A Simply Stunning Edo Period Mighty Samurai Armour and Helmet Piercer Tanto, Around 250 Years Old

The blade is utterly amazing, with a great gunome hamon, superb grain in the hada, and powerful blade designed to pierce the strongest kabuto, iron plate war helmet, or even the strongest part of any gosuko armour, being an incredible 8 mm thick at the habaki.
Fully mounted with all its original Edo fuchi kashira decorated with takebori rabbits and reeds. Pure gold and silver rabbits on a shakudo nanako ground, with pure gold reeds. Pure gold menuki of shi shi lion dogs, under original edo black silk tsuka-itol.

It has a kozuka decorated on shakudo and gold of a herd of frolicking ponies . Original Edo period urushi lacquer ishime style, stone finish, lacquer saya with polished carved buffalo horn fittings. The only signs of age wear is on the lacquer saya, with three or four very small surface dings and slight blistering by the mid section on one side. The habaki is superb in shakudo. The tsuba is an iron tetsu oval inlaid with puer gold, with surface decoration of stylized serpent like beasts with gold stars both large and small with a pair of gold fronted seppa.

This would make a fabulous addition to any fine collection of original antique samurai weaponry or armour

Rabbits are one of the signs of the Japanese zodiac. They are considered lucky as the Japanese kanji used to write the word rabbit is similar to the kanji meaning "get rid of " or "make vanish". People believe that rabbits will make bad luck disappear! Rabbits are also known for jumping high. They can leap over nine feet! Rabbits symbolize everything going up in your life - improvement and success.

blade 12 inches long  read more

Code: 24380

A Very Special Offer Sword of W.C. Cuninghame, Distinguished Hero of the 79th Foot in the Crimean War & Subsequently Elevated, Due to His Gallantry, to a Position WIthin the Queen’s Bodyguard of H.M Queen Victoria

We acquired three swords direct from the Cuninghame family, and they are all to be sold separately.

This was the service sword of William Cuninghame Cuninghame, Capt. Of the 79th Cameron Highlanders, son of William Alexander Cuninghame late of the 95th landed with his regiment in the Crimea. He served in the battle of Alma, Balaklava and Sebastepol awarded the Crimean medal with three clasps, and the Turkish medal not included. After his distinguished service in the Crimean War he became a member of the Corps of Gentleman at Arms, Queen Victoria's personal bodyguard. This was a highly esteemed position to obtain, and only a very few, of the very best, most distinguished, and respected British army officers were ever chosen to serve in such an exalted position. This is his basket hilted broadsword was commissioned from Wilkinson sword, completed on the 15th May, and delivered or colllected later in May, 1854 serial numbered 5174. The basket is complete with it's stag hide liner lined with traditional red uniform cloth with silk tassle. The broadsword blade is etched with Wilkinsons mark and the steel mounted leather scabbard once bore full engraving of his name crest and regiment. The Cuninghame name is one of Scotland’s oldest clan names, based on a regional name, and can trace their Scottish ancestry back to Cunninghame which is the northern part of Ayrshire.Traditionally, in 1059, King Malcolm rewarded Malcolm, son of Friskin with the Thanedom of Cunninghame. The name is therefore of territorial origin and it likely derives from cuinneag which means milk pail and the Saxon ham which means village. There is a story that states that Malcolm who was the son of Friskin, obtained the lands from Malcolm III of Scotland after he had sheltered him under hay in a barn The Cunninghams were certainly well settled in the parish of Kilmaurs by the end of the thirteenth century. The son of the Laird of Kilmaurs was Hervy de Cunningham who fought for Alexander III of Scotland at the Battle of Largs in 1263 against the Norse invaders. During the Wars of Scottish Independence the Cunninghams were supporters of the Bruces in their fight for Scottish independence. A detail of the 79th Cameron Highlanders at Alma goes as follows; About half-past one o?clock 20th Sept 1854 the action commenced by the Russians opening fire from the redoubt on the left upon the French, who were attempting to assail their position in that direction. The British forces then formed in line, and proceeded to cross the river about the village of Burliuk. The light and second divisions led the way preceded by the skirmishers of the Rifle Brigade, who advanced through the vineyards beyond the village, and spreading themselves along the margin of the river, engaged the Russian riflemen on the opposite bank.

The first division, which formed the left of the allied army, advancing in support, traversed the vineyard and crossed the river, protected by its overhanging banks. On reaching the slope of the hill, the three Highland regiments formed line in ?ch?lon, and, "with the precision of a field-day advanced to the attack, the 42nd Royal Highlanders on the right, and the 79th Cameron Highlanders on the left, the extreme left of the allied army." "The magnificent mile of line," says Captain Jameson, "displayed by the Guards and Highlanders, the prominent bear-skin, the undulating waves of the clan-tartans, the stalwart frames, steady and confident bearing of these young and eager soldiers advancing under fire, can never be forgotten by those who witnessed it, whilst it contributed materially to the discouragement of the enemy, whose columns perceptibly wavered as they approached. His masses of four - and - twenty deep, absolutely reeled and staggered to and fro under the murderous fire of the Scottish line, which was delivered with great effect at a distance of 200 yards."
We show in the gallery a painting of the 79th Highlanders charging at Alma, a photo of Capt. W.C.Cuninghame's Crimean War & Queen's Bodyguard Diamond Jubilee medal that were sold some years ago, and a photo of Capt. Cuninghame as part of Queen Victoria's personal bodyguard at the Jubilee service at St Paul's Cathedral 1897 . The basket has a small bar lacking on one side due to hand to hand combat contact damage. As the scabbard is steel mounted, not brass as are his ancestors swords, the family name crest and regiment engraving on the scabbard has all but disappeared due to very light old surface pitting but traces of it can be identified in the right light. It would likely need modern infra red light technology to reveal it fully. 32.25 inch blade. Capt. Cuninghame's Medals and photos in the gallery not included.  read more

Code: 20427

WW1 Era Quality Made Leather Holster For A .32ACP 'Model 1913' Self-Loading Pistol by Webley & Scott,

This is a service holster for the Webley small frame .32 pistol. All leather and intricate stitching are clean and intact. The rear of the holster has a single belt loop stitched to the body. It has a single brass press stud fastener and full flap cover. From muzzle end to the open top of the holster measures 10 inches. The opening is 4 1/8 inches wide.

Winston Churchill owned this form of pistol {his was sold at auction in 2015} as a personal defence weapon.
The .32 Webley & Scott was adopted by Scotland Yard for use on close protection details in 1911. Walter J. Thompson, Churchill's most famous bodyguard, carried one during his eighteen years service beside the Prime Minister.  read more

Code: 25142

A Finest Leather Field Service, .455 Revolver Holster, For WW1 Officers

Excellent condition, WW1 service officer use, for the Webley.455 MK VI revolver. It has a full flap cover with retaining strap and brass stud fastener

The Webley Revolver (also known as the Webley Top-Break Revolver or Webley Self-Extracting Revolver) was, in various designations, a standard issue service revolver for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, and countries of the British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, from 1887 to 1970.

The Webley is a top-break revolver and breaking the revolver operates the extractor, which removes cartridges from the cylinder. The Webley Mk I service revolver was adopted in 1887 and the Mk IV rose to prominence during the Boer War of 1899–1902. The Mk VI was introduced in 1915, during wartime, and is the best-known model.

Firing large .455 Webley cartridges, Webley service revolvers are among the most powerful top-break revolvers produced.

The Webley RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) model was Webley's first double-action revolver, and adopted by the RIC in 1868, hence the name. It was a solid frame, gate-loaded revolver, chambered in .442 Webley. General George Armstrong Custer was known to have owned a pair, which he is believed to have used at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Shanghai Municipal Police received Webley Mk VI revolvers during the interwar period.  read more

Code: 25160

An Exceptional 1888 The Sherwood Foresters {Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire} Regimental Lee Metford Mk1 Pattern 2 Bayonet With Excellent Scabbard

In superb condition, a real beauty!. Regimentally marked for the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire regiment, 'DY', The Sherwood Foresters, formed in 1881, {who later served at Gallipoli}. Scabbard stamped EFD for Enfield.

Sherwood Foresters saw action in Egypt during the Anglo-Egyptian War, and was stationed at Malta from September 1898. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, the battalion was sent to South Africa where they arrived in December. They were stationed in the Orange Free State and took part in fighting under General Sir William Gatacre. From April 1900 they were part of the 21st Infantry brigade under General Bruce Hamilton.3 The battalion stayed in South Africa until the end of the war, then transferred on the SS Wakool to a new posting at Hong Kong in September 1902.4

The 2nd Battalion served in India from 1882 to 1898, and saw action in the Sikkim Expedition 1888 and the North West Frontier campaign 1897–1898, after which they transferred to Aden. They were stationed at Malta from February 1900 until returning home in May 1902

The Lee-Metford rifle (a.k.a. Magazine Lee-Metford, abbreviated MLM) was a bolt action British army service rifle, combining James Paris Lee's rear-locking bolt system and ten-round magazine with a seven groove rifled barrel designed by William Ellis Metford. It replaced the Martini-Henry rifle in 1888, following nine years of development and trials, but remained in service for only a short time until replaced by the similar Lee-Enfield.

We bought the entire small collection from the widow of a 'Best of British Empire Rifles and Bayonets, Both British and German' collector, who acquired them over the past 40 years, and only ever kept the very best he could afford to keep. Act fast they are selling really fast, three rifles and eight bayonets and a cutlass have sold in two days alone.. Top quality and condition,19th and 20th century scarce British and German collectables are always the most desirable of all. Also for use with the earliest form of Long Lee Rifle, the Boer War and early WW1 Enfield Rifle Fitting the early Long Lee Rifle until 1903/4 when the Long Lee had a new narrower bayonet bar fitted and the cleaning rod channel removed, the later 1903 Metford bayonet thus altered to fit, but retaining the same blade until the 1907 long bladed SMLE bayonet was devised. The Lee Metford and Long Lee rifle and bayonet were used in the Chinese Legations during the Boxer Rebellion in Peking in June 1900.

The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire regt. in 1914 they became part of the First New Army (K1) and then moved to Grantham to join the 33rd Brigade of the 11th Division.The 11th (Northern) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, raised from men who had volunteered for Lord Kitchener's New Armies. The division fought in the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front. The division's insignia was an ankh or ankhus.

April 1915 Moved to the Frensham area.
July 1915 Embarked for Mudros from Liverpool.
20-31.07.1915 At Helles and engaged in various actions against the Turkish Army including;
07.08.1915 Landed at Suvla Bay;
The Battle of Sari Bair in the Gallipoli campaign
Dec 1915 Deployed to Imbros.
Feb 1916 Deployed to Egypt and took over a section of the Suez Canal defences.
July 1916 Deployed to France and engaged in various action on the Western Front including;
The capture of the Wundt-Werk, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, The Battle of Thiepval, the Battle of Delville wood on the 7th August 1916 as machinegunners alongside the Staffs
1917
Operations on the Ancre, The Battle of Messines, The Battle of the Langemarck, The Battle of Polygon Wood, The Battle of Broodseinde, The Battle of Poelcapelle.
1918
The Battle of the Scarpe, The Battle of the Drocourt-Quant Line, The Battle of the Canal du Nord, The Battle of Cambrai 1918, The pursuit to the Selle, The Battle of the Sambre.
11.11.1918 Ended the war south of Mons, Belgium.  read more

Code: 25159

A Superb, WW1, British Officer's Field Service, Harrods 'Kit' Named 'A Welcome Present for Friends At the Front,'. Trench Warfare Pharmaceuticals Case for Morphine, Heroin & 7% Solution Cocaine From Harrods Department Store {Now Empty!}

Even high street stores, in the Victorian, Edwardian and George Vth era, were once involved in selling questionable products {by today's enlightened standards of course}. In London during 1916, Harrods sold a ‘kit’ named ‘A Welcome Present for Friends at the Front,’ which contained cocaine, morphine, syringes, and needles. These kits were marketed to officers for use in the trenches of WW1. This case is also personally monogrammed for the officer

We acquired this from the elderly grandson of a WW1 officer in the Guards Division, and it once contained his complete kit of drug paraphernalia, the syringe, heroin vials, cocaine etc. for his trench warfare 'downtime' during his service at the front.

A very stout hard leather case, Harrods marked, containing its original metal box that once contained his 'kit', aka ‘A Welcome Present for Friends at the Front,’ In superb condition for age especially considering when and where it was used, and for over three years in the awful conditions of the trenches in Flanders and France. It was also very functional as a 'back-up' sandwich tin, which would likely be a more sensible use for it. Swayne and Adeney {another contemporary store but in Piccadilly} made a version for 'sandwiches' but larger, with a double hinged tin {so one could remove the sandwhich} and often a small glass flask, likely for a tot of single malt whisky. Apparently the vendors grandfather told him several of his brother officers used to ask for home to send them a F/S sandwich tin, but only in order to fit their drug kit within it!

“Which is it today,“ I asked “morphine or cocaine ?“. So says Doctor Watson to Sherlock Holmes in The Sign of The Four. “It is cocaine,“ he said “a seven-per-cent solution. Would you care to try it ?“

Doctor Watson wisely declines the offer. Instead he tries to alert Holmes to the potential dangers involved in his drug taking. “Why should you, for a mere passing pleasure, risk the loss of those great powers with which you have been endowed ?“ But Sherlock Holmes finds cocaine, “…so transcendentally stimulating and clarifying to the mind that it’s secondary action is a matter of small moment.“

The attitude to drugs in the Victorian era was very different to our own. Morphine and cocaine were both available from various sources without a doctor’s prescription. Morphine was even given to children - albeit in a diluted form such as a linctus. The great psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud also wrote in praise of cocaine.

This all seems very strange to us. But before modern analgesics were developed people had to rely on drugs such as morphine and other opiates for pain relief and other medical uses.

Recreational drug taking was also not unknown. Sherlock Holmes’ drug use would certainly fall into this category. However, as he tells Doctor Watson; “Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants.“  read more

Code: 25156

Ancient Imperial Roman Discus Form Oil Lamp with Embossed Design Circa 100 AD

Lamps were used throughout antiquity for the principal purpose of lighting in domestic, civic and also religious contexts (funerary or votive) where permanent light was required. The origin of the lamp is not known for certain, but it had become commonplace in Greece by the 4th century BCE, where its use replaced that of the torch known from earlier times. Since the large scale production of olive oil which (amongst other things) was used as lamp fuel and constituted part of a major industry in Ancient Greece it is not surprising that the mass-production of lamps occurred as they were in constant demand. This demand continued well into the Roman period and the subsequent CE era. As the industry continued to grow, so did the varied styles of lamps, that illustrated incredible diversity in their shapes, decorations and materials. Shapes ranged from simple single nozzled ones to others that had 12 or more spouts. Others demonstrated zoomorphic (animal) or anthropomorphic (human) forms, while others had varied decorations confined to the top of the lamp with vegetable or abstract motifs, but also figural scenes (mythological, legendary, gladiatorial, domestic life, erotica etc). Further, while terracotta was the most common material used for the production of these devices, they were also made in stone or metal such as gold or silver, but they were most commonly produced in bronze.  read more

Code: 25119

A Most Scarce, Edwardian, 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regt. Long Lee Enfield 1903 Bayonet, To Fit & Use With The Long Lee Enfield & The MK III SMLE Enfield

Edwardian period, maker marked by Chapman of Sheffield. Regimentally stamped, R.I, and dated 1903 and maker marked. Used from 1903 and right through WW1. Superb bright blade and russetted surface steel mounts, with steel mounted leather scabbard. The earliest WW1 Enfield Rifle Bayonet, made from the earlier 1888 bayonet pattern blade, and designed for the early Long Lee in 1903, with cleaning rod removed, yet also fitting it's pre war replacement the Short Magazine Lee Enfield. This pattern of rare bayonet was only made for four peacetime years from 1903 until 1907 when it was changed for the long blade 1907 SMLE pattern.
Made in relatively small numbers hence its rarity to survive today.

We bought the entire small collection from the widow of a 'Best of British Empire Rifles and Bayonets, Both British and German' collector, who acquired them over the past 40 years, and only ever kept the very best he could afford to keep. Act fast they are selling really fast, three rifles and eight bayonets and a cutlass have sold today alone. Top quality and condition,19th and 20th century scarce British and German collectables are always the most desirable of all.

A very brief history lesson of the 2nd Royal Irish during their first two months of WW1;
The men who served with the 2nd battalion during the first two months of the war partly because the events that unfolded between August and October 1914 are in themselves extraordinary. In a few short weeks there took place the first hostile contact between the British and the Germans at Mons, the crucial battle of Le Cateau, the long and hot retreat to the outskirts of Paris, the successes on the Marne and the stalling of the allies’ advance at the Aisne. Then, at the beginning of October 1914 the battalion was redeployed north and took part in the fighting around La Bassee. On the 20th of October at Le Pilly, they were surrounded and overwhelmed. All but 135 men and one officer were either killed, wounded and/or taken prisoner. This means that since they had disembarked in France on 14th August well over a thousand members of the battalion had become casualties. Such a casualty rate among the battalions of the First World War may not in itself be exceptional. However, what needs to be taken into account is the fact that many of those who proceeded to France with the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment had been serving together for years and in some cases decades. Some may have fought together in the Boer War or have had a shared experience of the hardship of years of service in India. They genuinely were comrades in arms, which must have made the destruction of this regular army battalion all the more affecting for those who survived. The first day of the Somme may well have produced equally shocking statistics. However, the close camaraderie of the regular army was by then a thing of the past and replaced by a weary acceptance of the brutalities of trench warfare and an understanding that too great an investment in those around you was best avoided. It is the poignancy of all those friendships and long-standing associations torn asunder in eight short weeks that makes this tale so compelling. ref; PATRICK63223 IWM

Ten battalions of the regiment saw service during the First World War (1914-18). They suffered over 3,200 killed in action and thousands more wounded in places such as Le-Pilly, Gullimont, Ginchy, Salonika, Mesopotamia and Palestine.

Members of the Royal Irish were also the first British Army troops to confront the Irish rebels during the Easter Rising of 1916.
The IWM 'Lives of WW1' is a remarkable website community to learn so much about the stories of the regiments and their gallant men in the Great War, heroes, one and all!  read more

Code: 25147

A Superb Regimental 1856-8 Enfield Sword Bayonet

The rifle that this sword bayonet was designed for was the type used in the Indian Mutiny at the "Seige and Relief of Lucknow" The rifle we are selling seperately now sold. Excellent original patina to all the steel fittings and hilt. Chequered leather grip with rivets, and screw affixed retaining spring. Excellent Yataghan blade in stunning polish. Excellent leather. The regiments that used this bayonet sword took part in the Second Opium War, the Indian Mutiny and the Third Anglo-Burmese War.

We bought the entire small collection from the widow of a 'Best of British Empire Rifles and Bayonets, Both British and German' collector, who acquired them over the past 40 years, and only ever kept the very best he could afford to keep. Act fast they are selling really fast, three rifles and eight bayonets and a cutlass have sold in two days alone.Top quality and condition,19th and 20th century scarce British and German collectables are always the most desirable of all.

No scabbard  read more

Code: 25150

Very Rare Antique 1850's 'Lancaster Patent' Two-Band Oval Bore Rifle-Musket 50 Bore Lancaster’s Patent Royal Engineers Rifle!

An antique extremely rare and highly desirable Two-Band Rifle-Musket by Charles Lancaster, manufactured in London, England circa 1850's. In simply fabulous condition for its age. Charles William Lancaster (1820-1878) was devoted to his craft and was among the best England had to offer in the field of firearms making and invention. It was around the year 1850, when he conceived the idea of the oval bore. Indeed, it is very slightly oval, almost imperceptibly and the rifling is very subtle and this rifle could easily be mistaken for a smooth bore. The rifling is also “gain twist”, meaning that the twist gets faster as the projectile approaches the muzzle. He believed that the oval bore was the future form all rifles and cannons should take due to the design’s inherent ability to mitigate the fowling that came from using black powder, as well as their accuracy. He would put his idea to the test when he entered the government trials for what would become the Pattern 1853. He would spend much of 1852 and 1853 in doing so. His oval bore proved more accurate and less prone to foul than the competition, though the very subtle rifling was prone to wear out sooner with much use than conventional rifling. His system was not ultimately adopted for the Pattern 1853 infantry rifle-musket, but it was adopted in smaller numbers for sapper muskets.

This example is a 2-band rifle, the type which could have been made and sold for the Royal Engineers, Sappers and Miners, and volunteer units during this period, but this is a particularly rare chequered stock officer’s version, with a name engraved silver cartouche.

The Volunteer Movement was a response to the Crimean War as well as heightened tensions between England and France and the outbreak of war between France & Austria. England had a lot of territory to cover between the British Isles and its colonies, and there was imminent risk of being pulled into another conflict. This was a popular movement to create home defence. These had a great deal of autonomy initially, though many were eventually folded into the regular British Army. The rifle has fantastic sights stamped with Enfield inspector stamp.

We bought the entire small collection from the widow of a 'Best of British Empire Rifles and Bayonets, Both British and German' collector, who acquired them over the past 40 years, and only ever kept the very best he could afford to keep. Act fast they are selling really fast, three rifles and four bayonets and a cutlass have sold today alone. Top quality and condition,19th and 20th century scarce British and German collectables are always the most desirable of all.  read more

Code: 25145