A Roman or Pre-Roman Copper-Alloy Bronze Shield Boss {Umbo} Featuring A Stunning Lions Head and Mane. 3rd Century To 1st Century BC. Made and Used During the Roman-Etruscan Wars Era 509-264BC

A Roman or pre-Roman bronze shield boss (umbo), likely from the area later known in the Republic Era of Augustus as Italia, featuring a lion's head was a rare, striking piece of military hardware designed to intimidate opponents and display strength or status on the battlefield. Roman-Etruscan wars era, 509-264 BC.

Shaped or hammered into a bold lion's portrait with prominent facial features (eyes, nose, ears, and mane).
The lion image was intended to inspire courage in the wearer and strike fear into the enemy.

While standard Roman legionary shields (scuta) typically featured iron or plain bronze bosses to protect the center grip, specialized or decorative lion-head bosses were sometimes linked to cavalry units (such as a turma), senior officers, or parade/ceremonial armour.
Similar lion-emblem shield traditions trace back earlier through Etruscan and Mediterranean metalwork (dating from the 7th–5th century BC onwards) before appearing in Roman-era contexts around the 1st to 3rd century AD.

The Copper-Alloy Bronze Lion's Head Shield Boss, most similar to ours, {see photo in the gallery} is displayed as an object spotlight in Segedunum's 'Following the Eagle' exhibition, in North East England, this striking bronze shield boss featuring a bold lion's head design was uncovered near the Vindolanda Roman Fort along Hadrian's Wall  read more

Code: 26418

An Original, Ancient Roman Iron Stylus, Around 1900 Years Old. The Stylus An Ancient Form Of Writing and Erasing Pen Used By An Ancient Roman Scribe or Soldier To Inscribe Notes, Lists Or Details Upon A Wax tablet

It is thought that Roman wax tablets were filled with clean wax using a spatula, often with a handle in the form of a bust of Minerva; these spatulas are found in writing sets in graves, and in pictures of writing equipment, e.g. from Pompeii

A wax tablet is a tablet made of wood and covered with a layer of wax, often linked loosely to a cover tablet, as a "double-leaved" diptych. It was used as a reusable and portable writing surface in antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages. Cicero's letters make passing reference to the use of cerae, and some examples of wax-tablets have been preserved in waterlogged deposits in the Roman fort at Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall. Medieval wax tablet books are on display in several European museums.

Writing Side (Pointed Tip): The sharp, pointed end—typically made of iron, bronze, bone, or ivory—was used to scratch letters, numbers, and symbols directly into the soft wax layer. Pressing down revealed the contrasting wood underneath or left a deep indented line
Erasing Side (Flat Spatula): The opposite end featured a flat, circular, or blade-like spatula. The writer flipped the tool over to rub, flatten, or smooth the wax back out over mistakes, effectively acting as an ancient "undo" button or eraser

Styli and tablets were used for short-term notes and ephemeral, erasable texts. More permanent writings were committed to books or rolls of parchment (sheepskin) or vellum (calfskin) or, later, paper, using ink and quills or metal pens.

Merchants recorded transactions, clerks took dictation or shorthand, soldiers wrote messages, and officials drafted temporary records

Multiple tablets were often bound together with string or leather straps into "diptychs" (two leaves) or "polyptychs" (multiple leaves), making them easy to fold shut and carry

Styluses were first used by the ancient Mesopotamians in order to write in cuneiform. They were mostly made of reeds and had a slightly curved trapezoidal section.
Egyptians (Middle Kingdom) and the Minoans of Crete made styluses in various materials: reeds that grew on the sides of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and in marshes and down to Egypt where the Egyptians used styluses from sliced reeds with sharp points; bone and metal styluses were also used. Cuneiform was entirely based on the "wedge-shaped" mark that the end of a cut reed made when pushed into a clay tablet; from Latin cuneus 'wedge'.
The linear writings of Crete in the first half of the second millennium BC which were made on clay tablets that were left to dry in the sun until they became "leather-hard" before being incised by the stylus. The linear nature of the writing was also dictated by the use of the stylus.

The woman in the painted mural in the gallery is using the same Roman stylus (from a recovered mural from Pompeii) .

Another photo in the gallery is a carved marble panel of of likely a centurion wearing his toga and using his stylus and wax tablet

The wax slate photograph is from the Roman-Germanic Museum in Cologne

There is also a photo of an ancient Greek ceramic painting of a scribe using the stylus and tablet

Set upon a wooden display stand. Stylus 4 3/4 inches  read more

Code: 26421

A Very Good & an Absolute Corker!. A Line Regiment Issue 1796 Light Dragoon and Hussar's Troopers Sabre Used In The Peninsular War and Waterloo Era By the British Light Brigades. in Great Condition For Age

In April 1815, Sir Hussey Vivian was appointed to command the 6th Brigade of the Earl of Uxbridge's Cavalry Division. Vivian's brigade included the 10th and 18th Hussars as well as the 1st and 2nd Hussars King's German Legion. At the Battle of Waterloo the 6th Brigade was posted on the Duke of Wellington's left flank. In the late afternoon, Vivian's regiments, with those of General Vandeleur's 4th Brigade, were ordered to move to support the centre of the line, which was under pressure from Napoleon's Imperial Guard. After the enemy were repulsed, Vivian's hussars made the final charge of the day between Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte, sweeping the Middle Guard and Line units before them before breaking upon the squares of the Old Guard, which they soon learned to avoid. This service was rewarded by the thanks of both houses of Parliament, an award of the KCH, and the Orders of Maria Theresa and St. Vladimir from the emperors of Austria and Russia.

After hostilities had ceased, Vivian remained in France as part of the Army of Occupation in command of the 2nd Brigade of Cavalry

The Cotton Collection, the full weapons, militaria, and recovered artifact display, from the battlefield, housed at the Hotel du Musee at Waterloo, owned first by Edward Cotton, then by his descendant family, was sold by auction in 1909.

The mounted swordsmanship training of the British emphasised the cut, at the face for maiming or killing, or at the arms to disable. This left masses of mutilated or disabled troops; the French, in contrast, favoured the thrust, which gave cleaner kills. A cut with the 1796 LC sabre was, however, perfectly capable of killing outright, as was recorded by George Farmer of the 11th Regiment of Light Dragoons, who was involved in a skirmish on the Guadiana River in 1811, during the Peninsular War:
"Just then a French officer stooping over the body of one of his countrymen, who dropped the instant on his horse's neck, delivered a thrust at poor Harry Wilson's body; and delivered it effectually. I firmly believe that Wilson died on the instant yet, though he felt the sword in its progress, he, with characteristic self-command, kept his eye on the enemy in his front; and, raising himself in his stirrups, let fall upon the Frenchman's head such a blow, that brass and skull parted before it, and the man's head was cloven asunder to the chin. It was the most tremendous blow I ever beheld struck; and both he who gave, and his opponent who received it, dropped dead together. The brass helmet was afterwards examined by order of a French officer, who, as well as myself, was astonished at the exploit; and the cut was found to be as clean as if the sword had gone through a turnip, not so much as a dint being left on either side of it" The blade is remembered today as one of the best of its time and has been described as the finest cutting sword ever manufactured in quantity.

An extract from an 1862 publication;
HOTEL DU MUSÉE,
AT THE FOOT OF THE LION MOUNT.
This Hotel, kept by a niece of the late Sergeant-Major Cotton, is situated in the very centre of the field of Waterloo, and is strongly recommended to visitors on account of its proximity to the scenes of interest connected with the great battle, and also for the excellent accommodation and comfort it offers at moderate charges.—See Bradshaw’s continental Guide.

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 who personally fought at Waterloo. Another photo shows the front page of his collection catalogue

There are many reasons why people enjoy collecting swords. Some people are drawn to the beauty and craftsmanship of swords, while others appreciate their historical and cultural significance. Swords can also be a symbol of power and strength, and some collectors find enjoyment in the challenge of acquiring rare or valuable swords.

One of the greatest joys of sword collecting is the opportunity to learn about the history and culture of different civilisations. Swords have been used by warriors for millennia, and each culture has developed its own unique sword designs and traditions. By studying swords, collectors can gain a deeper understanding of the people who made and used them.

Another joy of sword collecting is the sheer variety of swords that are available. There are swords in our gallery from all over the world and from every period of history. Collectors can choose to specialize in a particular type of sword, such as Japanese katanas or medieval longswords, or they can collect a variety of swords from different cultures and time periods. No matter what your reasons for collecting swords, it is a hobby that can provide many years of enjoyment. Swords are beautiful, fascinating, and historically significant objects

Sadly, each sword once had its inventory label attached, but they are all now lost. With cotton's labels present the prices can be many times the value.

Pictures in the gallery of the Cotton Museum Auction pamphlet and labels, for information and historical context only. Out of interest, a few years ago half a French cuirass from the Cotton Museum Auction sold for 6000 gbp.

As with all our items, every piece will be accompanied by our fully detailed Certificate of Authenticity, based on over 100 years of our Brighton family trading  read more

Code: 26423

A Waterloo Battle Site Recovered British A 69th Foot Brown Bess Musket Bayonet Scabbard Formerly In the Sgt Major Cotton Museum Collection at Waterloo. Acquired From Auction Of The Exhibits Due To The The Museum Closure in 1909

A Battle Of Waterloo souvenir, from The Cotton Museum Collection at Waterloo. A Brown Bess musket bayonet scabbard from 69th Regiment of Foot that fought with distinction at Quatre Bras and Waterloo

In very good, immediately post battle recovered condition. The leather is superb, {but somewhat dry at present} as are the brass mounts, nicely regimentally marked for the 69th numbered to gun 541. The leather could be very nicely waxed and polished to revive its surface, but we have left it just 'as is' for the next owner to decide.

My goodness would not this bayonet scabbard add an element of unique history to any 'Brown Bess' musket with its bayonet.

Before the Battle of Waterloo the 69th were stationed south of Brussels, near the crossroads of Quatre Bras. Here on 16 June Dutch & British fought the vanguard of the French army. Both sides suffered heavy losses of over 4,000 men, and the Allied army was forced to fall back towards Brussels, planning to make a stand at Waterloo.

During the Waterloo Campaign of 1815, the 2nd Battalion of the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot earned a tragic but famous place in British military history. Composed of young, relatively inexperienced soldiers—with an average age of 21 and nearly 30% under the age of 18—the battalion was thrown into the crucible of two of the era's most intense engagements in a matter of 48 hours.

At the Battle of Quatre Bras, the 69th Foot suffered one of the most severe tactical setbacks experienced by any British unit during the campaign. During the battle of Quatre Bras, the 69th were charged by a mass of French cavalry. They attempted to form up into squares, with their bayonets pointing outwards. This formation was almost impossible for cavalry to attack, as their horses would refuse to charge onto a mass of spear-pointed bayonets. However, possibly due to confusing orders (because he was an idiot) from their inexperienced commander the Prince of Orange, the 69th were unable to get into squares in time. Two companies were caught in the open, and hacked down by French sabres, almost to the last man.

In this slaughter, a French cuirassier (armoured cavalry soldier) cut down Ensign Duncan Keith, who carried the King’s Colour. This flag was personally presented to the regiment by the monarch, and served as a rallying point and source of pride for the troops.

The 69th suffered 38 killed and 115 wounded out of 546 men. At the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June, there were too few men to form a defensible square, and they were forced to join forces with the 33rd Regiment of Foot to fight.

At Waterloo, the 69th had their revenge upon the French cavalry, as the horsemen charged the British squares several times, suffering appalling losses from musket- and cannon-fire. Captain Alexander Mercer of the Royal Horse Artillery said the French “were smashed to fragments” on the British squares “like waves beating against rocks”.


This was purchased from the auction of the Cotton Collection, by the Hamilton family, in 1909, a family of battlefield and antiquity relic collectors for over 100 years {prior to 1909}, acquiring pieces for the descended family collection of the late 10th Duke of Hamilton of Scotland

Edward Cotton was a veteran of the 7th Hussars who became a renowned battlefield guide and innkeeper. He wrote 'A Voice from Waterloo' and gathered a massive collection of battlefield relics. After the museum closed in 1909, roughly 3,000 items, along with the hotel contents and goodwill, were auctioned off in Brussels


An extract from an 1862 publication;
HOTEL DU MUSÉE,
AT THE FOOT OF THE LION MOUNT.
This Hotel, kept by a niece of the late Sergeant-Major Cotton, is situated in the very centre of the field of Waterloo, and is strongly recommended to visitors on account of its proximity to the scenes of interest connected with the great battle, and also for the excellent accommodation and comfort it offers at moderate charges.—See Bradshaw’s continental Guide.

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 who personally fought at Waterloo. Another photo shows the front page of his collection catalogue

Pictures in the gallery of the Cotton Museum Auction pamphlet and labels, for information and historical context only. Out of interest, a few years ago half a French cuirass from the Cotton Museum Auction sold for 6000 gbp.

In the 1820’s the Waterloo Mound bearing the huge bronze lion statue was erected, in honour of the Prince of Orange’s ‘unique’ contribution (no doubt for the slaughter of the 69th.)

As with all our items, every piece will be accompanied by our fully detailed Certificate of Authenticity, based on over 100 years of our Brighton family trading  read more

Code: 26424

A Very Good and Most Sound Early Late Georgian to Victorian Antique 'Blue and Gilt' Blade Swordstick, In a Fine Polished Bamboo Cane. A Most Elegant & Sophisticated Work of Art Collectors Item In Near Mint Condition..

Overall in very nice and extremely sound condition, four sided square section 'blue and gilt' engraved blade, and a very snug fit. The same 'blue and gilt' blade as can be seen in Lord byron's sword cane.

29.5 inches long blade, overall 34.5 inches long

Lord Byron was a most accomplished exponent of the use and carrying of the gentleman’s sword stick. His was exhibited in King's College London, bearing a mercurial gilt collar bearing his name, coronet and adopted surname Noel. Upon the death of Byron's mother-in-law Judith Noel, the Hon. Lady Milbanke, in 1822, her will required that he change his surname to "Noel" so as to inherit

An interesting 19th century conversation and collector's piece, and one can ponder over of the kind of gentleman who would have sought and required such a piece of personal defence paraphernalia. Although one likes to think that jolly old England had a London full of cheerful cockneys and laddish chimney sweeps, it was also plagued with political intrigue, nefarious characters and caddish swine prowling the endless foggy thoroughfares and dimly lit passageways. The swordstick was a popular fashion accessory for the wealthy during the 18th and 19th centuries. While the weapon's origins are unknown, it is apparent that the cane-sword's popularity peaked when decorative swords were steadily being replaced by canes as a result of the rising popularity of firearms, and the lessening influence of swords and other small arms.

The first sword canes were made for nobility by leading sword cutlers. Sixteenth century sword canes were often bequeathed in wills. Sword canes became more popular as the streets became less safe. Society dictated it mandatory that gentlemen of the 18th and especially 19th centuries would wear a cane when out and about, and it was common for the well-dressed gentleman to own and sport canes in a variety of styles, including a good and sound sword cane. Although Byron was proficient in the use of pistols, his lameness and his need to defend himself in some potentially dangerous situations made a swordstick doubly useful to him. He received lessons in London from the fencing master Henry Angelo and owned a number of swordsticks, some of which were supplied by his boxing instructor Gentleman John Jackson.

On Byron’s sword cane was the name NOEL BYRON, upon the ferrule of his one indicated that it was used after 1822, when Byron added the surname Noel after the death of his mother-in-law.

There are several references to sword sticks in the correspondence of Byron and his circle. Byron wrote to Hobhouse from Switzerland on 23 June 1816 asking him to Bring with you also for me some bottles of Calcined Magnesia a new Sword cane procured by Jackson he alone knows the sort (my last tumbled into this lake ) some of Waite's red tooth-powder & tooth-brushes a Taylor's Pawrsanias Pausanias and I forget the other things. Hobhouse responded on 9 July: Your commissions shall be punctually fulfilled whether as to muniments for the mind or body pistol brushes, cundums, potash Prafsanias Pausanias tooth powder and sword stick.

In the entry for 22 September 1816 in Byron's Alpine Journal he describes how, at the foot of the Jungfrau,
"Storm came on , thunder, lightning, hail, all in perfection and beautiful, I was on horseback the Guide wanted to carry my cane I was going to give it him when I recollected it was a Sword stick and I thought that the lightning might be attracted towards him kept it myself a good deal encumbered with it & my cloak as it was too heavy for a whip and the horse was stupid & stood still every other peal."

In a letter to Maria Gisborne of 6-10 April 1822, Mary Shelley described the "Pisan affray" of 24 March, in which Sergeant-Major Masi was pitch-forked by one of Byron's servants. She recounted how Byron rode to his own house, and got a sword stick from one of his servants.

Sword sticks came in all qualities, and for numerous purposes, from the simplest bamboo sword cane personal defender to stout customs officer’s ‘prod’, to offensive close quarter stiletto dagger canes and even to the other side of the world in the form of Japanese samurai’s shikome-sue, hidden swords.

We show two famous sword sticks in the gallery, one that belonged to Lord Byron, and another in a Presidential Centre Library collection, a historic sword stick is part of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Centre Library collection in Fremont, Ohio from the Waggoner family, the sword-cane was said to have been presented to Mr Waggoner by General George Washington in honour of Waggoner's service in Washington's Life Guard during the American Revolutionary War.

But it was Louis XIII who brought the cane to importance as a royal accessory. The king, as his portraits depict, supposedly always held one in his hands. He also gave them – along with valuable snuffboxes – as gifts of honour. Accordingly, gentlemen who wanted to be fashionable never went without this accessory from that time on. At the time, these were sort of ornate rods without a curved handle that were held in the hand or carried under the arm.

The 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century became the age of the cane. The tremendous popularity then created the desire to be seen with a cane. And so a wealth of unique
pieces with practical and strange handles and a mysterious inner life were created. The painter
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, for example, owned a cane containing a bottle that held a pint of absinthe.
In the mid-18th century Saxony's prime minister, Heinrich Graf von Brühl, possessed 300 sticks to go with 300 suits, together with just as many snuffboxes which he weared in turn. King Friedrich II, too, had a huge collection of luxurious walking sticks and snuffboxes. After the Seven-Years War one particular type of sticks with a handle formed like a rope, which was King Friedrich’s constant companion, became so popular, that it was dubbed the "Fritz crutch".  read more

Code: 26426

A Very Good, Original, 1640’s English Civil War Officer's Mortuary Hilted Back Sword. The Most Iconic Sword of 17th Century England & Used During Most Devisive Period of British History.

The traditional sword’s basket hilt bears, within oval panels, the engraved facial portraits, it is said, of King Charles Ist and Queen Henrietta, and several of the Green Man.

In the grey dawn of an England divided, as musket smoke curled over muddy fields and the clash of steel echoed across hedgerows, a particular weapon emerged as both a tool of war and a symbol of allegiance—the mortuary-hilted sword.

It was the year 1643. The kingdom was rent in two: Royalists loyal to King Charles I, and Parliamentarians fighting for, what they believed to be, the soul of England. In a forge just outside of London, nestled between the smoke-blackened rooftops of Southwark, a master bladesmith hammered a length of fine steel into shape. This sword would not be adorned with pomp or gilded with royal insignia. Instead, it bore a hilt that wrapped protectively over the knuckles like a skeletal hand—a mortuary hilt, practical and grim.

The name “mortuary sword” would later come from the erroneous belief that these hilts resembled funerary monuments or death masks, perhaps in reference to effigies of Charles I after his execution. In truth, they were designed for utility and protection, favoured by cavalrymen of both protagonists, for their sturdiness and balance. The complex iron hilt guarded the hand, while the long, straight, double or single edged blade, was ideal for both slashing and thrusting from horseback.

That sword described above was commissioned by Colonel Jonathan Harwood, a stern Parliamentarian officer in the New Model Army. Harwood, a veteran of Edgehill and Marston Moor, had turned from courtier to commander, disillusioned by the decadence of the Royal court. The mortuary sword at his hip was a symbol of this transformation—elegant but restrained, deadly but not ostentatious.

He carried it into battle at Naseby, where Parliament's forces broke the back of the Royalist army. The blade bit into the chaos of war, crossing with Scottish mercenaries, Dutch sabres, and French rapiers alike. And when the war drew to its bloody conclusion and the King’s head fell at Whitehall in 1649, the sword remained—not as a trophy, but as a testament to a nation’s reckoning.

After Harwood’s death in 1657, the sword passed to his son, who kept it sheathed above the hearth, a relic of turbulent times. Just as our sword may well have done. and, over the centuries, they changed hands, passed from soldier to collector, from dusty manor to museum. The once-blackened hilts still bore the ghost of the Parliamentarian's or Royalist's grip, and the steel, though dulled with age, whispered of riders in buff coats, of Cromwell’s charge, of England in convulsion.

Today, such mortuary-hilted swords like ours, can be seen in museums across Britain, including the Royal Armouries and the Imperial War Museum, their austere design speaking of a time when brother fought brother, and swords like this one helped shape the course of a kingdom.
In the Victorian period these swords thus became known as Mortuary hilted swords, due to the executed king's visage being designed within the hilt pattern. It is not known exactly how this came to be, but there is no known use of the term Mortuary hilted before this time. In the Civil War, the opening of the battle usually involved groups of cavalry, with the officers carrying these very form of swords. The main objective was to make the opposing cavalry run away. When that happened, the victorious cavalry turned on the enemy infantry. Well-disciplined pike men, brave enough to hold their ground, could do tremendous damage to a cavalry charging straight at them. There are several examples of cavalry men having three or four horses killed under them in one battle. At the start of the war the king's nephew, Prince Rupert, was put in charge of the cavalry. Although Rupert was only twenty-three he already had a lot of experience fighting in the Dutch army. Prince Rupert introduced a new cavalry tactic that he had learnt fighting in Sweden. This involved charging full speed at the enemy. The horses were kept close together and just before impact the men fired their pistols, then arming themselves with their swords for the all too fearsome hand to hand
One of the Roundhead officers who saw Prince Rupert's cavalry in action was a man called Oliver Cromwell. Although Cromwell had no military training, his experience as a large landowner gave him a good knowledge of horses. Cromwell became convinced that if he could produce a well-disciplined army he could defeat Prince Rupert and his Cavaliers. He knew that pike men, armed with sixteen-foot-long pikes, who stood their ground during a cavalry attack, could do a tremendous amount of damage.

Oliver Cromwell also noticed that Prince Rupert's cavalry were not very well disciplined. After they charged the enemy they went in pursuit of individual targets. At the first major battle of the civil war at Edge hill, most of Prince Rupert's cavalrymen did not return to the battlefield until over an hour after the initial charge. By this time the horses were so tired they were unable to mount another attack against the Roundheads.

Cromwell trained his cavalry to keep together after a charge. In this way his men could repeatedly charge the Cavaliers. Cromwell's new cavalry took part in its first major battle at Marston Moor in Yorkshire in July 1644. The king's soldiers were heavily defeated in the battle. Cromwell's soldiers became known as the Ironsides' because of the way they cut through the Cavaliers on the battlefield. The Mortuary hilted swords actually gained their unusual name some considerable time after the Civil War. For, as they bore representational portraits of King Charles Ist, it was believed in Victorian times that they were to symbolize the death of the King, however, as these swords were actually made from 1640, long before he was executed, it was an obviously erroneous naming, that curiously remains to this day. This example is a beautiful, and singularly handsome piece and would certainly be a fine addition to any collection of rare English swords. There are a few examples near identical to this sword in the Royal Collection and the Tower of London Collection.

Unfortunately, as is often the case, the ‘victory’ for the 'people' by Cromwell and his puritan Parliamentarians eventually brought rewards and lands for those puritans in charge, but for the 'people', only considerable misery and disquiet. The puritans dour religious fervour and overtly anti-celebratory religious edicts {such as banning Christmas festivities, dancing, music and even mince pies} brought great unhappiness and resentment to Britain and so the exiled King, Charles IInd was invited by the people to return from his exile in France to reign once more. The once lauded, but now dead Cromwell, was disinterred, his body tried for treason, found guilty, and his head once cut off was displayed at Westminster Hall for several decades. Yet one more politician that promised much, yet delivered little.

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury, Britain's famous, favourite, and oldest original Armoury Antique store, is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading, and thus, it is a lifetime guarantee.

In good condition for age with natural age wear and tear, single side bars. 35.25 inch long blade, overall 41 inches overall  read more

Code: 23161

An Absolutely Perfect Discerning Collectors Piece, by Charles Dickens. A Fabulous 3 Volume Charles Dickens Ist Edition, The Old Curiosity Shop & Barnaby Rudge, In, Master Humphrey's Clock. London: Chapman and Hall, 1840-41,

Alongside A Christmas Carol, the Old Curiosity Shop ranks as a true iconic tale of Victorian England, and ideal for the Christmas season.

Could one imagine anything better than settling down to read, or better still, to be read to, over a few cosy candle lit nights, a succession of Dicken’s short stories. These are the very first, original volumes, that were read at the very same time, in the very same same way, but some two centuries ago in Victorian England, and likely, dozens of times subsequently since by their various, most fortunate owners.

First edition of this collection of short stories. Large octavo, 3 volumes bound in red half morocco over marbled boards with gilt tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, engraved frontispiece to each volume, illustrated by George Cattermole and Hablot Browne. In very good condition.

Master Humphrey's Clock was a weekly serial that contained both short stories and two novels (The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge). Some of the short stories act as frame stories to the novels so the ordering of publication is important. Although Dickens' original artistic intent was to keep the short stories and the novels together, he himself cancelled Master Humphrey's Clock before 1848, and described in a preface to The Old Curiosity Shop that he wished the story to not be tied down to the miscellany it began within. Most later anthologies published the short stories and the novels separately. However, the short stories and the novels were published in 1840 in three bound volumes under the title Master Humphrey's Clock, which retains the full and correct ordering of texts as they originally appeared.

First edition in book form of what Gordon Ray describes as "the pinnacle of Dickensian Gothic". He goes on to note that Phiz (H. K. Browne) "is in excellent form" and that George Cattermole's "wonderful clutter of antiquarian or architectural detail is well suited to Dickens's chosen subjects".

Master Humphrey was a publishing experiment on Dickens's part, unique in his canon, of issuing two novels together: The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge.

3 volumes, large octavo (256 x 173 mm). Contemporary red half morocco, marbled sides ruled in gilt, spines lettered, ruled, and tooled in gilt, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt, green silk bookmarkers.

Printed frontispieces and 194 woodcut illustrations, of which 154 are by Browne, 19 by Cattermole, and 1 by Daniel Maclise.

Covers rubbed, slight rubbing and wear to extremities, vol. I front joint split at foot but remains firm, light foxing to margins, small marks to a few pages, generally bright. A superb set.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Eckel, p. 67 ff; Ray, The Illustrator and the Book in England from 1790 to 1914, 60; Smith I, 6.  read more

Code: 24092

A Fabulous Victorian Set of 24 of Charles Dickens Works, Superbly Bound In 17 Volumes By Chapman And Hall. The Ideal Christmas Present!

If you wanted a stunning set to enjoy or as an heirloom for future generations you would likely never see a better set of this type. Very good condition indeed, 17 beautiful volumes octavo, finest calf leather with marbled boards, five raised bands across each spine, with titles, in gilt on red leather with green leather title labels, and gilt decoratio. Marbled edges, with marbled end papers original illustrations, all contents clean and bright and bindings firm.
Charles Dickens
TWENTY-FOUR Works in Seventeen Volumes
COMPLETE
Sketches by Boz.

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.

The Adventures of Oliver Twist & A Tale of Two Cities.

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.

The Old Curiosity Shop.

Barnaby Rudge.

The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit.

Christmas Books & Hard Times. Including A Christmas Carol

Dombey and Son.

The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Bleak House.

Little Dorrit.

Great Expectations & The Uncommercial Traveller.

Our Mutual Friend.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood & Reprinted Pieces.

American Notes for General Circulation & Pictures from Italy & A Child's History of England.

Christmas Stories & Master Humphrey's Clock.  read more

Code: 25195

A Perfect, Very Special Christmas Gift or Personal Choice. The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James Published in 1931, Printed in 1949 Edward Arnold & Co London

Every year around this time we try our best to find a super original early post war edition of probably the very finest book of ingenious yet disturbing ghost stories ever written.
This year we have managed once more.

Montague Rhodes James, who used the publication name M.R. James, was a noted British mediaeval scholar & provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–18) & of Eton College (1918–36). He's best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. One of James' most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal Gothic trappings of his predecessors, replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings.
the stories contained are;
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book"
"Lost Hearts"
"The Mezzotint"
"The Ash Tree"
"Number 13"
"Count Magnus"
"'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'"
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas"
"A School Story"
"The Rose Garden"
"The Tractate Middoth"
"Casting the Runes"
"The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral"
"Martin's Close"
"Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance"
"The Residence at Whitminster"
"The Diary of Mr Poynter"
"An Episode of Cathedral History"
"The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance"
"Two Doctors"
"The Haunted Dolls' House"
"The Uncommon Prayer-Book"
"A Neighbour's Landmark"
"A View from a Hill"
"A Warning to the Curious"
"An Evening's Entertainment"
"Wailing Well"
"There Was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard"
"Rats"
"After Dark in the Playing Fields"
plus " Stories i have tried to write"

According to James, the story must "put the reader into the position of saying to himself, 'If I'm not very careful, something of this kind may happen to me!'" He also perfected the technique of narrating supernatural events through implication and suggestion, letting his reader fill in the blanks, and focusing on the mundane details of his settings and characters in order to throw the horrific and bizarre elements into greater relief. He summed up his approach in his foreword to the anthology Ghosts and Marvels: "Two ingredients most valuable in the concocting of a ghost story are, to me, the atmosphere and the nicely managed crescendo. ... Let us, then, be introduced to the actors in a placid way; let us see them going about their ordinary business, undisturbed by forebodings, pleased with their surroundings; and into this calm environment let the ominous thing put out its head, unobtrusively at first, and then more insistently, until it holds the stage."

He also noted: "Another requisite, in my opinion, is that the ghost should be malevolent or odious: amiable and helpful apparitions are all very well in fairy tales or in local legends, but I have no use for them in a fictitious ghost story."

Despite his suggestion (in the essay "Stories I Have Tried to Write") that writers employ reticence in their work, many of James's tales depict scenes and images of savage and often disturbing violence. For example, in "Lost Hearts", pubescent children are taken in by a sinister dabbler in the occult who cuts their hearts from their still-living bodies. In a 1929 essay, James stated:

Reticence may be an elderly doctrine to preach, yet from the artistic point of view, I am sure it is a sound one. Reticence conduces to effect, blatancy ruins it, and there is much blatancy in a lot of recent stories. They drag in sex too, which is a fatal mistake; sex is tiresome enough in the novels; in a ghost story, or as the backbone of a ghost story, I have no patience with it. At the same time don't let us be mild and drab. Malevolence and terror, the glare of evil faces, 'the stony grin of unearthly malice', pursuing forms in darkness, and 'long-drawn, distant screams', are all in place, and so is a modicum of blood, shed with deliberation and carefully husbanded; the weltering and wallowing that I too often encounter merely recall the methods of M G Lewis.
The condition overall is good with commensurate wear for age, with its original paper slip cover, although the original slip cover does have a tear and a small section over the spine lacking. It bears the original 1949 owners name on the inner blank page.  read more

Code: 23812

After Waterloo By Frye Beautiful Leather and Gold Tooled Volume Published 1908

beautiful leather binding with gold tooling. bearing the ex libris label with family crest of its owner Cecil E Byas, reknown collector who died in 1938, and part of his collection was bequethed to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.
Printed on handmade paper. The account by British Army major W E Frye of his travels around Europe in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo. As well as giving his opinions on the various European towns and cities he passes through, he vividly describes European culture in the early 19th Century, with detailed accounts of the Theatre, Opera and the Arts in France, Italy & Switzerland in particular. His experiences of post-Waterloo Europe left him with an generally positive view of Napoleon and the book gives an interesting insight into the contemporary opinions of the French leader and his effect on Continental Europe.  read more

Code: 23765