Himmler's Third Reich Police Service, An 18 Year Long Service Silver Polizei Medal

Adolf Hitler instituted 3 classes of Police Long Service Awards in 1938, in order to recognize police personnel for their loyal service to the Third Reich and the Fuhrer.
The medal featured here is the class, for 18 years of service, struck from an alloy and finished in a silver plate. The reverse reads "FUR TREUE DIENSTE IN DER POLIZEI" (For Loyal Service in the Police).

Himmler and Heydrich wanted to extend the power of the SS; thus, they urged Hitler to form a national police force overseen by the SS, to guard Nazi Germany against its many enemies at the time real and imagined. Interior Minister Frick also wanted a national police force, but one controlled by him, with Kurt Daluege as his police chief. Hitler left it to Himmler and Heydrich to work out the arrangements with Frick. Himmler and Heydrich had greater bargaining power, as they were allied with Frick's old enemy, Goring. Heydrich drew up a set of proposals and Himmler sent him to meet with Frick. An angry Frick then consulted with Hitler, who told him to agree to the proposals. Frick acquiesced, and on 17 June 1936 Hitler decreed the unification of all police forces in the Reich, and named Himmler Chief of German Police. In this role, Himmler was still nominally subordinate to Frick. In practice, however, the police was now effectively a division of the SS, and hence independent of Frick's control. This move gave Himmler operational control over Germany's entire detective force. He also gained authority over all of Germany's uniformed law enforcement agencies, which were amalgamated into the new Ordnungspolizei (Orpo: "order police"), which became a branch of the SS under Daluege. The Ordnungspolizei was separate from the SS and maintained a system of insignia and Orpo ranks. It was possible for policemen to be members of the SS but without active duties. Police generals who were members of the SS were referred to simultaneously by both rank titles during the war. For instance, a Generalleutnant in the Police who was also an SS member would be referred to as SS Gruppenfuhrer und Generalleutnant der Polizei. In addition, those Orpo police generals that undertook the duties of both Senior SS and Police Leader (Huhere SS und Polizeifuhrer) gained equivalent Waffen-SS ranks in August 1944 when Himmler was appointed Chef der Ersatzheeres (Chief of Home Army), because they had authority over the prisoner-of-war camps in their area.

Heinrich Himmler's ultimate aim was to replace the regular police forces of Germany with a combined racial/state protection corps (Staatsschutzkorps) of pure SS units. Local law enforcement would be undertaken by the Allgemeine-SS with the Waffen-SS providing homeland-security and political-police functions. Historical analysis of the Third Reich has revealed that senior Orpo personnel knew of Himmler's plan and were opposed to it.

Overall good as worn condition, with very slight edge plate wear  read more

Code: 20063

A Very Fine 1920's to 30's Silver Gilt & Enamel Graf von Zeppelin Demi-Tasse Cabinet Spoon, With Enamel Portrait of Zeppelin & a Zeppelin Airship in the Spoon Bowl

Superb condition and a most charming and collectable object d'art. Ferdinand von Zeppelin served as an official observer with the Union Army during the American Civil War. During the Peninsular Campaign, he visited the balloon camp of Thaddeus S. C. Lowe. Lowe sent the curious von Zeppelin to another balloon camp where the German-born aeronaut John Steiner could be of more help to the young man. His first ascent in a balloon, made at Saint Paul, Minnesota during this visit, is said to have been the inspiration of his later interest in aeronautics.

Zeppelin's ideas for large dirigibles was first expressed in a diary entry dated 25 March 1874. Inspired by a recent lecture given by Heinrich von Stephan on the subject of "World Postal Services and Air Travel", he outlined the basic principle of his later craft: a large rigidly-framed outer envelope continuing a number of separate gasbags. In 1887 the success of Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs' airship La France prompted him to send a letter to the King of Württemberg about the military necessity for dirigibles and the lack of German development in this field. He went on to start the Zeppelin Airship Co. and his name lived on in German legend as the great airship pioneer of international travel and airship warfare.  read more

Code: 24604

A Rare German Aerospace Zeppelin First Flight To South America, .835 Silver Medal, 1930 Made In Berlin

Silver medal 1930 (O. Glöckler) The "LZ 127" made its first trip to South America. bust of dr. H. Eckener to the left / Airship over the Atlantic between Europe and South America. Edge punch: (half moon) 835 PR. BERLIN COIN. 36 mm, 24.59 Min. Scratches. excellent ++ condition
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin (Deutsches Luftschiff Zeppelin 127) was a German passenger-carrying, hydrogen-filled rigid airship that flew from 1928 to 1937. It offered the first commercial transatlantic passenger flight service. Named after the German airship pioneer Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a count (Graf) in the German nobility, it was conceived and operated by Dr. Hugo Eckener, the chairman of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.

Graf Zeppelin made 590 flights totalling almost 1.7 million kilometres (over 1 million miles). It was operated by a crew of 36, and could carry 24 passengers. It was the longest and largest airship in the world when it was built. It made the first circumnavigation of the world by airship, and the first nonstop crossing of the Pacific Ocean by air; its range was enhanced by its use of Blau gas as a fuel. It was built using funds raised by public subscription and from the German government, and its operating costs were offset by the sale of special postage stamps to collectors, the support of the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, and cargo and passenger receipts.

After several long flights between 1928 and 1932, including one to the Arctic, Graf Zeppelin provided a commercial passenger and mail service between Germany and Brazil for five years. When the Nazi Party came to power, they used it as a propaganda tool. It was withdrawn from service after the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, and scrapped for military aircraft production in 1940.

A most scarce piece, but remarkably we acquired this fine example thanks to another example that we have. That past medal was spotted by this rare medal's owner on our website, and they offered it to us. It is only the second of its type of this rare medal we have had in over 10 years.  read more

Code: 24598

Original Victorian 7th Dragoon Guards Silver Cap Badge, 1898 1906

A superb example in pristine condition, not hallmarked silver. Crisp and sharp and superb quality. Part of a small collection of original rare Victorian badges we have just been most pleased to acquire. At Dettingen, Cornet Richardson of the 7th received thirty-seven wounds whilst defending the Regimental Standard. This standard is the oldest surviving in the British Army.
7th Dragoon horsemen carried out the last cavalry charge of World War 1 when they galloped for 10 miles to capture LESSINES in BELGIUM and the crossings there over the RIVER DENDRE suffering no casualties themselves, but taking 4 German officers and 167 men prisoners. As was required by higher command this action was completed as the clocks were striking 11 o?clock when hostilities had to stop in accordance with the terms of the Armistice.  read more

Code: 15968

A Queen's South Africa Medal to South African Constabulary Cavalryman.

A rare medal of the Boer War with three bars. Issued to 3rd Class Trooper R.G,Phillips.. 12 squadrons of the SAC were raised in Canada by General Baden-Powell. Many Canadians stayed on to live there after the war's end. One photo in the gallery of a group of SAC probably outside the HQ at Koffiefontein  read more

Code: 21866

A Most Rare, Circa 1822, Brown Calf & Morocco Leather Bound Volume of 'The Stranger in Brighton' & Baxter's Directory. Compiled and Published by by J.Baxter of North Street Brighton

These fabulous English Georgian period pocket directories are a wonderful snapshot of the inhabitants of the town, and it brings to life the characters and history of this extraordinary resort, made famous just a few years earlier by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Baxter’s Stranger in Brighton and directory : comprising a brief, yet comprehensive historical and topographical account of the town, and immediate neighbourhood ...Published circa 1822 by Baxter & Co. North St, Brighton [Only a few hundred yards from our shop in the Lanes]. Finely bound in light brown calf with calf spine and red Morocco leather and gilt title. The directory contains I. An alphabetical arrangement of inhabitant householders. II. An alphabetical arrangement of the professions. III. A list of coaches, waggons, carts, etc. Plus interesting tales of Brighton and its history and sights and places of interest. A wonderful and informative volume. According to J.H.Farrant Directories are an important source of information for studying the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth. For the family historian they help to identify the residence of individual people within narrow time limits; for the social historian they can indicate the internal structures of communities; for the economic historian the relative and changing importance of occupations and industries may be revealed, whilst the historical geographer can plot the spatial distribution of those activities. In few instances are directories undoubtedly better in quality of information than other sources: census enumerator’s tallies are more comprehensive and probably more accurate for identifying individuals; rate books can be much preferable for discovering the distribution of occupations and businesses; and so on. But directories have the indisputable advantage of being printed and published books.
Brighton is a seaside resort on the south coast of England which is now part of the city of Brighton and Hove, in the county of East Sussex, in England.
We are likely Brighton’s oldest gallery owners & family traders. And or over 100 years we have been based in the world famous area Of 'The Lanes' of Brighton, which is located in he very centre of Old Brighthelmstone [Later re-named Brighton]

Brighthelmstone, was recorded in the Domesday Book, the Norman detailed record of almost 1000 years past, of every city, town village and hamlet in England.
A town considered so important by our South Easterly neighbours, the French, that they sailed over the channel and burnt us to the ground.… at least twice.

Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The ancient settlement of "Brighthelmstone" was documented in the Domesday Book (1086). The town's importance grew in the Middle Ages as the Old Town developed, but it languished in the early modern period, affected by foreign attacks, storms, a suffering economy and a declining population. Brighton began to attract more visitors following improved road transport to London and becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. The town also developed in popularity as a health resort for sea bathing as a purported cure for illnesses.

In the Georgian era, Brighton developed as a fashionable seaside resort, encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent, later King George IV, who spent much time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion in the Regency era.
4.75 inches x 7.25 inches. It mentions in the title page a map and three engravings, but in this deluxe calf leather binding [they were initially sold in simple grey board] there are no engravings or any indication they have been removed.  read more

Code: 21263

1924 Graf Zeppellin Z.R. III, The USS Los Angeles, Airship Medal, For The Flight of The Zeppelin, Previously Known As The LZ126, To America. A Most Rare Example

1000 Hallmarked Silver Coin Medal
GERMANY, Weimarer Republik. 1918-1933. AR Medal (40mm, 25.68 g, 12h). The Flight of Zeppelin LZ126 to America. By A. Holl. Dated 1924. FERDINAND GRAF VON ZEPPELIN, uniformed bust of Ferdinand von Zeppelin right / LZ126 in flight left over Manhattan; Z.R.III above, 1924 below. Kaiser 459. EF, toned.

As part of their reparations payments for the First World War, Germany was required to give its remaining military zeppelins to the victorious Allied powers. This did not sit well with the crews of the ships who, only a week before the Treaty of Versailles was signed, destroyed many of the airships, following the example of their brothers-in-arms at Scapa Flow, who scuttled the German navy earlier that year. Germany was thus required to construct new zeppelins to replace those lost.
Among these was LZ126, destined for service in the United States Navy. The zeppelin was delivered to the US Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey on 12 October 1924, and was commissioned into the US Navy as ZR-3, the USS Los Angeles on 25 November. She would be the first of the Navy's brief foray into light-than-air vessels, to be followed by the Shenandoah, Macon, and Akron, and was the only vessel of her class to not succumb to disaster. Zeppelins, always particularly susceptible to the vagaries of winds and weather, were soon overshadowed by the development of vastly more reliable airplanes of the 1930s. The USS Los Angeles was decommissioned in 1932 and was dismantled in 1939.  read more

Code: 22707

Scottish Silver Buchanen 'Audaces Juvo' Clan Glengarry Badge 1930's

Not hallmarked silver. Clan Buchanan Audaces Juvo I Help the Brave. Is an armigerous Scottish clan whose origins are said to lie in the 1225 grant of lands on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond to clergyman Sir Absalon of Buchanan by the Earl of Lennox. A Dexter Hand Holding Up A Ducal Cap Proper., Tufted On The Top With A Rose Gu., All Within Two Laurel-Branches In Orle Vert. Traditionally, the Glengarry bonnet is said to have first appeared as the head dress of the Glengarry Fencibles when they were formed in 1794 by Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry, of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. MacDonell, therefore, is sometimes said to have invented the glengarry - but it is not clear whether early pictures of civilians or fencible infantry show a true glengarry, capable of being folded flat, or the standard military bonnet of the period merely 'cocked' into a more 'fore-and-aft' shape. The first use of the classic, military glengarry may not have been until 1841, when it is said to have been introduced for the pipers of the 79th Foot by the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lauderdale Maule.

It was only in the 1850s that the glengarry became characteristic undress headgear of the Scottish regiments of the British Army. By 1860, the glengarry without a diced border and usually with a feather had been adopted by pipers in all regiments except the 42nd (Black Watch), whose pipers wore the full dress feather bonnet. In 1914, all Scottish infantry regiments were wearing dark blue glengarries in non-ceremonial orders of dress, except for the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) who wore them in rifle green, and the Scots Guards, who wore peaked forage caps or khaki service dress caps.  read more

Code: 21051

A Super & Rare US Civil War Souvenir, An Original US Cavalry Gallagher Carbine Stock.

Ideal for the collector of rare Civil War arms that is not necessarily inclined to buy a full rifle for the several thousands of pounds it would cost, or, for an owner of a Gallagher that needs a replacement stock. If needed as such, it would normally be simply impossible to find an original example, in such wonderful condition, ever available on the collector market.

Fine walnut stock, with all steel furniture including the steel hinged patchbox, steel butt plate and side screw mounts. In superb condition and three figure serial number, 257 [repeated], stamped on the inner steel patch box lid. On the underside are several crudely carved notches, traditionally, are supposed to represent enemy soldiers that have been successfully 'introduced' to the horse soldier's shooting prowess.

The Gallager Carbine was conceived in 1860 by Mahlon J. Gallager. Receiving his patent on the 17th of July 1860, Gallager submitted his design to military trials. The design was approved and Federal forces issued a contract for Richardson and Overman of Philadelphia to produce the carbine. This contract resulted in 22,728 Gallagers to be produced before the end of the American Civil War, which was more than some other breechloading rifles (such as the Joslyn Rifle or Starr Carbine) but no where near as many as the Springfield Model 1861 rifled musket (whose production passed over 1,000,000 during the conflict).

The Gallager Carbine had a rather unusual breechloading design, using a modified version of the more typical lever-action mechanism to open the breech. As was the trend at the time, the lever effectively formed the trigger guard , and when pulled downwards slid the barrel forwards, before tiliting downwards. This then allowed the user to remove the spent cartridge (most commonly with a knife) and insert the new cartridge. The barrel was then pushed back into place, then locked when the lever was put into its upwards position, ready for firing.

Initially the Gallager was manufactured utilising a percussion lock mechanism, largely due to the fact that the quickest (and cheapest) cartridges to produce at the time were made of paper. This mechanism was not modified on later models, despite the use of metallic cartridges. Other features of the Gallager included iron fittings (ie the buttplate of the stock and patchbox) and a lack of a forestock.

The lack of a forestock is not that much of a suprise, however, as the shorter stock meant that the barrel could tilt once it had moved forwards (otherwise the barrel would have to have been allowed to move further to allow the user to load the new cartridge). Furthermore, because there was a lack of a forestock, the Gallager also lacked any form of barrel bands and also lacked the ability to have a bayonet mounted to it. The barrel itself had six grooves forming the rifling pattern and measured 22.25in (0.57m) in length.

Photo in the gallery of a US Civil War Horse Soldier with his carbine, sabre and revolver, also a photo of the complete Civil War Gallaghar Carbine in the Smithsonian  read more

Code: 24592

A Very Interesting Antique Civil War Period Belgian 1850's Colt Navy Copy Patent Infringement Revolver

An Antique Engraved Period Belgian copy Civil War Colt, Model 1851 Navy Percussion Revolver circa, 1850's, SN#.3568 , 6 1/8", .35 cal. octagon steel barrel stamped with (2) inspection/proof marks, a small "CROWN" over "R" and a small on the right side of the barrel just in front of the barrel wedge, with barrel stamped 'Cap System by Americain' and twin cross keys on the top flat with light to moderate pitting
Frame marked; sic "PATEND SYSTEM" on the right side. 5-Shot round cylinder with approx. 20% of the scene remaining possibly of Native American teepees. Two piece grip scales, main steel components are serial numbered and match, the cylinder, trigger, and cylinder ratchet pawl are all numbered 26. The action needs mechanical attention in that the trigger, and cylinder ratchet pawl, are not fitted in place. Several screws [around 5] are missing in order to fully assemble it. A jolly decent example of one of the many gun-makers attempting to infringe on Samuel Colt's Navy revolver of 1851.
Just some rudimentary engineering skills required to fully re-assemble and make good.

SOME COLT HISTORY: Samuel Colt had a difficult time when he patented the PATTERSON revolver in the late 1830's and did not really achieve success until he received a purchase order of 1000 newly designed massive .44 caliber "Walker" revolvers to arm Texas Ranger Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker for the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). The "Walker" Colts were delivered in 1847 which Captain Walker carried a pair into battle and was killed in action by a sniper's bullet while leading a cavalry charge at the Battle of Huamantla on October 9th, 1847.

Samuel Colts business started to flourish attracting world recognition upon the creation of the .31 caliber model 1849 "Pocket" revolver but then skyrocketed when the .36 caliber model 1851 "Navy" revolver took the scene. Colt had the proper patents both domestic and foreign to protect his designs but that did not stop competitors from copying his patterns. Colt was able to establish several license agreement's which includes having a representative at the Belgium proof house to monitor and charge the competitors a fee to have their copies inspected and approved. If approved, the top of the barrel was stamped "COLT BREVETE" indicating that the copy was of good quality and could be sold. However, many foreign gun makers would avoid the proof house and inspection and made their own fake proof marks and Colt Brevete stamps.  read more

Code: 24590