan than
any other 19th century engraver working
in America.
Important documents which were crucial
in identifying Young and his shop are three
invoices from him as engraving contractor
to Colt’s. These are pictured in the author’s
The Colt Engraving Book. The earliest is
dated April 8, 1854; next is June 3, 1854;
and the third is September 23, 1854
(pages 92-93, and 96). The total numbers
of Model 1849 Pocket and Model 1851
Navy pistols listed in those invoices are 149
of the former and 72 of the latter. To date
several pistols listed on these invoices have
been identified, thus assisting in identifying
the “Gustave Young style.”
A unique ink impression pulled from the
frame of an elaborately embellished Colt
Dragoon (of c. 1854) was discovered by
the writer c. 1967, in the papers of the
Young family. This perfect pull reveals the
rich German-American scrolls, which he
used in engraving several key arms, such
as presentations by Colt to E.K. Root
and to U.S. Secretary of War, John B.
Floyd. In addition the Dragoon pull shows
imaginative animal motifs, which along with
American patriotic scenes, were specialties
of this master craftsman. In 2012 this
historic gunmaker’s pull was presented by
John Gangel of Orange, California, to The
Three gold inlaids from The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, personally presented to
Czar Nicholas I by Colonel Colt. The Dragoon Serial No. 12407, the Model 1851 Navy
Serial No. 20131/.; and the Pocket Model 1849 No. 63305. This photograph made for
the author in 1979, while these arms were on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
and at the Raymond Baldwin Museum of Connecticut History, Hartford. Reproduced in
Magnificent Colts Selections from the Robert M. Lee Collection, in Chapter I, “The Gold
Standard.” © Robert M. Lee Trust.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department
of Arms and Armor, for that institution’s
extensive decorative archives.
More recently discovered material offers
new data on the gifted craftsman. After the
celebrated Colt factory fire of February 4,
1864, Young drafted in his own hand an
advertisement for publication in Hartford
newspapers. The original manuscript
reveals something of the man, his
assignments under Colonel Colt and his
general abilities.
Gold & Silver, Steel and General
Engraver
The advertiser having been deprived
of employment by the late destructive
fire at Colt’s Armory, respectfully
offers his services to the public, as
an Engraver on Gold and Silver plate,
rings, and every kind of ornamental
jewelery, Steel and all other metals.
He has been engaged in Colonel
Colt’s Establishment for the past
twelve years in the highest walks of
the art; and abundant proofs of his
Skill are extant in this country, and in
Europe, in the splendid presents that
have been made to Crowned Heads,
and illustrious personages in different
countries. Specimens of his work
have been exhibited at the different
World’s Fairs and elicited the highest
praise. In soliciting public patronage,
the subscriber is confident, that he
cannot be outdone, if equalled, in
his line of art; and he is willing to
hazard his professional reputation
on any work with which he may be
entrusted. He can be found at his
Office No. Main Street, up Stairs.
Of the limited number of gold inlaid
revolvers by Young for Smith & Wesson,
a Model 1 ½ New Issue pistol from the
factory to President U.S. Grant appears in
A Life’s Tapestry of a Collector The George
F. Gamble Collection. Bearing Serial No.
41993, this richly gold-monogrammed
masterpiece is in a silver-mounted
rosewood and ebony case, and is fitted
with elaborately relief-carved mother-ofpearl grips. In 2012, the Grant presentation
was donated by collector George F.
Gamble, along with his extensive holdings
of arms of the American West, to the Autry
National Center of the American West,
Los Angeles, California. The collection is
scheduled to be opened for public viewing
in July 2013, in the George Gamble Gallery
of Western Firearms.
Acknowledged by S & W Historian Roy G.
Jinks as “the finest example of engraving
completed in the United States,” Serial
No. 27940 New Model No. 3 was richly
engraved and gold inlaid in a quite different
manner than the General Grant pistol.
Commissioned by S & W for the Columbian
Exposition of 1893, Young regarded
this revolver as his “masterpiece.” For
decades the pistol remained in the Smith
& Wesson Factory Museum Collection.
Eventually it was sold to private collector
William Foxley. Presently this elegant and
historic handgun is in the Robert M. Lee
Collection, and is featured on pages 40-41
of Magnificent Colts.
43
No. 27940 is among the very few signed
firearms by Young – something of a
contrast to the well-known L.D. Nimschke
and certain members of the Ulrich family,
who left numerous examples of signed
work, particularly on Winchester rifles.
Gold Inlaid Winchester Rifle
by Gustave Young, for the
Centennial Exhibition of
1876, Philadelphia
Among the most important of fresh
engraving discoveries is the Winchester
Model 1873 showpiece featured by the
company at the Centennial Exhibition of
1876 and pictured in Magnificent Colts
(page 535). Bearing serial no. 16139, this
exceptional sporting rifle is identified
in the factory records as “engraved by
Young.” None of the factory gold inlaid
percussion Colts studied by the author has
been identified having a Young signature,
although one pistol (serial no. 20133/.)
may have a hidden signature on the side of
the barrel, composed of scroll engravings
and gold inlays.
Obituary Tribute to Gustave
Young
The obituary of Gustave Young, published
in the Springfield Daily Republican, January
3, 1895, adds further details on the
background of this remarkably talented
craftsman:
Gustave Young, the well-known
engraver . . . died at his home on
Broad Street yesterday from tumour
on the brain.
Mr Young was trained abroad and did
some superior work, engraving the
most costly pistols for the Colts while
at Hartford and for Smith & Wesson
in this city. In 1893 he finished the
pistols sent to the Chicago fair by
Mr Wesson, including a revolver
[No. 27940 noted above] that cost
$1,500, probably the most expensive
ever made. While in Hartford he
engraved a revolver sent to Gen.
Grant, which had military emblems
in gold on the handle. Mr. Young was
born in Thuringia, Ger., May 6, 1827,
and worked for a time in Berlin for
the imperial engraver. While following
his trade in Warsaw he furnished two
fowling pieces for the czar of Russia.
He moved to this country 43 years
ago, and after working a short time
in New York, settled in Hartford . .
. . He was employed at Colt’s for
many years, and in 1869 came to
Springfield as engraver for Smith
& Wesson . . . . Mr. Young leaves a
widow and three sons, Oscar and
ex-Councilman Eugene Young (both
master engravers in their own right),
and Alfred O. Young a machinist . . . .
Other 19th Century Engravers
Who Were Rivals of Young:
Discoveries Primarily by
Computer-Generated
“Search Engines” Mining
Data on Craftsmen Previously
Unknown or Fully Recognized
Since publication of the writer’s The Colt
Engraving Book (2000-2001), research
primarily
computer-generated
has
discovered a considerable amount of
relevant data – not only about Young,
but of other talented engravers – many
of them having also learned their trade in
Germany.
These discoveries have identified not
only additional gold inlaid Colt percussion
firearms, but also recognized important
pieces wherein the attribution should
be to Young’s contemporaries – most of
whom were also masters of GermanicAmerican styles.
A particularly talented engraver who first
appeared in the writer’s The Book of Colt
Engraving (1974) was Herman Bodenstein
(1829-1865). Coming to the United States
from Germany in 1849, Bodenstein began
his employment at Colt’s c. 1852. The
author located Bodenstein in a Colt factory
notebook dated February 15, 1860, listing
contractors and their employees. The
name was also known through researching
city directories, where he appears from
as early as 1853 to the year of his death.
“The Sultan of Turkey Dragoon,” Serial No. 12406, photographed while in the George and Butonne Repaire Collection. Later presented by
the Repaires to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and presently on display in the Robert M. Lee Gallery of American Arms. The
revolver was discovered in a custom made case with accessories.
As noted in Magnificent Colts, Herman
Bodenstein:
became the Colt company’s engraving
contractor in late 1858 or early 1859
when Gustave Young . . . returned
to Germany. He also took over
Young’s cottage at 40 Van Block
Street immediately adjacent to the
Colt armory at the same time . . . . As
engraving contractor from 1858/59 to
mid-1865, Bodenstein was responsible
for some of the Colt company’s more
famous commissions dating from that
period. The most important of these
were the gold-inlaid New Model
Holster Pistols [1860 Army] presented
by President Abraham Lincoln to the
Kings of Denmark and Sweden, as
well as the pair of New Model Navy
Pistols [1861] given to Lewis Lippold
in 1864, all of which have previously
been attributed to Gustave Young...
Yet another engraver of talent in the Colt
atelier, was also German-born: John Marr.
Quoting from Magnificent Colts:
Three gold inlaids from the Colt Collection of Firearms, Raymond Baldwin Museum of Connecticut History, Connecticut State Library,
Hartford. These arms employed as factory samples for decades, including as recently as in the 1960s, lent back to the Colt company for
an occasional National Rifle Association of America exhibition. Dragoon Serial No. 15821/., the Navy No. 38843/., and the Pocket Model
1849 No. 71746/. From the presentation by the Pratt & Whitney Foundation of the Colt Collection of Firearms to the State of Connecticut,
1957.
44
Born in Benshausen, near Gera,
Germany, on November 6, 1831 (d.
May 12, 1921, Milwaukee, Wisconsin).
A brief biography of Marr appears in
Peter C. Merrill, German Artists in
America: A Biographical Dictionary
(Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD, 1997).
This volume notes: “Engraver and
sculptor. Marr was apprenticed to an
engraver in Zella, where he learned
to do decorative engraving on guns.
He came to the U.S. in 1852 and
found work at the Colt pistol factory
in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1855
he moved to Milwaukee, where he
established an engraving business
in partnership with a Danish-born
engraver, Peter L. Mossin . . . . Note
that Marr married into the Bodenstein
family taking Herman’s daughter
Bertha as his wife.
Listing of Known Colt
Percussion Revolvers, Gold
Inlaid
Colt’s commissions of key gold inlaid firearms
are shared not only with Gustave Young, but
principally with Herman Bodenstein, and
possibly John Marr. Among these firearms
are the following gold inlaid percussion
revolvers. Two other engravers now believed
to have gold inlaid Colts of the percussion
period are Herman L. Ulrich, John R. Evans
and W.L. Ormsby. Many of these arms
were embellished with gold and engraving,
and richly stocked and cased for displays
primarily in Europe, with some specimens
also exhibited in the United States.
Most of the following are pictured in The
Colt Engraving Book, Volume I, in Chapter
IV “Gold Inlaid Percussion Colt Revolvers
(c. 1852-1868).” Those marked with
an asterisk are pictured in Magnificent
Colts Selections from the Robert M. Lee
Collection. The designation /. indicates that
the dot accompanied major serial numbers,
and was a factory mark that the raw in-thewhite firearm required special polish and
treatment for embellishments.
Third Model Dragoons (Nos. 12406 and
12407*, and 15821/.)
Third Model London Dragoon (No. 7)
Model 1849 Pocket pistols (Nos. 63271,
63303/., 63305*, 63306, 67498/.*,
71746/., and 84624/.).
Model 1851 Navy pistols (Nos. 14332/.,
20131/.*, 20133/.*, 23477/.*, 28470,
and 38843/.)
Model 1860 Army pistols (Nos.
162977/E and 162978/E; latter yet to
be discovered, but known through Colt
shipping ledgers)
The following engraved and gold inlaid
pistols have been reattributed to Herman
Bodenstein, having formerly been
attributed to Gustave Young):
Model 1860 Army pistols, with silvermounted relief carved and inlaid grips:
For Frederick VII from President Lincoln
(Nos. 31904 and 30905)
For Charles XV from President Lincoln
(Nos. 31906 and 31907)
45
*Model 1861 Navy pistols, presentations
from E.K. Root to Lewis Lippold:
Serial Nos. 17239 and 17240
Model 1862 Police pistol, presentation
from the Colt factory to James T. Ames,
grip design by J.Q.A. Ward; engraving and
inlaying by Herman Leslie Ulrich. Serial No.
38549.
The Czar Nicholas I Dragoon,
Navy and Pocket Colts, As
Well as Similar Revolvers
The above-noted percussion Colts were
superbly engraved and mounted in flush
and relief gold; backstraps were typically
gold-washed – with the sole exception of
the President Lincoln revolvers, wherein
gripstraps and buttcaps were of silver.
Except for ivory grips on Pocket pistol No.
84624/. and on 1851 Navy No. 28470,
the above-noted pistols were fitted with
richly finished deluxe grain select walnut
grips. The majority of these arms bore the
barrel marking, Saml Colt, with gold inlaid
Gothic style letters. A few of these pistols
accompanied Colonel Colt on an important
promotional trip he made to England and
the Continent in 1854. Among the calls
made by the pitchman and gun maker
were to England, and to Russia and other
Continental sites. The Crimean War (185456) pitted Great Britain, France and Turkey
against Russia; but it was Samuel Colt’s
business approach to “make hay while the
sun shines.”
Istanbul c. 1967 by a British collector, Robin
Braid-Taylor. Later the author learned of the
revolver through American collector William
M. Locke, as well as through Mrs. Arlene
G. Maver, then the Curator of the Colt
Collection of Firearms, Raymond Baldwin
Museum of Connecticut History, Hartford.
Original records of the armoury of Czar
Nicholas I reveal that the gold mounted
Dragoon revolver No. 12407, the Navy No.
20131/., and the Pocket pistol No. 63305
were personally presented by Colonel Colt
at Cratchina, in 1854. To quote an extract
from these archives (translated from the
original French):
The Navy No. 20133/. was likely left
in England as a display piece, and was
sold through Christie’s in New York in
an Americana sale, January 26, 1991.
Discovery of that revolver, in an oak casing
with Navy No. 23477/., was made by
collector Mark Dineley in the 1950s. The
oak-cased set had been turned in to the
police; an illustrated newspaper clipping
accompanying these Colts relates that
story. The pair could easily have been
destroyed by the authorities as “dangerous
weapons.”
These three revolvers of different
caliber have been presented to his
Majesty in the autumn of 1854 (at
Cratchina), by Colonel Colt, the
inventor of the arm. Each one of
them in its case, with accoutrements
necessary for its use.
The Dragoon No. 12406 (mate to the
pistol given Czar Nicholas I) was reportedly
presented by (or on behalf of) Colonel Colt
to the Sultan of Turkey. It was discovered in
Magnificent Colts identified Navy No.
23477/. and Pocket No. 67498/. as a set,
as documented on pages 26-27 of that
title. Likely in the process of being used
as sample pieces, the pair was somehow
split up.
Cased set of Model 1851 Navy revolvers, as discovered by Mark Dineley, and acquired after the set was turned in during a police firearms
amnesty, in the 1950s. The most deluxe revolver, Serial No. 21033/., contrasts with the less elaborate pistol, No. 23477/. Likely No. 20131/.
had been removed from the double cased set for presentation to Czar Nicholas I, and then No. 23477/. was separated from Pocket
Model No. 67498/.; this unusual and still quite striking cased and matched ensemble was the result. Sold by Christie’s, New York, January
26, 1991, in a sale of American decorative arts. Featured in Magnificent Colts Selections from the Robert M. Lee Collection, in Chapter I,
“The Gold Standard.” © Robert M. Lee Trust.
Gold inlaid and engraved pistol, Pocket
Model No. 63271, was discovered behind
the ‘Iron Curtain’ in 1961. While touring
museums in Eastern Europe, Dr. Nolfo di
Carpegna of the Odescalchi Collection
(Rome), found the pistol in Czechoslovakia,
for sale in an antique shop; it was acquired
for the equivalent of $15. Dr. di Carpegna
had asked the writer to bring the pistol
to the U.S., find a buyer for it, investing
the funds in a savings account. That was
the sum the Doctor needed to fund an
extensive tour of the United States, a
few years after his great find. In time the
revolver was carefully cleaned by Lynton
McKenzie, and presently resides in a
private American collection, having been
sold through Texas dealer and collector
L.C. Jackson to Stanley Diefenthal, of
Louisiana.
Matched set of Model 1849 Pocket and Model 1851 Navy revolvers, show pieces commissioned by Colonel Colt. The Pocket Model Serial
No. 67498/.; the Navy Serial No. 23477/. Featured in Magnificent Colts Selections from the Robert M. Lee Collection, in Chapter I, “The
Gold Standard.” © Robert M. Lee Trust.
46
Serial No. 63306 gold inlaid and engraved
Model 1849 Pocket was discovered c. 2010
in France, and was sold by Sotheby’s at a
New York auction of Americana, January
21, 2012. That four-inch barrel prize
immediately went into a private collection
in the United States. The description in the
Sotheby’s catalogue offers extensive, upto-date information on No. 63306, as well
as on other gold inlaid percussion Colts.
Lack of Presentation
Inscriptions on Most of the
Gold Inlaid Colts
Ironically none of the gold inlaid Colt
pistols known to have been presented to
the Czar or the Sultan were presentation
inscribed. Certainly the reason for this was
that Colt had intended to use the fancy
pistols for special displays, with the hope
that the monarchs would be so taken by
them that Colt would have no choice
but to leave specimens as highly-prized
gifts. Further, the cases in which the Czar
Nicholas I and Sultan of Turkey revolvers
were discovered had no inscriptions, and
of the two, only the Sultan’s had been
custom made.
Diplomatic Presentations
from President Abraham
Lincoln to Kings Charles XV
and Frederick VII, Serial
Nos. 31904/31905 and
31906/31907
and engraved New Model Army (Model
1860) pistols commissioned from the Colt
factory by American President Abraham
Lincoln. These were presented in 1863
as gifts of state from Lincoln to King
Charles XV of Sweden and Norway and
to King Frederick VII of Denmark. Every
detail on these arms is of perfection,
and their designs are characteristic of the
ultra-richness of Victorian America, with
Germanic influences richer still.
Both pairs have buttcaps and gripstraps
of sterling silver, the butts finely engraved
with the seal of the President of the
United States. Silver grip plaque inlays
are engraved with the simple yet rather
awesome inscription: The President/
of the United States of America/to his
Majesty/the King of... Recent research
has identified Hermann Bodenstein as the
master engraver who embellished these
magnificent arms.
Each set is in a silver-mounted, velvet-lined
rosewood case, built in Hartford by William
Milton, 13 Albany Avenue, Hartford.
Matching the Czar Nicholas I Sultan
of Turkey pistols in magnificence, and
surpassing them in historical importance,
are two pairs of gold-inlaid, silver-mounted
47
based on designs by Ward. Certainly
Herman L. Ulrich was quite capable
of designing his own embellishments.
Conclusion
The estimated total production of gold
inlaid percussion Colt revolvers is some
30 to 35. This minute figure needs to
be contrasted with the number of Colt
percussion arms manufactured c. 183642 and 1847-1873: the total is in excess
of 1,000,000. In rarity, in workmanship, in
artistry, and in historical interest, gold inlaid
percussion revolvers represent the most
desirable single group of arms in the Colt
field.
Presentation pair of Model 1860 Army revolvers, embellished by Herman Bodenstein, and
inscribed from the President of the United States to King Frederick VII, Serial Nos. 31904
and 31905. Photograph by Bo Hylander, at Jaegerspris Castle, Denmark, where the set is
exhibited.
Rare Colt Revolver, Presented
by the Factory, Gold Inlaid
and with “Tiffany Grip”
Another gold inlaid percussion Colt
revolver long known to collectors and
aficionados is detailed as follows:
New Model (1862) Police revolver
Serial No. 38549: gold inlaid and
with gilt silver “Tiffany style” grips
designed on commission of the U.S.
Department of State, by John Quincy
Adams Ward (1830-1910). No.
38549 is documented in Colt factory
records as a presentation to James T.
Ames. At the time of the revolver’s
commissioning in 1866, Ames was
the chief executive and owner of
Ames
Manufacturing
Company,
Chicopee, Massachusetts. U.S. State
Department records in the National
Archives, Washington DC, indicate
that the designs for the grips were by
J.Q.A. Ward. No. 38549 is presently
in a private collection in the United
States.
The Colt factory records indicate No.
38549 to be a factory presentation,
although the entry does not mention
the presence of the gilt-silver “Tiffany
Grip” created by John Quincy Adams
Ward. The engraving and gold
48
inlaying on the revolver is attributed
to Herman L. Ulrich, who is likely to
have designed the decoration with
instructions from a highly placed
official of the company.
Pictured within pages 288-289 of
The Colt Engraving Book, Volume I is
the following from State Department
records, Instruction No. 68, of January
11, 1864, describing a pair of Colt
Model 1862 Police revolvers (nos.
25513/E and 25514/E) commissioned
by President Abraham Lincoln, for
presentation to Kibrisili Pacha (as
inscribed on each grip escutcheon),
Governor of Adrianople. These
cased and deluxe revolvers have cast
silver grips, but major steel parts were
engraved only and not gold inlaid:
The designs for the handles, which are of
solid Silver . . . and those on the barrels
were made by Mr. Ward, a young and
promising sculptor of New York, who
also superintended the workmanship,
which as you will perceive, is of the finest
description.
The Colt factory gift to James T. Ames,
New Model Police Serial No. 38549,
though fitted with the J.Q.A. Ward
grips, may or may not have had its
gold inlaying and engraving executed
The present article details the limited
number of gold inlaid Colt percussion
revolvers embellished by Gustave Young,
Herman Bodenstein, and other artisans
presently known to the collecting fraternity.
Intriguingly, Colt factory, Young family
records and other sources indicate that
additional gold inlaid Colt percussion arms
are yet to be discovered. Among these
treasures is a pair of New Model (1861)
Navy pistols and a New Model (1862)
Police inlaid and engraved for display at
the Paris Exposition of 1867. Another pair,
the Army Model of 1860, was reportedly
prepared for presentation to General U.S.
Grant. And probably a few additional gold
inlaid and engraved pistols were presented
by Colonel Colt to dignitaries in America
and Europe.
The presentation pair of Model 1860 Army revolvers, by Herman Bodenstein, inscribed from the President of the United States to King
Charles XVth of Sweden and Norway. Serial Nos. 31906 and 31907. Decades ago these arms were stolen from the Royal Armouries,
Stockholm, Sweden, and have yet to be recovered. For a color image, see the author’s The Colt Heritage and Colt An American Legend,
Chapter V, “The New Models – An Era Ends,” page 99.
From all indications, Samuel Colt anticipated
his opportunities for business in Europe to
have been every bit as promising as his
sales in America. In this relentless push
for recognition and sales, the artistry of
Gustave Young and his colleagues played
a distinctly significant role. And certainly
in Samuel Colt, the Czar of Russia, the
Sultan of Turkey, the King of Denmark, the
King of Sweden and Norway, and in armsrelated museums and the gun collector of
today, these distinguished artisans have
enjoyed the enthusiastic recognition which
in the final measure is the reward artists
and craftsmen strive for throughout their
creative lives.
The Model 1861 Navy pistols, Nos. 17239 and 17240, custom made for presentation from then Colt President Elisha King Root to
Lewis Lippold, a key Colt factory employee. Engraving and gold inlaying attributed to Herman Bodenstein. Featured in Magnificent Colts
Selections from the Robert M. Lee Collection, in Chapter I, “The Gold Standard.” © Robert M. Lee Trust.
49
EDRED GWILLIAM
ANTIQUE ARMS & ARMOUR
FOR SALE:
Always a comprehensive selection of pistols,
guns, swords and armour available
WANTED:
I am particularly keen to purchase and
always offer immediate settlement
New Model (1862) Police revolver, Serial No. 38549, gold inlaid and with gilt silver “Tiffany” grips, designed by John Quincy Adams
Ward, on commission of the U.S. Department of State. Presentation from the Colt factory to James T. Ames, of Ames Manufacturing Co.,
Chicopee, Massachusetts. Engraving and gold inlaying by Herman L. Ulrich. W.C. Foxley Collection, photographs by Douglas Sandberg,
Courtesy of Greg Martin.
Author’s Bibliography Relating to Colt
Firearms, Engraving, and Gold Inlaying
Samuel Colt Presents (1961)
The Arms Collection of Colonel Colt
(1964)
L.D. Nimschke Firearms Engraver (1965)
The Rampant Colt (1969)
The Book of Colt Firearms (1971)
Antique Arms Annual (1971)
The Book of Colt Engraving (1972)
The Book of Winchester Engraving (1974)
Colt Pistols (with R.E. Hable, 1976)
Paterson Colt Pistol Variations (with P.R.
Phillips, 1979)
Theodore Roosevelt Outdoorsman (1979)
The Colt Heritage (1979)
The “Russian” Colts (with Dr. Leonid
Tarassuk, 1979)
Rare and Historic Firearms (Christie’s
auction catalogue, 1981)
50
Colt Engraving (1982 edition)
Winchester The Golden Age of American
Gunmaking and the Winchester 1 of 1000
(1983)
Colt An American Legend (1985)
The Peacemakers Arms and Adventure in
the American West (1992)
The Deringer in America, Volume 2 (with
L.D. Eberhart, 1993)
Steel Canvas The Art of American Arms
(1995)
The Colt Engraving Book (two volumes;
2000, 2001)
The Art of the Gun, five volume miniature
set (with Robert M. Lee; 2002-2003)
The Paterson Colt Book, Dennis LeVett
Collection. (2002)
Things I Love The William I. Koch Collection
(2005, section, Western Arms and
Accoutrements, pages 138-157)
American Arms Collectors The Al Cali
Collection (2008)
Theodore Roosevelt HunterConservationist (2009)
American Engravers the 21st Century, by
Roger Bleile (2010; chapter by R.L. Wilson,
“Gun Engraving in America From the
1700s Through Modern Times”)
Magnificent Colts Selections from the
Robert M. Lee Collection (with Robert M.
Lee; 2011)
Great Colt Treasures (2013)
A Life’s Tapestry of a Collector – The
George F. Gamble Collection (with
George F. Gamble, 2013)
CANDLETREE HOUSE, CRICKLADE, WILTSHIRE SN6 6AX
Tel: 01793 750241 Fax: 01793 750359 Mob: 07836 613632
(visitors strictly by appointment)
51
52

The 91st London Antique Arms Fair

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