Antique Arms & Militaria

A Most Rare & Beautiful US Civil War Moore's Patent 32 Cal. 'Teat Fire' Revolver.

A rare Moore's patent .32 cal. Teat Fire revolver. Finely engraved silver plated frame, birds head butt. Good action. Fine over lacquered grips. The Teat Fire system, patented by Moore, was a most unusual front loading cartridge action, and his .45 calibre version, of the same action gun, is one of the rarest and most collectable guns of that era. Designed and made in 1864, during the Civil War, this is a very fine pocket sized revolver that saw much good service as a back-up or defensive arm for officers, and was very popular with riverboat and saloon gamblers, such as Doc Holliday and George Devol. There is a picture of an antique 19th century poster advertising Devol's gambling book. For information only not included. It utilized a special .32 caliber teat-fire cartridge designed by Daniel Moore and David Williamson. It was loaded from the front with the "teat" to the rear.
This 6 shot revolver has a 3?" barrel. Overall it measures 7-1/8" It has a fine silver plated frame. The barrel has some remaining original deep blue finish. The bird's head butt has 2 piece walnut grips. This model has a small hinged swivel gate on the right side of the barrel lug in front of the cylinder that prevents the cartridges from falling out after they are inserted.
The barrel markings are "MOORE'S PAT. FIREARMS CO. BROOKLYN, N.Y.", in a single line on the top. As with all our antique guns no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables  read more

Code: 22540

A Stunning & Rare Victorian US Civil War Period 'Whitworth' Rifle, One Of The Best Condition Examples We Have See in Over 20 Years

With an absolutely mouthwatering patina, as good as any Whitworth we have seen in the finest museum collections. Serial number 198. One of the most famous types of rifles used by snipers in the US Civil War in the 1860's. In fact they can be such a significant and rare weapon that with known Confederate provenence with correct serial numbering stamping and the like a Whitworth rifle value has been known to approach $100,000 in today's collectors market. Sadly, this fabulous arm has no known provenence surviving, however, it is a most intriguing and an even rarer example in some respects, in that it was converted in the 1870's to the improved 'Snider' breech loading configuration. We have never seen another surviving example of a Snider converted 'Whitworth' rifle before in over 50 years. From hundreds of yards away, a Confederate sharpshooter carefully aimed his prized Whitworth, the crosshairs of its Davidson telescopic sight outlined against the ramparts of Fort Stevens in Washington, D.C. Through the scope?fitted to the left side of the stock?his eye scanned the ample crowd of Union soldiers and plucky civilians who had ventured by, hoping to observe warfare up close. Suddenly, the shooter?s attention shifted to a tall bearded man wearing a stovepipe hat, realizing it was that Yankee president, within easy range of his English-made precision rifle. As he prepared to fire, though, a Federal officer dragged Abraham Lincoln out of view. When issued, the rifles came with specific rules of engagement. The Whitworth sharpshooter would only use his gun against high-value targets. Artillery positions, cavalry scouts, exposed officers, and enemy sharpshooters were fair game. Furthermore, they were free to operate independently, choosing their own targets and locations on the battlefield. Some Confederate generals?especially Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne of the Army of Tennessee consolidated their sharpshooters into dedicated companies, using them to divert enemy forces where needed.

While many high-ranking Union officers had fallen victim to sharpshooters armed with Whitworth rifles, Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, in command of the 6th Corps at Spotsylvania, was the most noteworthy witness to their effectiveness. Sedgwick was no stranger to enemy bullets, having been wounded several times prior to Spotsylvania. Ironically, he was hit but not injured by a spent bullet on May 8, 1864. The next day, his luck ran out. The story of the Whitworth and the Civil War; What the Confederacy needed as it prepared for war was a means of equalizing the disparity in arms fielded by the industrially superior North. Unable to produce what they needed, the South looked abroad. Arms buyers secretly visiting Great Britain obtained contracts for hundreds of thousands of regular P1853 Enfield rifles, and many other munitions that could be sent home by blockade-runners. But the available Whitworths were costly and difficult to come by.

Under wartime conditions, the price of a Whitworth rifle quickly jumped from $100 to $500, then again to $1,000 an expensive proposition considering how many regular muskets and rifles that same sum could buy, a Colt revolver in 1863 for example was just $20, and that was considered an expensive pistol at the time. $1,000 then was a simply mind boggling sum by today's standards. The Whitworth projectiles made by swaging, a unique forging process were difficult for the South to manufacture, so cylindrical bullet molds were added to shipments to supplement the smaller stores of hexagonal ammunition. These cylindrical molds then went to Southern arsenals to produce additional loads for distribution once the British rounds had run out. Overall 52 inches long As with all our antique guns no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables  read more

Code: 23154

A Fabulous, and Rare, 19th Century Imperial Russo-Prussian Grenadier's Mitre Cap

A most rarely surviving form of European service helmet. The highly distinctive mitre cap was in use by grenadier regiments of three principle nations [mostly British, Prussian and Russian] since the mid 18th century, they were used continually by the Russo-Prussians alone into the Napoleonic wars, in the early 19th century, right though in fact to the early 20th century, but they ceased to be used by the British in the end of the 18th century. The mitre cap is an extraordinary form of helmet that was both elaborate and decorative but also as a form of intimidation, to increase the perception of the height of a grenadier, yet still most functional for defence against sword cuts and slashes. Wih the helmets construction, a combination of cloth and pressed metal, creating a most effective ‘crumple zone’ against a slashing blade impact upon the soldiers head. The rarest of all the surviving mitre caps is beyond doubt the British, as they were in use for the shortest period of time and were entirely made of cloth, and that material survives poorly over 3 centuries. The Russian and Prussian examples had elements of metal within the helmets stamped crest frontispieces and frame, and, they were in use for longer, some into the WW1 period. However, all surviving examples are now very scarce indeed, and complete examples are most especially rare. The 18th and 19th century examples being the most rarest of all. The mitre cap, whether in stiffened cloth or metal, had become the distinguishing feature of the grenadier in the armies of Britain, Russia, Prussia and most German states during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. While Northern-European armies such as Britain, Russia, Sweden and various German states (perhaps most famously Prussia) wore the mitre cap, the southern countries, such as France, Spain, Austria, Portugal and various Italian states preferred the bearskin cap. By 1768 Britain too had adopted the bearskin. By the advent of the Napoleonic Wars, both mitres caps and fur caps had begun to fall out of use in favour of the shako. Two major exceptions were France's Grande Armee (although in 1812, regulations changed grenadier uniforms to those more similar to the ones of fusiliers, except in guard regiments) and the Austrian Army. After the Battle of Friedland in 1807, because of their distinguished performance, Russia's Pavlovsk Regiment were allowed to keep their mitre caps and were admitted to the Imperial Guard. In 1914 the Imperial German and Russian Armies still included a number of grenadier regiments. In the Russian Army these comprised the Grenadier Guards Regiment (L-G Grenadierski Polk) as well as the Grenadier Corps of sixteen regiments (plus an independent reinforced company of Palace Grenadiers, guarding the St. Petersburg Imperial residences). Five regiments of the Prussian Guard were designated as Garde-Grenadiers and there were an additional fourteen regiment of grenadiers amongst the line infantry of the German Empire. In both the Russian and German armies the grenadier regiments were considered a historic elite, distinguished by features such as plumed helmets in full dress, distinctive facings (yellow for all Russian grenadiers) or special braiding. A grenadier derived from the word grenade, and was originally a specialized soldier, first established as a distinct role in the mid-to-late 17th century, for the throwing of grenades and sometimes assault operations. At that time grenadiers were chosen from the strongest and largest soldiers. By the 18th century, dedicated grenade throwing of this sort was no longer relevant, but grenadiers were still chosen for being the most physically powerful soldiers and would lead assaults in the field of battle. Grenadiers would also often lead the storming of fortification breaches in siege warfare, although this role was more usually fulfilled by all-arm units of volunteers called forlorn hopes, and might also be fulfilled by sappers or pioneers. A very similar, near identical example appears illustrated and described in the The Lyle Official Arms and Armour Review 1983, page 261  read more

Code: 22034

A Supurb Trafalger Period Navy Rum, Stoneware Ceramic Rum Barrel, with King George IIIrd Royal Crest And Lions, & 'Fore and Aft' Barrel Tap Apertures

One imagine the Royal Naval officer's availing themselves daily of tots of rum. For meals, the officer's were supplied with decanted Port.

This is a simply superb navy rum barrel, stunningly impress decorated throughout the whole surface. with the Hanovarian royal crest of the Lion and Unicorn with lion surmounted crown, over the Hanovarian garter and shield. To the base of the crest are twin facing lions, in the same seated pose as can be seen at the base of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square.

Prior to 1655, a sailor's ration of alcoholic beverage was originally beer with a daily ration of one gallon (i.e. eight pints). This official allowance continued until after the Napoleonic Wars. When beer was not available, as it would often spoil easily, it could be substituted by a pint of wine or half a pint of spirits depending on what was locally available. In 1655, the difficulty in storing the large quantities of liquid required led to beer's complete replacement with spirits, with the political influence of the West Indian planters giving rum preference over arrack and other spirits. The half-pint of spirits was originally issued neat; it is said that sailors would "prove" its strength by checking that gunpowder doused with rum would still burn (thus verifying that rum was at least 57% ABV).

The practice of compulsorily diluting rum in the proportion of half a pint to one quart of water was first introduced in 1740 by Admiral Edward Vernon (known as Old Grog, because of his habitual grogram cloak). The ration was also split into two servings, one between 10 am and noon and the other between 4 and 6 pm. In 1795 Navy regulations required adding small quantities of lemon or lime juice to the ration, to prevent scurvy. The rum itself was often procured from distillers in Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and the British Virgin Islands. Rations were cut in half in 1823 and again in half, to the traditional amount, one-eighth of an imperial pint in 1850.

The abolition of the rum ration had been discussed in Parliament in 1850 and again in 1881 however nothing came of it. However, one dark day in 1970, Admiral Peter Hill-Norton abolished the rum ration as he felt it could have led to sailors failing a breathalyser test and being less capable to manage complex machinery.
This decision to end the rum ration was made after the Secretary of State for Defence had taken opinions from several ranks of the Navy. Ratings were instead allowed to purchase beer, and the amount allowed was determined, according to the MP David Owen, by the amount of space available for stowing the extra beer in ships. The last rum ration was on 31 July 1970 and became known as Black Tot Day as sailors were unhappy about the loss of the rum ration. There were reports that the day involved sailors throwing tots into the sea and the staging of a mock funeral in a training camp. In place of the rum ration, sailors were allowed to buy three one-half imperial pint cans of beer a day and improved recreational facilities. While the rum ration was abolished, the order to "splice the mainbrace", awarding sailors an extra tot of rum for good service, remained as a command which could only be given by the Monarch and is still used to recognise good service. Rum rations are also given on special occasions: in recent years, examples included the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Navy in 2010 and after the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.
Heavy stoneware, around 8 kilos {guess} size, 17 inches high 13 inches across/  read more

Code: 25216

A Simply Wondrous, And An Absolute Beauty of a Set of Cased, Double Barrelled Sporting Gun 1835, Maker to The King. Master Gunsmith, W Parker of London

A finest, original cased English double Damascus barrelled sporting gun by one of England's pre-eminent makers of the 19th century, William Parker of 233 High Holborn, gun maker to Prince Edward, to King William IV (1830-1837) and the Duke of Kent. The whole gun's mounts are hand engraved with superlative skill and expertise, it features, pheasants, a gun dog, dolphin hammers a stunning pineapple finial to the trigger guard and profuse scrolling arabesques. The stock is the finest Juglans Regia walnut and the mahogany case bears its original baize lining and maker label. It is fully fitted throughout with essential equipment and tools including a signed copper powder flask, a shoulder mounted bandolier type shot flask, a percussion cap tin, a gun fitted ram rod, and a separate case ram/cleaning rod, oil bottle, and a most rare shot-pouring funnel, nipple key and screw driver. To replace such a fine hand made gun today, likely only Purdey or Boss of London could have the skills required to replicate it. A fine engraved Purdey side by side, with a pair of Damas barrels, costs today ?113,500, with an 18 months to 2 year waiting time, and additional costs for casing and tools. When John Field died in 1791, William Parker went into partnership with his widow (name not known), and they traded as Field & Parker. John Field had been a goldsmith, sword cutler and gun maker at 233 High Holborn from 1783 to 1791, trading under his own name and also as Field & Co and Field & Clarke (William Clarke of Duke Street, Portland Place). In 1793, William Parker bought John Field's widow's share of the partnership. From that date he ceased being a goldsmith. In 1803, on John Brown's bankruptcy, he appears to have bought the rights to Joseph Hall's "New Invented Hammer" patent (No. 2573 of 1802 - waterproof primer and steel)from John Brown, and he used George Dodd's 1805 patented lock. In 1803 he started to supply the London Police Offices with guns. In 1804 William Parker became a Contractor to Ordnance. In 1806 Parker opened additional workshops at 22 Chamber Street, these moved in 1808 to 52 & 31-32 Chamber Street.

In 1814 the firm rented additional production facilities at John Stinton's workshops in Glasshouse Yard. In about 1814 William Parker's daughter, Mary, married John Field Jnr. From 1820 to 1826 William was recorded at 60 Theobalds Road (workshop). In 1829 William Parker started to supply guns to the Metropolitan Police (London Police Offices re-named). At some time William Parker became gun maker to Prince Edward, then to King William IV (1830-1837) and the Duke of Kent. In 1833 William became a contractor to the East India Company, and in 1837 a contractor to the Hudson's Bay Company. The double-barrelled sporting gun was seen as a weapon of prestige and authority, especially in the days of the East India Company and the later Raj in India, where it was known as Dunali (literally "two pipes"). It was especially valued in Bihar, Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab

In 1838 Ordnance contract ended and the firm moved their workshops to 10 Chamber Street. In 1841 William Parker died, aged 68, and John Field Jnr and his sons trading as Parker, Field & Sons took over. This fabulous gun is in overall excellent condition. As with all our antique guns, no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables  read more

Code: 22880

A Rare & Incredible Gilbert Islands Shark’s Tooth Kiribati Warriors Sword. In the Native Culture of The Islands It Is Called a Tebute.

A rarely seen {we have only had two in 15 years}, late 19th to early 20th century shark tooth sword, known as a tebute and was unique to the Gilbert Islands of Micronesia, the islands today are known as the nation of Kiribati.

The sword is made from seasoned wood of the coconut palm with cutting edges made from sharks teeth attached with fine fibrous cords. Most of these swords were destroyed by the maritime visitors to the islands. Kiribati has a history of contrived and ritualized duels. The armour was made of thickly woven sennit, a kind of coconut fibre. The duellists wore helmets made of blowfish remains. The helmets were resilient and, due to the structure of blowfish, covered with many points, which had the ability of damaging weapons. The weapons resembled broadswords with a serrated edge created with many shark teeth. The duels were performed mostly for the purpose of settling disputes and maintaining honour. The practicality of the duels is debatable. Due to the difficulty of moving in this armour, falling over and becoming unable to get back up was common enough that duel assistants were required. Kiribati has been known for its traditional martial arts which were kept within the secrets of several families for generations. The Kiribati arts of fighting as opposed to Asian martial arts are not often mentioned or even advertised to be known by the general public. Though, there may be some noticeable parallels in principle to that of Asian martial arts, they are merely really different. For instance, generally, there is no kicking as in Karate kicks or Kung Fu kicks, and speed is more important than power. A list of some of these traditional martial arts is as follows: Nabakai, Nakara, Ruabou, Tabiang, Taborara, Tebania, Temata-aua, Te Rawarawanimon, and Terotauea.

The essence of Kiribati traditional martial arts is the magical power of the spirits of the ancestral warriors. All these martial arts skills share one thing in common. That is, they came from an ancestral spirit.

"Nabakai" is a martial art from the island of Abaiang originated from the person named Nabakai. Nabakai was a member of the crab clan called "Tabukaokao". The three ancestral female spirits of this clan "Nei Tenaotarai", "Nei Temwanai" and "Nei Tereiatabuki" which usually believed to manifest themselves with a female crab came to him and taught him the fighting art. Overall 61 cm long.  read more

Code: 20923

A Very Fine, Late Middle Ages, Early Hand-Bombard, Iron Mortar Cannon. The Earliest Form of Ignition Battle Weapon That Developed into The Hand Pistole & Blunderbuss

Used in both the field of combat or from a castle battlement. This fine piece would make a wonderful display piece, perhaps set on a small plinth. Ideal for a desk, bookshelf or mantle.

The weapon that provided the name to the Royal Artillery rank of bombardier, and the word 'bombardment'.

A hand bombard was the larger version of the handgonne or hand cannon, yes still a good size for handling.
Small enough and light enough to be manoeuvred by hand and thus then loosely fixed, or semi-permanently fixed, in either an L shaped wooden block and used like a mortar, or, onto a length of sturdy wooden haft, from three feet to five foot long to be used almost musket like and bound with wrought iron bands see illustration in the photo gallery of these medievil variations of mounting. The precursor to the modern day pistol and musket from which this form of ancient so called handgonne developed into over the centuries. It is thought that gunpowder was invented in China and found its way to Europe in the 13th Century. In the mid to late 13th Century gunpowder began to be used in cannons and handguns, and by the mid 14th Century they were in relatively common use for castle sieges. By the end of the 14th Century both gunpowder, guns and cannon had greatly evolved and were an essential part of fortifications which were being modified to change arrow slits for gun loops. Bombards and Hand cannon' date of origin ranges around 1350. Hand bombards and hand cannon were relatively inexpensive to manufacture, but the skill required to make them was considerable, but they were not that accurate to fire. Nevertheless, they were employed for their shock value. In 1492 Columbus carried one on his discovery exploration to the Americas.
Conquistadors Hernando Cortez and Francisco Pizzaro also used them, in 1519 and 1533, during their respective conquests and colonization of Mexico and Peru. Not primary arms of war, hand bombards and hand cannon were adequate tools of protection for fighting men.

See Funcken, L. & Funcken F., Le costume, l'armure et les armes au temps de la chevalerie, de huitieme au quinzieme siecle, Tournai,1977, pp.66-69, for reconstruction of how such hand cannons were used.
At the beginning of the 14th century, among the infantry troops of the Western Middle Ages, developed the use of manual cannons (such as the Italian schioppetti, spingarde, and the German Fusstbusse).

Photo of the hand bombard recovered from the well at Cardiff Castle, by Simon Burchell - Own work

External width at the muzzle 3.25 inches, length 8 inches. Weight 10.2 pounds  read more

Code: 25213

Most Attractive, Antique, 19th Century Fire Bucket Decorated in Scarlet Red Livery, with Royal Crest. Such A Colour Is Synonymous With Britain. The Redcoats of the Royal Guard, The Red Pillar Boxes, Even Red Telephone Boxes & Once, The Entire British Army

It shows the same crest that one would find on fixtures and fittings within in a British royal residence. It’s condition for its purpose is very good, just natural aging and wear throughout.

Fire aboard a wooden ship or residence was a constant peril, from such as burning powder shot or cannon fire, or even from an enemy fire ship, and could be the destruction of a vessel and crew in a very short time, if not subdued as quickly as possible. Thus good and sturdy leather fire buckets were an essential piece of Royal Naval equipment aboard every vessel. We show in the gallery a row in an Earls stately home, and a row of Royal Naval issue fire buckets {reproductions} aboard Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, now in permanent dock at Portsmouth.
It is still the flagship of the Royal Navy in honour of Nelsons famous victory at Trafalgar. Fire buckets have been popular with collectors and owners of period homes for a very long time, but especially the board of ordnance issue examples for naval warships. They represent a time long before most towns had established and well-equipped fire departments ready to respond at a moment’s notice to a house or shop fire, when people relied on their neighbours to come to their aid. The risk for catastrophe from fire was great. A single stand-alone house could be consumed in minutes. In towns, fire in densely populated neighbourhoods could quickly result in the destruction of dozens of buildings.

Between 1630 and 1700 Boston experienced at least six major fires that destroyed well over 200 buildings. Most fire buckets were likely purchased from merchant craftsmen who specialised in leather goods, or wholesalers who imported wares from England. The earliest reference for the sale of fire buckets in Boston comes from a 1743 newspaper where an advertisement from an unnamed merchant simply states, “A Parcel of Choice Fire Buckets to be sold.” it is very rare to find a mark or signature on a fire bucket that identifies its maker.  read more

Code: 25212

A Very Fine British ‘Brown Bess’ India Pattern Infantry Musket, Of The Napoleonic Wars Period, Circa 1810. For Over One Hundred Years The British ‘Brown Bess’ Was The Most Famed and Feared Musket In The World. No Army In The World Failed To Respect Them

Facing a volley of several hundred or even thousands of them, fired in the enemies direction, repeated every few seconds, must have been a terrifying experience, never to be forgotten should they, by sheer luck, survive their awesome power. A demonstration of fire power that it could only be compared to, was British Artillery cannon fire.

In superb condition for age. The lock bears the ordnance ‘crown 2’ inspection stamp of Richard Duce {Crown Inspector from 1797 to 1818} universally seen on the muskets given over to the British ordnance for issue for line regiments in the Napoleonic Wars.
One of the India Pattern muskets likely turned over by the East India Co. army to the Board of Ordnance during the Napoleonic wars, due to the urgent need for arms to counter Napoleon's massive armament reserve. The musket was the standard weapon issued to the British soldier throughout the 18th and early-19th centuries. It would be the India Pattern musket that would play a central and pivotal role in the wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France.

By the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783, the British Army was armed with the Pattern 1777 Long Land and Pattern 1779(S) Short Land musket. The ‘short land’ was a musket made to the strict quality guidelines of the Board of Ordnance, and was characterised by its 42 in barrel. After the war the expectation was for a period of peace, a time when the need for Ordnance materials would be low, so the standing contracts for the Pattern 1777 and the Pattern 1779(S) musket were cancelled. Parliament was not prepared to fund equipment it deemed unnecessary, so financial retrenchment was the order of the day. Parliament is consistent in it repeated inclination to repeat over and over again its failure to grasp the realities of the most painful of lessons from history. Never being prepared for war makes it near inevitable, and being constantly prepared for war, ironically, makes it far less likely. The fundamental tenet of invasion and conquest, like bullying in the school playground is the same; the little unarmed guy gets crushed, the big, well protected guy, respected.

The world changed in 1793, a mere 10 years after the loss of the American colonies. Britain found itself once again at war, this time with Revolutionary France. An army now reduced in size to an authorized strength of only 44,432 men had to be expanded rapidly, along with the local militia and volunteer forces. The call for muskets was huge. Indeed, in 1793 the total stock of muskets in armouries around Britain, including the central arsenal at the Tower of London, was around 60,000. The stocks held in French arsenals amounted to over 700,000.

Something needed to be done. At first the Board of Ordnance tried to ramp up production of the Short Land Pattern muskets by engaging new contractors. Yet despite producing over 31,000 muskets in 1793 the numbers were still woefully inadequate for the expanding forces.

The Board of Ordnance had to fill the gap. They did this by ordering 10,000 muskets from the Birmingham gun trade and 10,000 from their usual emergency suppliers in Liege, Belgium. However this was still not enough, especially as the private contractors in both Birmingham and London were hard at work fulfilling orders for the private trade and for the East India Company, one of the biggest private purchasers of military arms. To begin to solve this lack of supply the Master General of the Ordnance, the Duke of Richmond, suggested to the government that they persuade the East India Company to sell their stocks of muskets to the government and also to agree not to place any further orders until the Ordnance's requirements were met.

The duke wrote to the Home Secretary, Henry Dundas, on the matter. As Chairman of the Board of Control of the East India Company Dundas had earlier been instrumental in securing parliamentary approval for the renewal of the East India Company's monopoly. The duke stated that he was: 'aware how unpleasant it must be to take such a step, and to deliver out to our troops these East India Company muskets, but ... the least important must give way to the most; and you will be best able to judge whether the East India Company can admit of a delay in respect of theses arms. And altho' they might not be quite so perfect as ours, they undoubtedly must be serviceable ones, and such as the new Raised Corps must put up with on the current Emergency.'

This suggestion was met with agreement, and the idea of introducing the East India Company's arms into British Army service was conceived. By the end of 1794 the East India Company had delivered 29,920 muskets into government stores, all that they could spare. Indeed transactions for East India Company muskets would continue throughout the duration of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. By 1815, the East India Company had sold the Board of Ordnance at least 142,970 small arms.

The musket that the East India Company supplied was one originally designed by General Lawrence for East India Company service, altered and simplified by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Windus in 1771. The musket in Company service became known as the 'Windus' pattern. In 1795, the Board of Ordnance began to order 'India Pattern' muskets on its own account and by 1797 it officially adopted the musket as the Model 1793 and began to place substantial orders for it with the Birmingham gun trade.

The Model 1793 India Pattern musket was standardized by the Board of Ordnance in 1797, taking account of its comparable cheapness, simplicity of design and ease of manufacture. By the end of 1797, the Birmingham gun trade was able to deliver some 72,000 muskets to the government proof house at Bagot Street. The success of this model was self evident, along with its slightly modified successor the Model 1809 India Pattern. They produced at an average price of 18 shillings and 5 pence (roughly £3,000 in today's money).

The Brown Bess musket was the standard weapon of the British infantry for more than a century. Soldiers on both sides of the War of 1812 employed it in battle, staring down its barrel at opponents across distances of less than a hundred yards.

Flintlock musket
The Brown Bess musket was the standard weapon of the British for more than a century.
British foot soldiers marched into battle with this musket—nicknamed “Brown Bess”—for more than 100 years. British redcoats used the Brown Bess to fight the War of Independence in the colonies, and many of their opponents in the Americans’ Continental army used it as well. British soldiers fighting in the Napoleonic wars carried it into battle, and it was the principal firearm used by the infantrymen who fought the War of 1812.

The Brown Bess had several distinctive features. It was a large-calibre weapon: the bullet it fired was a lead ball up to three-quarters of an inch in diameter, three times the diameter of a modern .22-caliber rifle round. The inside of its barrel was smooth: unlike more accurate “rifled” muskets used by the famous rifle regiments, the Brown Bess had a smooth bore with no grooves to make its fire more accurate. Soldiers loaded the musket through the muzzle, which meant that each bullet had to be forced down a longer than three foot barrel before firing. Even trained soldiers could only launch two or three shots per minute.

Because the weapon was slow to load and relatively inaccurate (experienced soldiers generally estimated its range between 50 and 100 yards), armies developed tactics that helped compensate for its shortcomings. The limitations of smoothbore muskets like the Brown Bess forced units employ “linear tactics,” in which a hundreds of soldiers stood in neat lines, shoulder-to-shoulder and out in the open. While such tactics appear decidedly unstealthy to twenty-first century eyes, they proved essential on the battlefields of all the conflicts which Britain was involved.
There, stealth was a low priority. Packing the men into blocs allowed officers to coordinate their troops’ fire into synchronized volleys. Firing a hundred guns in the same direction at once helped ensure that at least some, often most of the inaccurate musket balls found their targets. And grouping the men into neat lines out in the open helped commanders ensure that few of their troops gave in to the natural instinct to flee.

Of course, packing troops into blocks and fighting in the open required tremendous discipline from the individual soldiers. Infantrymen had to stand exposed to enemy fire as they loaded and fired their own muskets. And in some situations, soldiers learned the grisly dangers of fighting in lines—as at the Battle of New Orleans in the 1812 war, where American artillery attacked the exposed British formations with devastating effect.

The last photo in the gallery shows a photograph of one section of the collection in the museum of Waterloo, taken in around 1900, showing all the weapons of Waterloo en situ, including all the protagonists {British, French, Prussian and Belgian muskets, swords, pistols, armour uniforms, etc}. The museum was founded and owned by a veteran of the 7th Hussars that fought.

Overall in super condition, signs of combat use as to be expected, with some small carved military marking to the butt stock  read more

Code: 25208

A Sublime Napoleonic Ist Empire French Superior Officer’s Blue & Gilt Officer’s Sword in the Mameluke Style, With Finest Deluxe Grade Chiselled Decor. We Always Try Our Utmost To Offer The Finest or Most Intriguing Pieces We Can From History

With copper mercurial gilt hilt and chequered polished horn grip original gilt scabbard with helmeted Minerva head mounts, twin ring belt fittings with its original, multi looped hanging belt chains, with spring catches.
Finely engraved blue and gilt blade.

Napoleon's Egypt Campaign, that ended in 1801, many Napoleonic officer's adopted the so-called oriental mounted swords, modelled on the Mameluke taken by him from Murad Bey, commander of the Mamelukes, which he holds in his Egypt portrait captured from the Egyptian Marmalukes {see gallery} that eventually became part of Napoleons Imperial Garde.
These swords, in their turn, were captured by the British and similarly adopted as a form of highly favoured officers sword. In fact the mamaluke sabre became the British General's pattern sword that is still in use today. Several of these specific swords were part of a Sotheby's Napoleonic Wars auction in Monaco in 1990, titled "Belles Armes Anciennes Casques et Objects Militaires". The last photo in the gallery is of Joachim Napoleon Murat, King of Naples, brother of Napoleon's Mameluke sword, somewhat similar to our sword, and all based on the sword of Napoleon from Murad Bey.

In May of 1804 Napoleon established the French Empire and with it he brought back the title of Marshal of France, also known as Marshal of the Empire at this time. Abolished by the National Convention in 1793, the title of Marshal of France was officially a civilian appointment but reserved for experienced generals. It was an honor to become a marshal and the marshals received higher pay and privileges. Napoleon wished to gain legitimacy in the eyes of Europe since other nations had the rank of field marshal, and he wished to reward and ensure the loyalty of the generals to his empire and thus they wore such swords of this quality and beauty.

One of his greatest marshals to wear such a sword was Marshal
Marshal of the Empire
Étienne Macdonald
duc de Tarente
Étienne Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald. During the spring of 1810, Marshal Macdonald was sent to Spain to take command of the Army of Catalonia. While there he won at Ververa, but in 1811 he fell ill and returned to Paris again. In 1812 Macdonald was given command of the X Corps of the Grande Armée for the campaign against Russia. Macdonald's corps missed most of the fighting of 1812 due to being ordered to hold the left flank, but also due to his command being primarily composed of Prussian and German soldiers, with only his headquarters staff being French. Macdonald's corps laid siege to Riga in August, but they lifted the siege in December during the retreat, just in time for the majority of his force to defect away from the French side due to Prussian nationalism.

Napoleon needed experienced commanders for the campaigns of 1813, and in April of that year Macdonald was given command of the XI Corps. He won at Mersebourg and then commanded the right at the Battle of Lützen. Macdonald continued to lead his men into action, winning at Bischofswerda and then commanding the right at the Battle of Bautzen. That August he was placed in charge of multiple army corps but was then beaten by General Blucher at the Katzbach. Nevertheless, Macdonald continued to serve, and he fought at Leipzig , where after the bridge was blown early he had to swim the Elster River to escape capture. After surviving that escape unlike his fellow marshal Poniatowski, Macdonald resumed his command and then fought at Hanau.

Marshal Macdonald served during the defense of France of 1814, initially defending the Rhine but then being forced to fall back to Meaux. That February he fought at Mormant and Ferté-sur-Aube and then in March he fought at Provins and Saint-Dizier. By Napoleon's side, Macdonald along with Marshal Ney convinced Napoleon that he should give up the war and abdicate in favor of his son, Napoleon II. Macdonald, Ney, and Caulaincourt were then sent to negotiate with the Allies, but ultimately they were unable to secure the throne for Napoleon's son. When Macdonald returned to Napoleon to deliver the terms of surrender, Napoleon gave him the sword of Murad Bey, the Mameluke leader that he had defeated in Egypt.

Minerva, whose helmeted face is depicted and seen on the scabbard mounts, is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic warfare.

The blades scabbard has some inside denting at the base, and the blade has some natural age wear to the blue and gilt. Of course this sword’s original owner is now unknown, as none of its history was recorded or saved, however, once accurately known, a sword such as this could be valued anything from treble, to one hundred times its current price, simply depending on how famed he was then or now, or, how important he was to Napoleon and his campaigns. Marshal Nay’s sword for example could easily be valued from one to several million pounds.  read more

Code: 25207