A Very Attractive 17th Century Indian Khanda Sword

33.5 inch blade, probably German, bearing crescent moon armourers mark. Open basket hilt with wide hand protection. The name firangi meaning foreigner was also apparently given to swords of this style these somewhat later in the 17th Century, as they were mounted with European blades, imported by the Portugese, which were highly valued. Some blades were locally made in the European style. The blades were mounted on the Khanda style hilt and with the long spike extending from the pommel which enabled them to be used as two handed swords. The firangi sword characteristically had a straight blade of backsword form (single edged). The blade often incorporated one, two, or three fullers (grooves) and had a spear-tip shaped point. The sword could be used to both cut and thrust. Examples with narrow rapier blades have survived, though in small numbers. The hilt was of the type sometimes called the "Indian basket-hilt" and was identical to that of another Indian straight-bladed sword the khanda. The hilt afforded a substantial amount of protection for the hand and had a prominent spike projecting from the pommel which could be grasped, resulting in a two-handed capability for the sword. Like other contemporary Indian swords the hilt of the firangi was usually of iron and the tang of the blade was attached to the hilt using a very strong resin, additionally, the hilt to blade connection was reinforced by projections from the hilt onto either face of the forte of the blade which were riveted together though a hole passing through the blade. Because of its length the firangi is usually regarded as primarily a cavalry weapon. Illustrations suggest a 16th-century date for the development of the sword, though early examples appear to have had simpler cross-guard hilts, similar to those of the talwar. The sword has been especially associated with the Marathas, who were famed for their cavalry. However, the firangi was widely used by the Mughals and those peoples who came under their rule, including Sikhs and Rajputs. Images of Mughal potentates holding firangis, or accompanied by retainers carrying their masters' firangis, suggest that the sword became a symbol of martial virtue and power. Photographs of Indian officers of Hodson's Horse (an irregular cavalry unit raised by the British) show that the firangi was still in active use at the time of the Indian Mutiny in 1857-58 The khanda can generally be a double-edge but can be a single edged straight sword. It is often featured in religious iconography, theatre and art depicting the ancient history of India. Some communities venerate the weapon as a symbol of Shiva. It is a common weapon in the martial arts in the Indian subcontinent. Khanda often appears in Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh scriptures and art The word khanda has its origins in the Sanskrit meaning "to break, divide, cut, destroy". Used from the time of Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (15 October 1542, 27 October 1605 ), popularly known as Akbar I literally "the great" and later Akbar the Great, he was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Please note the hilt is quite small, this is purely due to the fact people from that period, from all the continents around the world, were much smaller in stature and frame.  read more

Code: 23220

A Very Good Napoleonic Wars Romanov Cavalry Sabre Russian Double Eagle Crest. French Invasion and Retreat From Moscow Period of 1812

Probably 18th to early 19th century from the era of Catherine the Great to Czar Alexander Ist. Russian campaign sabre from the 1812 Russian campaign, Borodino, Smolensk and Moscow. In the cossack sasqua style, worn with the blade cutting side up. With walrus tooth hilt and engraved quillon bearing the Russian Romanov double crowned twin headed eagle crest with two cyrillic letters [English equivalent M E] within a shield. Leather scabbard with chequered decoration and wire decorative seaming at the throat.
A little known fact about the Napoleon's campaign into Russia is that Napoleon’s army actually lost more men on the way to Moscow than on the way back. The heat, disease, battle and desertion meant that by the time the Russian capital was seen on the horizon he had lost half his men. Nevertheless, what was important to the Corsican General was that he had reached the city. Battles at Smolensk and Borodino along the way had been costly and hard-fought, but nothing Tsar Alexander had done had been able to halt the Imperial juggernaut in its tracks though he had managed to extricate most of the Russian army intact from the fighting. In September the exhausted and bloodied Grand Arm?e reached Moscow with its promise of food and shelter, but it was not to be. So determined were the Russians to resist the invader that they burned their own old and beautiful capital in order to deny its uses to the French. Camped in a burned and empty shell, Napoleon dithered about whether to remain over the bitter winter or claim victory and march home. He was mindful of earlier campaigns into Russia such as that of Charles XII of Sweden a century earlier and made the fateful decision to return to friendly territory rather than face the snows without adequate shelter.

When it became clear that the Russians would not accept a favourable peace, Napoleon marched his troops out of the city in October. It was already too late. As the once-great army trudged across the empty vastness of Russia, the cold set in, as early as the French generals could possibly have feared. And that was the least of their worries. The horses died first, for there was no food for them. Then after the men ate them they started dying too, for all the supplies in Moscow had been burned a month earlier. All the time, hordes of cossacks harassed the increasingly bedraggled rearguard, picking off stragglers and making the survivor’s lives a constant misery. Meanwhile, Alexander ? advised by his experienced generals refused to meet Napoleon’s military genius head-on, and wisely let his army dribble away in the Russian snows. Astonishingly, by the time the remnants of the Grand Armee reached the Berezina river in late November it numbered just 27,000 effective men. 100,000 had given up and surrendered to the enemy, while 380,000 lay dead on the Russian steppes. 89.5 cm long overall  read more

Code: 20830

A Most Scarce Piece of Early 20th Century Movie Equipment. A Mitchell Camera Corporation Movie Camera Tripod. Known As The Camera That Filmed Hollywood

1920 patent. Three adjustable legs, bears the Mitchell movie corporation maker label with serial number, company address, model name, and patent number. Photos in the gallery of Buster Keaton with his camera and same Mitchell tripod, plus Rudolph Valentino, the most famous silent movie heartthrob in the world, with his, plus a movie director and cameraman with theirs. Original Mitchell tripods, complete with their mounted cameras can now command six figure values. Overall in very nice condition for age.

The Mitchell Camera Corporation was founded in 1919 by Americans Henry Boeger and George Alfred Mitchell as the National Motion Picture Repair Co. Their first camera was designed and patented by John E. Leonard in 1917, and from 1920 on, was known as the Mitchell Standard Studio Camera. Features included a planetary gear-driven variable shutter (US Patent No 1,297,703) and a unique rack-over design (US Pat No 1,297,704). George Mitchell perfected and upgraded Leonard's original design, and went on to produce the most beloved and most universally used motion picture cameras of the Golden Age of Hollywood under the name of The Mitchell Camera Company. The company was first headquartered on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles, then building a new factory in West Hollywood and moving there in 1930, and finally moving operations to their final factory location in Glendale, California in the 1940s.

Mitchell Camera Corporation was privately and quietly purchased in mid 1929 by William Fox of Fox Film Studios, just before the Great Depression began, though George Mitchell continued working with the company until he retired in the 1950s. Although William Fox had lost control and possession of his own Fox Film Studios and theaters empire in March of 1930, he apparently quietly retained possession of the Mitchell Camera Company, as William Fox's two daughters still owned the Mitchell Camera Company when the company closed operations and ceased in the late 1970s. The famous Mitchell Tripod - a wood base tripod was introduced about 1920, this tripod was manufactured and sold by Mitchell with very little change, other than the addition of a "Baby" shorter version introduced in 1928. 75cm high with legs extended.  read more

Code: 24261

A Stunning 2000 year old Ancient Briton, Original Celtic Chief's Bronze Chariot Mount, As Used By Queen Boadicea, Also Known As Boudicca Queen of the Iceni, of the Ancient Britons of A Chieftain That Perished at the Battle of Silchester, circa 60 ad

The polished mahoghany display stand has just arrived back from re-polishing, it was originally designed to replicate the top of the wooden chariot mount it would have originally been mounted upon. So the photographic images have been re taken to show it how it now looks complete.

Apparently excavated from a Chieftains Burial Site, Viables in Hampshire, England, in the 19th century. Just south of Silchester, now thought to be a battle site of Queen Boudicca. Thus it is possible this came from a chieftains burial of a chief of Boudicca that perished at Silchster.

Evidence found at the Roman site of Silchester could mean it was the site of one of Boudicca's battles.
Professor Michael Fulford said that 13 years of excavations at Calleva had revealed evidence of the first gridded Iron Age town in Britain.
The site also bears the scars of possible early Roman military occupation, and evidence of later, widespread burning and destruction.
This suggests the site could have been destroyed at the hands of Boudicca.
Queen Boudicca waged war against the Romans in Britain from 60 AD after the Romans decided to rule the Iceni directly and confiscated the property of the leading tribesmen.
Boudicca's warriors successfully defeated the Roman Ninth Legion and destroyed the capital of Roman Britain, then at Colchester. They went on to destroy London and Verulamium (St Albans).
Thousands were killed. Finally, Boudicca was defeated by a Roman army led by Paulinus. Many Britons were killed and Boudicca is thought to have poisoned herself to avoid capture.
The site of the battle, and of Boudicca's death, are unknown.
A reconstruction of the battles between the Iceni and the Romans
Iceni warriors may have laid waste to Silchester
Professor Fulford said that in excavations at Silchester they had found evidence of a major military occupation at Calleva (now called Silchester) in 40 AD, then destruction between 60 and 80 AD, including wells that were filled in at this time and burned buildings.
"The settlement is completely wiped out somewhere between 60 AD and 80 AD, and it starts

Not only an incredibly beautiful ancient work of art, it is a unique artefact of ancient Romano-British history, and a fabulous large statement piece for any fine collection. It looks amazing mounted on it's old mahogany bespoke display stand.

[Queen Boudicea was also spelt Boudicca, or Boudica] In the time of the Ancient Briton Celts revolt against the might of Rome. A wonderful original, cast bronze large terret rein holder, once a significant mount from an Ancient Briton Celt chieftain's war chariot. Early-Mid 1st century AD, the very time of Boudicca. A cast carinated pillared terret [rein holder] with lobed flanges and upturned knopped crescents, columnar shank and flange with ferrous remains to the underside. This would have been mounted on the haft of the war chariot. And in an excavation one of maybe only a half dozen bronze pieces of the chariot that could have survived the ravages of time. There is so few opportunities to own a wonderful piece from the time of Boudicca Queen of the Iceni of ancient Briton. There are no known surviving artefacts of hers, but to own a significant part of maybe one of her chieftain's chariots is wonderful. About the time of Claudius' triumph in AD 43 (a century after Caesar's expeditions), Pomponius Mela, the first Roman geographer, says of the Britons that

"they fight not only on horseback and on foot, but also in wagons and chariots [bigis et curribus], and are armed after the manner of the Gauls. They call those chariots covines which are set with scythes round about the naves [falcatis axibus]" (De Chorographia, III.43; first translated by Arthur Golding in 1585 and modernized here). In AD 60 or 61, when the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was campaigning on the island of Mona (modern Anglesey) on the northwest coast of Wales, Boudica led the Iceni, the Trinovantes, and others in revolt. They destroyed Camulodunum (modern Colchester), earlier the capital of the Trinovantes but at that time a colonia, a settlement for discharged Roman soldiers and site of a temple to the former Emperor Claudius. Upon hearing of the revolt, Suetonius hurried to Londinium (modern London), the 20-year-old commercial settlement that was the rebels' next target. He lacked sufficient numbers to defend the settlement, and he evacuated and abandoned Londinium. Boudicca led a very large army of Iceni, Trinovantes, and others against a detachment of Legio IX Hispana, defeating them, and burning Londinium and Verulamium.

An estimated 70,000-80,000 Romans and British were then killed in the three cities by those following Boudicca, many by torture. Suetonius, meanwhile, regrouped his forces, possibly in the West Midlands; despite being heavily outnumbered, he decisively defeated the Britons. The crisis caused Nero to consider withdrawing all Roman forces from Britain, but Suetonius's victory over Boudicca confirmed Roman control of the province. Boudicca then either killed herself to avoid capture (according to Tacitus), or died of illness (according to Cassius Dio) Beginning around the 3rd century BC, Celts of the regions around the Marne and the Moselle Rivers began burying their chieftains in light, two-wheeled chariots with their sword, shield, spears, and drinking vessels. Similar chariot graves from this era are also found in the British coastal regions of Yorkshire. The evidence for the use of these vehicles is clear. A Roman coin from 110 BC dramatically depicts the naked Gallic warrior-king Bituitus of the Averni casting spears from his chariot. And documentary evidence of the chariot in combat on the European continent is left to us by the Roman poet Propertius. In describing the fighting between the forces of Republican Rome and 30,000 howling Celtic warriors in 222 BC, Propertius depicts the chieftain Viridomar ‘clothed in striped trousers’ hurling javelins from his chariot with deadly accuracy. In fact, many of the Latin words for chariot-carpentium, carrus, essendum have Gaulish roots.

The use of chariots in combat in Gaul apparently died out before Caesar’s campaign of the 50s BC, because Caesar makes no mention of them, though he did of Gallic cavalry, in his Gallic Wars. But chariots certainly remained in Britain though few have been found there into the Caesarian era and beyond, because they are included in the writings of Caesar, Tacitus, and in the old Irish epic the ‘Tain Bo Cuailnge’ (The Cattle Raid of Cooley) composed in part around the 2nd century AD. Evidence of early Celtic chariot use is gleaned primarily from the excavation of graves of noble warriors.The first Roman expedition to Britain was a reconnoitre of the island by Julius Caesar in 55 BC, purportedly to suppress the reinforcements being given the native tribes in Gaul. There, chariots no longer were being used, and the ambush of a legion caught in the open and surrounded by the cavalry and chariots of the Britons provides an excursus by Caesar on their tactics, so unfamiliar to the Romans.

"In chariot fighting the Britons begin by driving all over the field hurling javelins, and generally the terror inspired by the horses and the noise of the wheels are sufficient to throw their opponents' ranks into disorder. Then, after making their way between the squadrons of their own cavalry, they jump down from the chariot and engage on foot. In the meantime their charioteers retire a short distance from the battle and place the chariots in such a position that their masters, if hard pressed by numbers, have an easy means of retreat to their own lines. Thus they combine the mobility of cavalry with the staying power of infantry; and by daily training and practice they attain such proficiency that even on a steep incline they are able to control the horses at full gallop, and to check and turn them in a moment. They can run along the chariot pole, stand on the yoke, and get back into the chariot as quick as lightning" (Gallic War, IV.33). An example from Ingolstadt, Germany, in Megaw, R.& V. Celtic Art. From its Beginnings to the Book of Kells,
London, 1989, item 225. 316 grams, 13.5cm (5 1/4"). From the estate of the late Ms.J Simmonds, Hampshire reputed to have been excavated near Viables in Hampshire at the end of the 19th century, likely from a chieftain's burial. The denarius coin in the gallery, shown for reference purposes only and not included, was minted by the moneyer Lucius Hostilius Saserna in 48 BC, following Caesar's campaign in Gaul. The reverse depicts a naked Celtic warrior holding a spear and small shield, while a crouched figure drives the horses with a whip. The survival of Roman chariot's terrets are certainly to be found, due to the number made, over such a long period, but an original Ancient Briton bronze terret, used by the Celt chieftains and Queen Boudicca, especially of such a large and finest quality piece such as this, is a great rarity of Ancient Briton Celt history.

It is not permanently affixed to the mahogany display stand so it can be removed with ease.  read more

Code: 23013

The Lanes Armoury Gift Voucher Can Be The Perfect Solution

A Gift Voucher is often the ideal solution to leave the decision of the item to choose to the person you wish to gift. They can select any form of item whatsoever, such as samurai arms and armour, militaryantiques and militaria or books, and most importantly, they do not expire. They are valid forever. They are available from us for all values, from only £15 up to £15,000, and as required, and are entirely bespoke to the recipient. All are unique and customised for each and every occasion. We have priced this example in the gallery at £200 and the image shows our example £200.00 voucher, but you can specify any alternative amount at all in the 'comment' section in the Webstore Order page, or call us direct.

A pdf voucher can be sent to you within the hour during opening times from the shop.  read more

Code: 24553

A Stunning, Large, Original, Roman Classical Carved Carnelian Intaglio Seal of the Goddess Laetitia . This Amazing Roman Intaglio Could Make A Beautiful Ring With A Bespoke Mount

With the figure of the Goddess Laetitia leaning upon a shield of nine stars, with an anchor at her feet. A delightful object d'art in the typical classical Greco-Roman form, probably mounted in a pinchbeck type mount in Georgian England circa 1770, but the carnelian is probably 1st century bc to 2nd, 3rd century Roman, mounted in a gilded metal oval mount in the 18th century. Roman carved intaglio carnelian stone seals were very popular in the era of the English aristocracy's 'Grand Tours' with many brought back from trips to Rome and mounted as rings or seals in the time of King George IIIrd. Laetitia is the Roman Goddess of joy, gaiety, and celebration, and is especially linked with holidays and festivals. She was often shown with an anchor, as a representation of stability. Laetitia was given several epithets depending on the type of joy the Emperor was attempting to take credit for bringing to the Empire. On coins of the Emperors Gordian III and Gallienus, who both reigned in the mid 3rd century CE, She is Laetitia Augusta, "the Joy of the Emperor", which, in propaganda-style, can be taken to mean "the joy the Emperor brings to the people", though it may also have been a way of announcing the birth of a child into the imperial family. On these She is shown standing in Her typical pose, with a garland in one hand and an anchor supporting the other; The red variety of chalcedony has been known to be used as beads since the Early Neolithic in Bulgaria. The first faceted (with constant 16+16=32 facets on each side of the bead) carnelian beads are described from the Varna Chalcolithic necropolis (middle of the 5th millennium BC). The bow drill was used to drill holes into carnelian in Mehrgarh in the 4th-5th millennium BC. Carnelian was recovered from Bronze Age Minoan layers at Knossos on Crete in a form that demonstrated its use in decorative arts; this use dates to approximately 1800 BC. Carnelian was used widely during Roman times to make engraved gems for signet or seal rings for imprinting a seal with wax on correspondence or other important documents. Hot wax does not stick to carnelian. Sard was used for Assyrian cylinder seals, Egyptian and Phoenician scarabs, and early Greek and Etruscan gems. The Roman Empire was the seat of power and wealth in the Western world for hundreds of years. Because of their impressive span, they were able to trade with cultures throughout the world, not only in Europe, but also in northern Africa.

This gave them access to numerous gemstones which they could use to craft their jewelry. Because of their wealth, they were able to afford many precious and semi-precious stones, as well as detailed artisan craftwork.

We show in the gallery another similar Roman carnelian seal that has been re-mounted in a yellow gold ring mount, it looks spectacular. We show another similar sized that was remounted as a ring in the 19th century, it sold in auction for £8,125.

We also show in the photo gallery a similar Carnelion intaglio seal of Empress Catherine the Great sold recently for just under 30,000 gbp.

Pinchbeck is a durable yellow metal that resembles gold but is made with a combination of copper and zinc—much less zinc than the combo of the same two metals used to produce brass. The formula was developed by Christopher Pinchbeck, a London clockmaker who lived from about 1670 to 1732.
The seal is 32mm x 26mm in mount  read more

Code: 20846

A Good 18th Century Indian Arquebus Matchlock, From Tippu Sultan Campaign Fought by General Wellington Before His Victory over Napoleon

From the army of Tippu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore. A most superior example, as some of their kind used in the Sultan’s 18th century army were rather utilitarian and of basic martial quality, but this example is of much superior grade. Superb stock with very fine patina, good multi staged barrel. Action linkage not connected. Bears a storage stamp for the armoury of the Maharajah of Jaipur.

During the time when this musket was being used against the British, Wellington’s army were equipped and using the famous British ‘Brown Bess’ musket. This would make a superb, original historical companion piece for an owner of a Brown Bess musket. See, for example, our sergeants length ‘Brown Bess’ musket, item number 23209, that also came from the former Dennis Ottrey Collection

Wellington was a 30-year-old army general when he led troops to Mysore in the late 18th century.
Then a young Arthur Wellesley, he earned his stripes and learned skills fighting Tipu, nicknamed the Tiger of Mysore, that would later prove vital in defeating French dictator Napoleon on the battlefields of Waterloo.

His elder brother Richard Wellesley, the British Governor General, had waged war against the sultan after a spy intercepted a letter from Napoleon proposing an alliance.

It was to be the fourth war between the Brits and the southern Indian kingdom of Mysore in just over 30 years.
Wellesley led the British army into Tipu's stronghold of Seringapatam, the capital of Mysore, on April 5 1799 with the military planning and precision that came to be his strongest attributes.
More than two decades letter Wellesley, by then the Duke of Wellington, used the same skills he had learned against Tipu Sultan to crush Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

After several weeks of besieging the city the Brits were able to breach the walls of its fortress. Tipu Sultan was shot and killed in the onslaught, and Wellesley dashed to the scene to check his pulse. Wellington went on to become one of the most famed leaders in military history.

In the early 16th century, the term "arquebus" had a confusing variety of meanings. Some writers used it to denote any matchlock shoulder gun, referring to light versions as caliver and heavier pieces fired from a fork rest as musket. Others treated the arquebus and caliver synonymously, both referring to the lighter, forkless shoulder-fired matchlock. As the 16th century progressed, the term arquebus came to be clearly reserved for the lighter forkless weapon. When the wheel lock was introduced, wheel-lock shoulder arms came to be called arquebuses, while lighter, forkless matchlock and flintlock shoulder weapons continued to be called calivers. In the mid-17th century, the light flintlock versions came to be called fusils or fuzees. The first usage of the arquebus in large numbers was in Hungary under king Matthias Corvinus (r. 1458?1490). Every fourth soldier in the Black Army had an arquebus in the infantry, and every fifth regarding the whole army, which was an unusual ratio at the time. Although they were generally present in the battlefield King Mathias preferred enlisting shielded men instead, as the arquebus had a low rate of fire. Even a decade after the disbandment of the Black Army, by the turn of the 16th century, only around 10% of the soldiers of Western European armies used firearms. Arquebusiers were effective against cavalry and even other infantry, particularly when placed with pikemen in the pike and shot formation, which revolutionised the Spanish military. An example of where this formation was used and succeeded is the decisive Battle of Cerignola (1503), which was one of the first battles to utilise this formation, and was the first battle to be won through the use of gunpowder-based small arms.

Provenance; This fine arquebus musket came originally from the former Leslie Rawlings collection, who purchased it directly from the Maharajah of Jaipur’s private family armoury in the 1970’s, and thence subsequently acquired by us from the former Dennis
Ottrey collection, a late and well known local Sussex engineer and gun collector. It bears the storage markings of the Maharajah’s personal armoury upon the barrel
76 inches long,  read more

Code: 19066

Mightier Yet! A Superb and Original, Large, British WW2 Propaganda Poster For the Royal Navy

A rare and amazing artefact of WW2. Printed for H.M Stationary Office by Fosh & Cross Ltd. A propaganda information and recruitment poster. Britain re-created the World War I Ministry of Information for the duration of World War II to generate propaganda to influence the population towards support for the war effort. A wide range of media was employed aimed at local and overseas audiences. Traditional forms such as newspapers and posters were joined by new media including cinema (film), newsreels and radio. A wide range of themes were addressed, fostering hostility to the enemy, support for allies, and specific pro war projects such as conserving metal and growing vegetables. In 1940 in particular, Winston Churchill made many calls for the British to fight on, and for British units to fight until they died rather than submit. His calls for fight to victory inspired a hardening of public opinion. Determination raised the numbers of the Home Guard and inspired a willingness to fight to the last ditch, in a manner rather similar to Japanese determination, and the slogan "You can always take one with you" was used in the grimmest times of the war. British victories were announced to the public for morale purposes, and broadcast to Germany for purposes of undermining morale.

Even during Dunkirk, an optimistic spin was put on how the soldiers were eager to return.

When the U-boat commander Gunther Prien vanished with his submarine U-47, Churchill personally informed the House of Commons, and radio broadcasts to Germany asked, "Where is Prien?" until Germany was forced to acknowledge his loss.

The turn of the war made BBC's war commentaries much more stirring.

We never normally comment on the investment potential of any collectable, but the potential for all underpriced WW1 and WW2 posters must be incredible, for example the more famed poster, 'Keep Calm and Carry On' can now sell for over £20,000.
Good condition with central folding creases. 20 inches x 30 inches.  read more

Code: 20768

A Very Fine Pair of Cased WW1 Great War Imperial German Epaulettes

For the Imperial German 40th Infantry officer. Used by the German regimental officers that fought in the trenches with Adolf Hitler's infantry, and apparently the 40th relieved Hitler's company within the List Regiment, the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 (1st Company of the List Regiment). In their original storage case in mint condition overall. Mid blue cloth background with gilt crescent and Infantry number 40. Red back cloth. During the war, Hitler served in France and Belgium in the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 (1st Company of the List Regiment). He was an infantryman in the 1st Company during the First Battle of Ypres (October 1914), which Germans remember as the Kindermord bei Ypern (Ypres Massacre of the Innocents) because approximately 40,000 men (between a third and a half) of nine newly-enlisted infantry divisions became casualties in 20 days. Hitler's regiment entered the battle with 3,600 men and at its end mustered 611. By December Hitler's own company of 250 was reduced to 42. Biographer John Keegan claims that this experience drove Hitler to become aloof and withdrawn for the remaining years of war. After the battle, Hitler was promoted from Sch?tze (Private) to Gefreiter (Lance Corporal). He was assigned to be a regimental message-runner The List Regiment fought in many battles, including the First Battle of Ypres (1914), the Battle of the Somme (1916), the Battle of Arras (1917), and the Battle of Passchendaele (1917). During the Battle of Fromelles on 19?20 July 1916 the Australians, mounting their first attack in France, assaulted the Bavarian positions. The Bavarians repulsed the attackers, suffering the second-highest losses they had on any day on the Western Front, about 7,000 men  read more

Code: 22240

A Very Rare Original,1930's Aeronautical Collection of Wide, Wool Felt, Sleeve Patches for Early Airships & Aeroplanes

Shoulder sleeve insignia. For the Farman Biplane USA, Astra Monoplane, Curtis Biplane USA, Delagrange Biplane, Ferber Biplane, Bleriot Monoplane, French Military Dirigible, Wright Biplane, Reid-Curtis Flying Boat USA, and the Mengin Monoplane.

In the early 20th century US military the 81st Infantry Division "Wildcat" is generally agreed to have been first U.S. Army unit authorised shoulder sleeve insignia or SSI. In 1918, during World War I, the 81st Division sailed for France after training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. On their left shoulder the men of the division wore an olive drab felt patch with the silhouette of a wildcat - after Wildcat Creek, a stream that flows through Fort Jackson. When men of the other fighting divisions challenged the right of 81st soldiers to wear the patch, General John J. Pershing ruled that the 81st could keep this distinctive insignia. He also suggested that other divisions adopt shoulder patches of their own. This patch was officially adopted by the U.S. Army on October 19, 1918. The first patches were often primitive but by World War II, the manufacture was regulated.

By World War II, all army groups, field armies, corps, and divisions, as well as all major Army commands, had unique SSI. These SSI would often be created with symbolism alluding to the unit's formation. Examples include the 82nd Airborne Division, which included an "AA" on its patch alluding to the "All-American" soldiers from every state that made it up, and the 29th Infantry Division, which included blue and grey to allude to soldiers that made it up being from states on both sides of the American Civil War.

Most US formations had unique patches which varied greatly in size and makeup, with the exception of U.S. armoured divisions (as well as 1st Armoured Corps and the U.S. Army Armour Center & School), all of which adopted the same patch (a yellow, red and blue triangle with a symbol for armour in the middle). Each division and I Armoured Corps then included its number in the upper yellow portion of the patch to distinguish it. The SSIs of those armoured units which survived into the Cold War became irregular pentagons (some units later than others) with the addition of rectangular section at the bottom, bearing the division's nickname or "U.S. Army Armour Centre". In the past we have individual examples sell for a few hundred pounds, but we have never seen a complete, or near complete, set of 10 before. They would look stunning bespoke framed. Wide sleeve type patches, approx 6 x 3 inches.

 read more

Code: 23859