Very Fine Regimental Officer's Sword WW1 of the 5th Prussian Jäger Battalion (1st Silesian). Imperial Prussian Eagle Guard With Crest of Kaiser Willhelm IInd. Commanded By Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia the Heir of Kaiser Wilhelm IInd. Sword No 1

Stamped on the guard for the first officer of the 5th Jäger Battalion, the 1st Company, Sword Number 1. Stamped on the hilt, 5.J.1.1, in it it’s matching numbered scabbard. Used in the 1914 Schlieffen Plan, the Battle of the Ardennes, and the Battle of Verdun and Marne. Overall the sword is in excellent condition, with its original multi wire bound sharkskin grip fully original and intact. Bronze guard, with the personal monogram of the Kaiser upon the grip, and guard depicting the Imperial Prussian Eagle, pieced and in relief. Double fullered blade and it’s original all steel combat scabbard. The blade bears the Kaiser Wilhelmi W Crown proof inspection mark
The 5th Prussian Jäger Battalion (1st Silesian)
AKA The Jäger-Batallion von Neumann (1.Schlesisches ) Nr.5 was formed in 1808 as the 1. Schützen-Abteilung (Schlesische). They fought Napoleon at the Battles of Leipzig and Waterloo, Revolutionaries in Baden in 1849, Austria- Hungary at Königgrätz in 1866 and France again at Wörth and Sedan in 1870. Since 1901 Archduke Ferdinand Carl of Austria-Hungary was honorary Colonel in Chief of the battalion.

In 1914 they were garrisoned at Hirschberg (modern Jelenia Góra, Poland) and formed part of the V Army Corps. During the First World War they served on the Western Front, notably at the Battles of the Marne and Verdun.

On mobilisation, V Corps was assigned to the 5th Army forming part of centre of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front.

In August 1914 the command of 5th Army was assigned to Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany, heir to the Hohenzollern throne, with General Schmidt von Knobelsdorf serving as his chief of staff, and would remain thus until late 1916. The opening hostilities on the Western Front saw the Crown Prince's 5th Army, along with the neighboring 4th Army (commanded by Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg), acting at the center of the Schlieffen plan attack into Belgium and France. On 21 August 1914, in what became known as the Battle of the Ardennes, the 4th and 5th Armies advanced into the Ardennes to counter a thrust by the French 3rd and 4th Armies. Over the next two days 5th Army played a major part in halting the opposing French forces. By 23 August, after taking heavy losses and being outmaneuvered strategically, the two French armies were driven into retreat. Following the German 5th Army's victory in the Battle of the Ardennes it moved to Verdun, where it would remain until 1918. In February 1916 the Crown Prince's 5th Army would launch Operation Gericht, the German offensive that began the Battle of Verdun, one of the bloodiest and longest battles in history. Late in 1916, after suffering terrible losses in its efforts at Verdun, General Max von Gallwitz assumed control of 5th Army. Before the close of the war 5th Army fought in several noteworthy actions, including the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, in September 1918, when it was defeated by the American Expeditionary Force under John J. Pershing. The Fifth Army continued to oppose the AEF's Meuse-Argonne Offensive until the Armistice of 11 November 1918. At the end of the war it was serving as part of Heeresgruppe Gallwitz

It was still in existence at the end of the war in Armee-Abteilung C, Heeresgruppe Gallwitz on the Western Front.

Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; 6 May 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the eldest child of the last Kaiser, Wilhelm II, German Emperor, and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, and thus a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, and distant cousin to many British royals, such as Queen Elizabeth II. As Emperor Wilhelm's heir, he was the last Crown Prince of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, until the abolition of the monarchy.

Wilhelm became crown prince at the age of six in 1888, when his grandfather Frederick III died and his father became emperor. He was crown prince for 30 years until the fall of the empire on 9 November 1918. During World War I, he commanded the 5th Army from 1914 to 1916 and was commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince for the remainder of the war. After his return to Germany in 1923, he fought the Weimar Republic and campaigned for the reintroduction of the monarchy in Germany. After his plans to become president had been blocked by his father, Wilhelm supported Adolf Hitler's rise to power, but when Wilhelm realised that Hitler had no intention of restoring the monarchy, their relationship cooled. Wilhelm became head of the House of Hohenzollern on 4 June 1941 following the death of his father and held the position until his own death on 20 July 1951.

Small denting to the scabbard.  read more

Code: 25235

An Early 'Special Boat Service' Royal Navy Special Forces Frogman's Bracelet Compass With Original Strap. Excellent Condition Leather, Fully Working Compass. Can Be Operational With a Lanyard Mount

Brass pressure sealed case, with with screw fitted filling or release aperture, original long leather strap in excellent condition with original buckle. In good working order.

The pattern 261. No. 1241B. Divers Compass. Stamped upon the face seal ring.

The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Royal Navy formed special forces with several name changes—Special Boat Company was adopted in 1951 and re-designated as the Special Boat Squadron in 1974—until on 28 July 1987 when the unit was renamed as the Special Boat Service after assuming responsibility for maritime counter-terrorism. Most of the operations conducted by the SBS are highly classified, and are rarely commented on by the British government or the Ministry of Defence, owing to their sensitive nature.

The Special Boat Service is the maritime special forces unit of the United Kingdom Special Forces and is described as the sister unit of the British Army 22 Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS), with both under the operational control of the Director Special Forces. In October 2001, full command of the SBS was transferred from the Commandant General Royal Marines to the Commander-in-Chief Fleet.6 On 18 November 2003, the SBS were given their own cap badge with the motto "By Strength and Guile". SBS operators are mostly recruited from the Royal Marines Commandos.

Origin: Second World War
Roger Courtney became a commando in mid-1940 and was sent to the Combined Training Centre at Achnacarry in Scotland. He was unsuccessful in his initial attempts to convince Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes and later Admiral Theodore Hallett, commander of the Combined Training Centre, that his idea of a folding kayak brigade would be effective. He decided to infiltrate HMS Glengyle, an infantry landing ship anchored in the River Clyde. Courtney paddled to the ship, climbed aboard undetected, wrote his initials on the door to the captain's cabin, and stole a deck gun cover. He presented the soaking cover to a group of high-ranking Royal Navy officers meeting at a nearby Inveraray hotel. He was promoted to captain and given command of twelve men as the first Special Boat Service/Special Boat Section.

The unit, on the shores of Sannox, Isle of Arran, was initially named the Folboat Troop, after the type of folding canoe employed in raiding operations and then renamed No. 1 Special Boat Section in early 1941. One training exercise required SBS members to navigate folboats 140 miles (230 km) over 3 days and 3 nights from Ardrossan to Clachan, via the Isle of Kerrera, where they reconnoitred and sketched RAF Oban. Attached to Layforce, it moved to the Middle East. The unit worked with the 1st Submarine Flotilla based at Alexandria and did beach reconnaissance of Rhodes, evacuated troops left behind on Crete, and carried out a number of small-scale raids and other operations. In December 1941 Courtney returned to the United Kingdom where he formed No2 SBS, and No1 SBS became attached to the Special Air Service (SAS) as the Folboat Section. In June 1942 they took part in the Crete airfield raids. In September 1942 eight men of the SBS carried out Operation Anglo, a raid on two airfields on the island of Rhodes; all but two of the men were captured after carrying out their mission. Destroying three aircraft, a fuel dump and numerous buildings, the two uncaptured SBS men had to hide in the countryside for four days before they could reach the waiting submarine. After the Rhodes raid, the SBS was absorbed into the SAS due to the heavy casualties they had suffered.

The Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment (RMBPD) was formed on 6 July 1942, and based at Southsea, Portsmouth. The RMBPD was under the command of Royal Marines Major Herbert 'Blondie' Hasler with Captain J. D. Stewart as second in command.The detachment consisted of 34 men and was based at Lumps Fort, and often exercised in the Portsmouth Harbour and patrolled the harbour boom at nights.

1st SAS was divided, with 250 men from the SAS joining the Small Scale Raiding Force to form the Special Boat Squadron under the command of Major the Earl Jellicoe. They moved to Haifa and trained with the Greek Sacred Regiment for operations in the Aegean.

They later operated among the Dodecanese and Cyclades groups of islands in the Dodecanese Campaign and took part in the Battle of Leros and the Battle of Kos. They, with the Greek Sacred Band, took part in the successful Raid on Symi in July 1944 in which the entire German garrison was either killed or captured. In August 1944 they joined with the Long Range Desert Group in operations in the Adriatic, on the Peloponnese, in Albania, and, finally, in Istria. So effective were they that, by 1944, the 200–300 men of the SBS were holding down six German divisions.

Throughout the war, No.2 SBS did not use the Special Boat Squadron name but instead retained the name Special Boat Section. They accompanied US Major General Mark Clark ashore before the Operation Torch landings in October 1942 on Operation Flagpole. Later, one group, Z SBS, which was based in Algiers from March 1943, carried out the beach reconnaissance for the Salerno landings and a raid on Crete, before moving to Ceylon to work with the Special Operations Executives, Force 136 and later with Special Operations Australia. The rest of No. 2 SBS became part of South-East Asia Command's Small Operations Group, operating on the Chindwin and Irrawaddy rivers, and in the Arakan, during the Burma campaign.23

Although their roles always overlapped to some extent, the various canoe and boat units became more specialised from late 1942 onwards. The RMBPD focused on ship attack and harbour sabotage, the Special Boat Section and COPP undertook covert beach surveys, and the Special Boat Squadron engaged in raiding, sabotage and reconnaissance above the high-water mark.

Picture in the gallery of the printed details on the RN service guide for its use, and storage of compass when not in use.

A few years ago we were privileged to have acquired the service sword of a WW2 SBS D.Day hero, and his ancestral; sword of his ancestor, the great ‘Nicolson of Delhi’ hero of the Raj in the 19th century, one of the few men to still have his much revered statue still standing in India.  read more

Code: 25234

A Good 1796 Pattern Infantry Officer's Sword, With Near Mint Hilt of Almost All Its Original Mercurial Gilt and Silver Grip Wire.

Mercurial gilt hilt with double shell fold down guard and silver bound grip, and fully engraved blade with Royal cypher and crest, and some dark blue remaining. From the Napoleonic Wars, the Peninsular war, The War of 1812 in America, then in 1815 at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, and with around 95% of the gilt remaining on the hilt. A simply stunning sword in wonderful condition. British infantry officer's sword of the Napoleonic Wars. The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major conflicts pitting the French Empire led by Emperor Napoleon I against an array of European powers formed into various coalitions. They revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly owing to the application of modern mass conscription. The wars are traditionally seen as a continuation of the Revolutionary Wars, which broke out in 1792 during the French Revolution. Initially, French power rose quickly as the armies of Napoleon conquered much of Europe. In his military career, Napoleon fought about 60 battles and lost seven, mostly at the end. The great French dominion collapsed rapidly after the disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. Napoleon was defeated in 1814, and then once more in 1815 at Waterloo after a brief return to power. The Allies then reversed all French gains since the Revolutionary Wars at the Congress of Vienna.

Before a final victory against Napoleon, five of seven coalitions saw defeat at the hands of France. France defeated the first and second coalitions during the French Revolutionary Wars, the third (notably at Austerlitz), the fourth (notably at Jena, Eylau, and Friedland) and the fifth coalition (notably at Wagram) under the leadership of Napoleon. These great victories gave the French Army a sense of invulnerability, especially when it approached Moscow. But after the retreat from Russia, in spite of incomplete victories, France was defeated by the sixth coalition at Leipzig, in the Peninsular War at Vitoria and at the hands of the seventh coalition at Waterloo.

The wars resulted in the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and sowed the seeds of nationalism that would lead to the consolidations of Germany and Italy later in the century. Meanwhile, the global Spanish Empire began to unravel as French occupation of Spain weakened Spain's hold over its colonies, providing an opening for nationalist revolutions in Spanish America. As a direct result of the Napoleonic wars, the British Empire became the foremost world power for the next century, thus beginning Pax Britannica.

No consensus exists about when the French Revolutionary Wars ended and the Napoleonic Wars began. An early candidate is 9 November 1799, the date of Bonaparte's coup seizing power in France. However, the most common date is 18 May 1803, when renewed war broke out between Britain and France, ending the one-year-old Peace of Amiens, the only period of general peace in Europe between 1792 and 1814. Most actual fighting ceased following Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo on 18 June 1815, although skirmishing continued as late as 3 July 1815 at the Battle of Issy. The Second Treaty of Paris officially ended the wars on 20 November 1815. Overall this battle cum dress sword is in fabulous condition, from a large former museum collection of original Napoleonic Battle of Waterloo swords

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

No scabbard.  read more

Code: 25233

An Original and Superb WW2 RAF Air Ministry Issue 'Scramble Bell', Cast Bronze With Turned Hardwood Handle On A Brass Socket Mount With Brass Ball Top. Interior Bears The AM Crown Mark of the Air Ministry Contract

An iconic centre piece of any collection from the most renowned and famed era of the British RAF. This would would make an amazing addition to any collection, or display, or a unique historic gift for any collector of aeronautica.

A most scarce, original, 'Battle of Britain' piece of original, RAF Air Ministry issue aeronautica, an original brass bracket mounted then hand-held 'scramble' bell, complete with its wooden handle, stamped AM Crown, marked with crown and initials AM, Used at an RAF air base. Made in the period when the RAF knew very well that war was imminent and very likely, and it was used throughout the entire war, right from the 'Battle of Britain' period. It’s diameter of the bell is 200 mm, and height 300 mm approx, it weighs, 3.15 kilos.

A very fine example, in super condition, of an original RAF scramble bell from a RAF base, such as RAF North Weald, as it likely came from that location area, another that came from RAF Debden, an airfield 3 miles south east of Saffron Waldon in Essex, was sold over six years ago for 2,500 at auction in New York.

This hand bell would have been rung when instructions came through from HQ of an imminent attack by the feared and deadly Luftwaffe Bombing Squadrons, in order to scramble the bravest of the brave, the frighteningly young, RAF, RAAF or RCAF pilots into the air. During the Battle of Britain and beyond the average age of the pilots was just 20 years old, of the 2,937 British and Allied aircrew. Britain aircrew were flying multiple sorties a day to intercept the relentless Luftwaffe raids over the British skies, Aircrew from sixteen nationalities flew and fought together against the Luftwaffe, who outnumbered the RAF in both aircraft and pilots.

Against all odds, the RAF defeated the Luftwaffe. Hitler was forced to abandon his plans to invade Britain.
544 aircrew were killed during the Battle of Britain. A further 422 aircrew were wounded. Almost a third of all the men that flew.

British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, famously expressed the incredible debt owed to the Battle of Britain aircrew:

“Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.”

During WW2 the world's premier gallantry medals were granted to air Force personnel, 22 Victoria Crosses were awarded, and 2,001 Air Force Crosses were Awarded, 26 were awarded to the same recipient twice, and just 1 was awarded to the same man three times.

Throughout the summer of 1940, across England, on hundreds of grass makeshift runways, with young eager pilots that awaited in huts for the bell to be rung, then rushing ‘hell for leather’ to their fighter planes, in order to attack the German bomber and fighter formations descending on vulnerable Southern England. Such as RAF Debden, in Essex, that was built in April 1937, with the tarmac airstrip laid in 1940. It was a sector station for 11 Group RAF. Many British Hurricane and Spitfire squadrons were based at Debden, including number 17 squadron throughout the Battle of Britain. In September 1942, it was handed over to the USAAF, as part of British support for the American bombing campaign in Europe. The Battle of Britain (German: Luftschlacht um England, literally "The Air Battle for England") was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. It has been described as the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. The British officially recognise the battle's duration as being from 10 July until 31 October 1940, which overlaps the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, that lasted from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941. German historians do not accept this subdivision and regard the battle as a single campaign lasting from July 1940 to June 1941, including the Blitz.

The primary objective of the German forces was to compel Britain to agree to a negotiated peace settlement. In July 1940 the air and sea blockade began, with the Luftwaffe mainly targeting coastal-shipping convoys, ports and shipping centres, such as Portsmouth. On 1 August, the Luftwaffe was directed to achieve air superiority over the RAF with the aim of incapacitating RAF Fighter Command; 12 days later, it shifted the attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed, the Luftwaffe also targeted factories involved in aircraft production and strategic infrastructure. Eventually it employed terror bombing on areas of political significance and on civilians.

The Germans had rapidly overwhelmed France and the Low Countries, leaving Britain to face the threat of invasion by sea. The German high command knew the difficulties of a seaborne attack and its impracticality while the Royal Navy controlled the English Channel and the North Sea. On 16 July, Adolf Hitler ordered the preparation of Operation Sea Lion as a potential amphibious and airborne assault on Britain, to follow once the Luftwaffe had air superiority over the UK. In September, RAF Bomber Command night raids disrupted the German preparation of converted barges, and the Luftwaffe's failure to overwhelm the RAF forced Hitler to postpone and eventually cancel Operation Sea Lion. Germany proved unable to sustain daylight raids, but their continued night-bombing operations on Britain became known as the Blitz.

Historian Stephen Bungay cited Germany's failure to destroy Britain's air defences to force an armistice (or even outright surrender) as the first major German defeat in World War II and a crucial turning point in the conflict. The Battle of Britain takes its name from a speech by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on 18 June: "What General Weygand has called The Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin." The scramble bell came three different forms, the larger mounted bell, with the same AM Air Ministry marks, but much heavier, so they had to be wall mounted, or on a free standing bracket, hanging outside of say, a hut, and this type the medium sized bracket mounted for hanging outside of a hut, but as this one with an added handle, which was naturally much somewhat portable, and ideal for emergency RAF bases and landing strips, created with makeshift or tented non-permanent buildings. And the smaller regular contract hand-bell was also ideal in those bases.  read more

Code: 25232

A Rare & Beautiful, Early 19th Century, Scottish Rams Horn Butt, All Steel, Highlander's Flintlock Pistol Made by Macleod. In Super Condition, With All The Features As to Be Expected For a Fine, Original, Highland Officer's Regimental Pistol

A most fine and stunning, early 19th century, Scottish all steel highlander's flintlock belt pistol by MacLeod {a gunsmith works that was founded in the mid 18th century in Doune, Scotland} with flared octagonal muzzle and proved barrel, a signed lock of "highland" type and finely engraved with typical scrolls and a fern border, the entire stock finely and lightly etched overall with iconic thistles, scrolls and trophies. With fine highland ramshorn butt, with removable ball pricker between, and round ball trigger, side belt hook, and a fancy turned steel ramrod. A typical example of the "highland" type lock, but with a fine, automatic hook-cock, half-cock safety to stop accidental missfire. It ejects from the lock plate when cocking the hammer to safely and firmly hold it in place until full-cock is engaged. Beautifully tight and crisp action.

Highland regiment officer's and sergeants wore one steel pistol under the left arm, hung through the pistol's belt hook on a thin buff leather belt. See the original 18th century portrait painting of Captain Gorry of the Highland Volunteer Regiment, with his pistol belt-hook mounted under his left arm. {For illustrative purposes only}

Pistols were considered requisite items for the Highland soldier as early as the 1730s. By the 1740s the elegant pistol styles of Christie & Murdoch (armourers of Doune, Stirlingshire) had became the most sought after amongst Highland officers. The unique elements of the Doune pistols were the scroll or rams horn butt, fluted barrels at the breech and the octagonal flared muzzles. Soon pistol makers all across Scotland (and in England) began to copy the styles of Doune.

Another same form and age pistol by the same maker, signed MacLeod, with the highlanders scroll butt of an 18th century form, with flintlock and rainproof pan, stock, lock and barrel of decorated steel, silver butt escutcheons engraved with the crest of Scott of Abbotsford, sold for £18750 three years ago, in Edinburgh at auction.

A pair of pistols by the same maker which are still within the collection of Sir Walter Scott and on display at Abbotsford. The pistols on display are not only by the same maker but bear a similar armorial engraving as on the pistol sold in Edinburgh. More remarkably, the pistols are recorded in correspondence between Scott and the gunsmith, Mr.MacLeod, being commissioned by him for King George IV’s visit to Scotland in 1822.

Sir Walter Scott’s personal interest in Scottish history and life is well recorded and his collection of historical arms and armour is famous, much of which still decorates his remarkable Borders home, Abbotsford.

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet FRSE FSAScot (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels Ivanhoe (1819), Rob Roy (1817), Waverley (1814), Old Mortality (1816), The Heart of Mid-Lothian (1818), and The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), along with the narrative poems Marmion (1808) and The Lady of the Lake (1810). He had a major impact on European and American literature.

Barrel length 7½", 13" overall length,  read more

Code: 25228

A Superb 15th Century, Ancient, Signed Samurai Sword, From the Famous Sukesada Line of Early Samurai Sword Smiths

This sword is an absolute ancient beauty, in fabulous condition for its age.

As with all fine samurai swords that have been owned, cared for correctly, and appreciated for centuries, it’s blade condition belies its great age.

John Keats once wrote that ‘a thing of beauty is a joy forever’, well this sword has certainly been a joy for almost 600 years.

Made and signed by one of the early Sukesada school of master swordsmiths, in around 1450, between 570 to 600 years ago. The blade has a spectacular curvature and a typical, early, Koto period narrow suguha hamon [super hardened edge temper line]. The saya is in superb condition, with pristine and perfect bright black urushi lacquer. It is a great historical ancient sword with its last all original Edo period mounts. Edo iron sukashi pierced mokko tsuba, sinchu fushi kashira, and the fuchi is decorated with takebori dragon. It has a pair of dragon menuki under the original Edo period lacquered cotton tsuka-ito binding.

The Sukesada line of swordsmiths descended in the Osafune school and are recorded as far back as the end of the Nambokucho period (around 1394). This blade here is from around 1450, placing it in the pre Sue-Koto Period (1469-1596).

It is known that some Sue-Koto Sukesada swordsmith’s produced many swords (Kazu-uchi mono) in order to keep up with the demand of battlefield swords. Mainly for the samurai foot soldier where were the combat factor was far more important than the artistic beauty.

The early Sukesada smiths however produced swords of outstanding quality. This is from one of the early pre Sue-Koto period Sukesada smiths. The Sukesada line of swordsmiths extend into the Bizen tradition with its roots coming from the Ichimonji line. (For those unaware, The Ichimonji swords of the Kamakura period are perhaps some of the finest swords to have ever been made, many would say these far exceed even Masamune in terms of quality and artistic beauty). The Bizen sword making tradition has long been considered the largest of sword making traditions, this has much to do with the Sukesada swordsmiths. Bizen Province was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of Honshu, in what is today the southeastern part of Okayama Prefecture. It would become home to what would be the biggest of the 5 mainline sword making traditions ( Yamato, Yamashiro, Bizen, Soshu, Mino). The samurai were roughly the equivalent of feudal knights. Employed by the shogun or daimyo, they were members of hereditary warrior class that followed a strict "code" that defined their clothes, armour and behavior on the battlefield. But unlike most medieval knights, samurai warriors could read and they were well versed in Japanese art, literature and poetry.
Samurai endured for almost 700 years, from 1185 to 1867. Samurai families were considered the elite. They made up only about six percent of the population and included daimyo and the loyal soldiers who fought under them. Samurai means “one who serves."

Samurai were expected to be both fierce warriors and lovers of art, a dichotomy summed up by the Japanese concepts of to stop the spear expanding into bushido (the way of life of the warrior) and bun (the artistic, intellectual and spiritual side of the samurai). Originally conceived as away of dignifying raw military power, the two concepts were synthesised in feudal Japan and later became a key feature of Japanese culture and morality.The quintessential samurai was Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary early Edo-period swordsman who reportedly killed 60 men before his 30th birthday and was also a painting master. Members of a hierarchal class or caste, samurai were the sons of samurai and they were taught from an early age to unquestionably obey their mother, father and daimyo. When they grew older they could be trained by Zen Buddhist masters in meditation and the Zen concepts of impermanence and harmony with nature. They were also taught about painting, calligraphy, nature poetry, mythological literature, flower arranging, and the tea ceremony.

As part of their military training, it has been said, but possibly as part of the myth of samurai training, that samurai were taught to sleep with their right arm underneath them so if they were attacked in the middle of the night and their the left arm was cut off the could still fight with their right arm. It is further said that Samurai that tossed and turned at night were cured of the habit by having two knives placed on either side of their pillow.

Samurai have been describes as "the most strictly trained human instruments of war to have existed." They were expected to be proficient in the martial arts of aikido and kendo as well as swordsmanship and archery---the traditional methods of samurai warfare---which were viewed not so much as skills but as art forms that flowed from natural forces that harmonized with nature.
An individual, in certain circumstances, apparently didn't become a full-fledged samurai until, some say, he wandered around the countryside as begging pilgrim for a couple of years to learn humility. Again this may be part of the myth. However, when all his training was completed a samurai trainee that achieved samurai status and received a salary from his daimyo, paid from taxes (usually rice) raised from the local populace, he truly became the very best at his art in the world of sword combat

Swords in Japan have long been symbols of power and honour and seen as works of art.

Note on the photograph of the tang, around the signature can be seen five mekugi ana peg mounting holes, it appears to be four but on close examination one ana is actually two that overlap. This is one the desirable traditional indicators of a sword’s great antiquity, as each one represents a bespoke mounting and adaption, over the many centuries, of the blade for its various samurai owner's needs. It has remarkably already been a thing of great beauty, and universally admired for around 600 years, and we would like to think there is no reason it shouldn’t continue to do so for another 600 years.

25.70 inch blade tsuba to tip  read more

Code: 24472

A Pair of late Ming to Early Ching Dynasty 16th to 17th Century Cavalry Stirrups

In antiquity, the earliest foot supports consisted of riders placing their feet under a girth or using a simple toe loop. Later, a single stirrup was used as a mounting aid, and paired stirrups appeared after the invention of the treed saddle. The stirrup was invented in China in the first few centuries AD and spread westward through the nomadic peoples of Central Eurasia. The use of paired stirrups is credited to the Chinese Jin Dynasty and came to Europe during the Middle Ages. Some argue that the stirrup was one of the basic tools used to create and spread modern civilization, possibly as important as the wheel or printing press. The stirrup, which gives greater stability to a rider, has been described as one of the most significant inventions in the history of warfare, prior to gunpowder. As a tool allowing expanded use of horses in warfare, the stirrup is often called the third revolutionary step in equipment, after the chariot and the saddle. The basic tactics of mounted warfare were significantly altered by the stirrup. A rider supported by stirrups was less likely to fall off while fighting, and could deliver a blow with a weapon that more fully employed the weight and momentum of horse and rider. Among other advantages, stirrups provided greater balance and support to the rider, which allowed the knight to use a sword more efficiently without falling, especially against infantry adversaries. The Ming Dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644 A.D., during which China’s population would double. Known for its trade expansion to the outside world that established cultural ties with the West, the Ming Dynasty is also remembered for its drama, literature and world-renowned porcelain.

RISE OF THE MING DYNASTY

The Ming Dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644 A.D., during which China’s population would double. Known for its trade expansion to the outside world that established cultural ties with the West, the Ming Dynasty is also remembered for its drama, literature and world-renowned porcelain.

Ming dynasty founder Emperor Taizu, or Zhu Yuanzhang, was born into poverty, and spent part of his youth wandering the country after his parents died following a series of natural disasters centered around the Yellow River.

The Qing [or Ching] dynasty, officially the Great Qing, also called the Qing Empire by itself or the Manchu dynasty by foreigners, was the last imperial dynasty of China, established in 1636 and ruling China from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the territorial base for the modern Chinese state. After conquering "China proper", the Manchus identified their state as "China", and referred to it as Dulimbai Gurun in Manchu (Dulimbai means "central" or "middle," gurun means "nation" or "state"). The emperors equated the lands of the Qing state (including present-day Northeast China, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Tibet and other areas) as "China" in both the Chinese and Manchu languages, defining China as a multi-ethnic state, and rejecting the idea that "China" only meant Han areas. The Qing emperors proclaimed that both Han and non-Han peoples were part of "China". They used both "China" and "Qing" to refer to their state in official documents, international treaties (as the Qing was known internationally as "China" or the "Chinese Empire") and foreign affairs, and "Chinese language" (Dulimbai gurun I bithe) included Chinese, Manchu, and Mongol languages, and "Chinese people" referred to all subjects of the empire. In the Chinese-language versions of its treaties and its maps of the world, the Qing government used "Qing" and "China" interchangeably.  read more

Code: 20708

A Really Fine and Interesting Late 18th Century Early Sikh Empire Lahore Talwar, With Possibly a Wootz Blade

The hilt [also known as tulwar] comprises langets with lotus-head outlines, domed quillons, and a centrally swollen grip. A knuckle guard with a terminal that recurves toward the disc-pommel which has been attached with a pointed sunburst plaque, a decorative feature further fitted at its centre with a dome and lotus bud finial. The surface has square sectional patterned engraving that once contained silver inlay.

There are clear indications that this particular hilt is of Punjab manufacture: the fat vase shape of the grip section, the slightly forward angle of the quillons and the former geometric pattern of silver koftgari. The hilt is of slightly larger than average proportions and fits comfortably in the hand.

The blade of considerable size, yet slender, and good quality is fitted to the hilt and could possibly be of wootz - this can only be revealed through a professional etch, polish and cleaning of the blade. We have chosen not to do this to keep the historical integrity of the sword and its age.

The blade shape is purely Persian, of shamshīr (شمشیر‎) form with a narrow, pointy blade of deep curvature. Such blades are ideal for close-quarters cutters, with the deep curve helping it target specific places that normal swords could not attach. The type of blade is a referred to as a ‘goliya’ (meaning round) in India. The blade is a highly practical one, with several indications [impacts etc. ] that show that it was clearly used in battle.

The blade has an early engraved armoury storage number MN42. What this most beautiful sword lacks somewhat in condition due to combat. It most easily more than makes up for it in historical interest, quality and beauty.

30 inch blade  read more

Code: 24484

A Very Fine Antique Longsword, Likely German, 16th-17th Century Style, With Double Edged Graduating Diamond Shaped Blade, Bearing Armourers Mark, Crossguard With Single Oval Side Ring

The longsword might have had longer blades than the arming sword, also called the knightly sword which was designed purely for single-handed use, but not necessarily. The difference was the longsword’s longer grip that allowed hand-and-a-half or two-handed use. However, these swords were generally shorter than the German two-hander or zweihander, which was not light enough for single-handed use.

For hilt type see; hilt 10, page 72, A.B.V Norman around 1510 to 1650, The Rapier and Small Sword 1460-1820

Blade Type, Ewart Oakshott XVIIIb and XVIIIc that represent the later longswords of the mid-15th to early 16th centuries. They have a flattened diamond cross-section, often with pronounced mid-rib, some being hollow-ground.

Combining an Oakshott type XVIiic, with the shorter than usual AVB Norman hilt type 10 indicates a hybrid form with the blade of a more usual two handed sword, and the more practical hilt of the shorter bastard style. A most impressive long sword ideal for sword combat competition in many ways.

107 cm blade, cm hilt and 19cm grip

The German school of fencing (Deutsche Schule; Kunst des Fechtensa) is a system of combat taught in the Holy Roman Empire during the Late Medieval, German Renaissance, and early modern periods. It is described in the contemporary Fechtbücher ("fencing books") written at the time. The geographical center of this tradition was in what is now Southern Germany including Augsburg, Frankfurt, and Nuremberg. During the period in which it was taught, it was known as the Kunst des Fechtens, or the "Art of Fighting".b The German school of fencing focuses primarily on the use of the two-handed longsword; it also describes the use of many other weapons, including polearms, medieval daggers, messers (with or without a buckler), and the staff, as well as describing mounted combat and unarmed grappling (ringen).
Most authors of writings on the system are, or claim to be, in the tradition of the 14th-century master Johannes Liechtenauer. The earliest surviving treatise on Liechtenauer's system is a manuscript dated to possibly the late 14th, or early 15th century, known as Ms. 3227a. More manuscripts survive from the 15th century, and during the 16th century the system was also presented in print, most notably by Joachim Meyer in 1570.
The German tradition was largely eclipsed by the Italian school of rapier fencing by the early 17th century. Practitioners of the German school persisted at least until the end of the 18th century, though.

The "longsword" type exists in a morphological continuum with the medieval knightly sword and the Renaissance-era Zweihänder. It was prevalent during the late medieval and Renaissance periods (approximately 1350 to 1550), with early and late use reaching into the 12th and 17th centuries.  read more

Code: 25226

A Magnificent Antique, Original, French Dragoon Helmet 1872. Possibly The Best Example You May Ever See

With liner, black horsehair tail and red feather plume original chinscales with strap and buckle, virtually dent free throughout, and in fabulous overall condition. Maker marked on the steel skull, behind the tail, Alexis Godillot.

A magnificent French Dragoon helmet of the M1872/1874 pattern. Designed immediately after the defeat of France at the Franco Prussian War. These were still in combat wear in August 1914 by the troops of the French Dragoons who were in that early period engaged in reconnaissance, guarding the flanks & covering the infantry as well as liaison & escort.

The Dragoon helmet is identical to that worn by the Cuiraissiers with the minor difference of no plume socket (marmouset) to the top of the crest. The skull, peak & neckguard are made from cast sheet steel which from a lobster tail to the rear with Medusas head to the front of the crest & thirteen palmettes separated by water lillies. All of the fittings & the badge are of brass this including the chin scales which are adjusted by use of a partially concealed strap inner buckle system. The plume socket is set into the side of the helmet with it's red plume. The front plate has a grenade set into two laurel branches this integrating with the bottom edge of the crest as the top grenade flame reaches upwards. To the crest is mounted black horsehair with a pleat which allowed it to be tied up so it did not flutter in the face of the cavalryman. Interior of the helmet has survived in very good order. The leather liner tongues are all good with no damage to holes.

Looking back at the pre-war 1870 landscape, there are parallels that can be drawn today, including notably the role of populist disruptors in triggering international conflict. Emperor Napoleon III of France and Prussia's Otto von Bismarck were both products of the 1848 revolutions and master media manipulators who exploited the power of nationalism. Napoleon did so first, sweeping to power in the December 1848 presidential elections on the promise of ‘making France great again’, as it had been under his uncle, the first Napoleon. Four years later, just before his original term should have expired, he made himself emperor, and quickly reasserted French prestige by launching a succession of wars, including against Russia in the Crimea (1853-56).

Napoleon III's wars had unintended outcomes. One of these was that they turned Russia from being a bastion of the international order into a revisionist power. This in turn gave space to Bismarck to wreck what remained of the European system in a way that was definitely not to France's advantage. Austria was the main victim initially in the shake-up that followed, losing its position in Italy following military defeat at the hands of France in 1859, and more spectacularly forfeiting its prime role in Germany to Prussia after defeat in 1866.

This set the scene for the 1870 Franco-Prussian war. France, determined to thwart Prussia’s further rise, sought to block the candidacy of a Prussian prince to the Spanish throne in what looked like a good, old-fashioned, dynastic succession crisis. What made things different from earlier centuries was the weight of public opinion, in an age of universal male suffrage. Policy makers in Berlin and Paris sought to exploit the rising tide of nationalism on both sides of the Rhine, and this increased the risk of an explosion. That explosion came on 19 July.

A rapid French rout

Experts at the time expected the French to win. They overlooked serious weaknesses on the French side, which Sir Michael Howard's analysis shows extended far beyond the narrow military field, to wider political and societal disadvantages. These were reflected above all in the French conscription system, inherited in its essentials from the first Napoleon. This imposed upon the male population an obligation to serve, but in practice, only a small fraction was ever called up, who then served for seven years and often more. In consequence, the French army lacked the ability to 'scale-up' by calling on a mass of reservists.



The Prussian army, in contrast, drew upon the entire male population, producing a substantial body of trained reservists upon mobilisation. Prussian military planning, conducted by the famed General Staff headed by Helmuth von Moltke, made best use of the resulting numerical advantage, not least through the clever exploitation of railways.

Many military observers nonetheless preferred the French system, which produced an essentially professional force that was far better-suited to the near-continuous overseas deployments that Napoleon III's global ambitions demanded. Most damaging of all, despite its elitist pretensions, the French army was socially rather low-status. This was because the rich were allowed to pay for replacements to serve instead of their sons, should they be unlucky enough to be called up. No such facility existed in Prussia, with the result that its army more fairly approximated the nation-in-arms.

The consequence in 1870 was a French rout. General Philip Sheridan, American Civil War veteran, observed the Franco-German conflict at first hand, and his summary of the reasons for the outcome can hardly be bettered:

"The earlier advantages gained by the Germans may be ascribed to the strikingly prompt mobilization of their armies, one of the most noticeable features of their perfect military system, devised by almost autocratic power; their later successes were greatly aided by the blunders of the French, whose stupendous errors materially shortened the war, though even if prolonged it could, in my opinion, have had ultimately no other termination."  read more

Code: 25225