A Superb Napoleonic French 'Prisoner-of-War' Portable Travelling Dressing Case, Shaped in the Form of a Book

In wood covered in straw-work parquetry. crafted by a prisoner of war during the1793 - 1815 War between Napoleon's French Navy and the Naval forces of King George III of England. This piece was hand crafted by a captive, French, master artisan who created this unbelievably detailed box with nothing but coloured pieces of straw, paper and scraps of wood, {often taken from their bunks} for a frame, and boiled glue. This piece would have taken weeks to hand create, and the tiny pieces of straw are somehow cut into thousands of minuscule pieces and assembled in tiny multicoloured geometric patterns. A very similar example to one that is on display in the Burghley House Collection. Made by the captured Napoleonic and French wars French Prisoners-of-War in the early 1800's in order to subsidise their meagre prison rations, and this fine piece is made to give the impression it is a sizeable book when closed. The interior bears two small sections, lidded compartments with interior mirror in Georgian Vauxhall plate, and a geometric parquetry All of the interior straw-work is pristine in colour and unfaded showing wonderful contrasts.

Great Britain was at war with France continuously from 1793 to 1802. Hostilities ceased briefly in 1802, but conflict soon recommenced. The Napoleonic Wars continued until 1815, when Napoleon?s forces were finally defeated at Waterloo.

For example,iIn 1796 the first prison to house French prisoners was built at Norman Cross, some 5 miles north of Peterborough. Conditions must have been both harsh and crowded; disease killed more that 1,700 inmates between 1797 and 1814.

To supplement their rations and to provide small income, some prisoners made ornaments, models and toys, which they were allowed to sell. The materials used included straw, wood, bone and even human hair. Many of the items made were extraordinary in their complexity and design and were always very desirable to collectors. The proximity of Burghley House to the camp meant that members of the Cecil family acquired many fine examples.

Those displayed at Burghley include a number of containers made of wood with applied decoration of coloured straw, a stationery box, a set of bone spillikins in a pocket case, a framed straw-work picture of the house built for Napoleon Bonaparte on St Helena, to where he was exiled, a bone set of dominoes and playing cards and a detailed model of an 80-gun ship-of-the-line with hair rigging..

Two photos in the gallery are of New Cross market for the French POWs to sell their wears and hand made pieces to the locals and nobility who used to travel to such markets to buy these pieces that were incredibly popular with members of the aristocracy and high society. a a painting of a prison hulk in Sheerness, often made from the hulks of a scrapped old British man o'war, or a captured, damaged French or Spanish frigate,  read more

Code: 24739

A Third Reich, Kriegsmarine, 6. Schiffsstammabteilung Der Ostsee Training Crew Recruits Baltic Command

A very impressive German, Kriegsmarine cap tally from the 1930's and WW2. Photo in the gallery of the Schiffsstammabteilung Der Ostsee officers and men.

The tally on a sailor's cap is a ribbon usually bearing the name of a ship or some other establishment to which they belong.

Practice varies with each navy, though a conventional tally is black, with a gold or yellow inscription. The inscription may be simply a ship's name (e.g. "H.M.A.S. ARRERNTE"), the name of the navy ("MARINE NATIONALE") or a longer name such as "Red Banner Baltic Fleet" ("КРАСНОЗНАМЕН. БАЛТ. ФЛОТ"). During World War II, the ship's name would often be omitted from the tall—leaving just "H.M.A.S", for example—as a precautionary measure against espionage.

Likewise, the manner a tally is fastened onto the cap varies with each navy. For example, the British tie it into a bow on the left side; the Germans and Russians tie it at the back, leaving behind a pair of streamers; while the French stitch it onto the cap like an ordinary cap band.

Occasionally, the tally's colour may vary from the usual black, such as the Ribbon of Saint George tallies used in the Soviet and Russian navies to denote Guards units.  read more

Code: 19855

A Rare Collection of Three Original Early Edo Woodblock Hand Printed Books of Samurai Sword Oshigata, of Blade Forms Hamon and Kanji

Genealogy, history, plus hundreds of Samurai blades, engravings, blade patterns plus more
swords and sword making. An early printing and of amazing interest. For the not only academic study of the signatures on blade tangs, plus hamon patterns and horimono {blade decorative carvings} by old samurai sword master swordsmiths, but to wonder of the unique aspects of each sword blade and how the reverential study of all aspects of sword making that is unique to Japan for over 1000 years. These superb and beautiful hand made volumes are thus also fascinating and unique works or art, in themselves, hundreds of years old, and created for the study and enjoyment of the art of the true samurai sword.

These volumes of hand made, hand woodblock printed books, detail many aspects of very special swords and their makers. For example, one section of the volumes show hand drawn versions of smiths hamon temper lines the specialised hardening process of every sword’s edge.

Yaki-ire: Hardening the Edge
The hardening of the edge is in many ways the most important, and the most difficult, aspect of the sword-making process. It is the hardening of the edge that gives the blade its ability to take and retain amazing sharpness. To begin with, the blade is coated in yakibatsuchi, a mixture of water, clay, ash, and other ingredients. Every smith has his own special recipe, often a closely kept secret. The yakibatsuchi is applied over the surface, thicker along the spine and thinner at the edge. Working in a darkened forge room using only the light of the glowing coals, the smith carefully heats the blade. As the temperature rises, crystal structures within the metal begin to change. The smith carefully observes the color of the glowing blade, and when the critical temperature is reached the sword is quickly quenched in a trough of water.

At the critical temperature, around 750°C, the structure of steel changes to austenite, a phase where carbon thoroughly combines with iron. When the blade is quickly cooled by quenching, austenite changes to martensite, the hardest type of steel. However, where the thick yakibatsuchi was applied, the blade will cool more slowly, turning not into martensite but instead forming ferrite and pearlite, which are softer and more flexible. Like the kawagane and shingane, this combination of hard edge and softer body is what gives the blade its desirable qualities.

The hardening of the edge also creates a visible change in the surface of the metal. Depending on the way in which the clay mixture was applied, a variety of effects can be produced. This edge pattern is called the hamon, and is one of the most important aspects in the aesthetic appearance of a blade. Like the jihada, each of these patterns has a specific name. Suguha, for example, is a very straight hamon, while sanbonsugi describes a zigzag line in clusters of three.

After the hardening of the edge, if the smith is satisfied with the appearance and quality of the blade, it is then passed on to the polisher, who will give the blade its final partial mirrorlike polish, with a mixture of light and shade, displaying many different shades of grey steel, and then other craftsmen will make the scabbard {saya} and sword mountings {koshirae}. Complete mountings have many elements, including metalwork such as tsuba and menuki, lacquered wood, silk cords and wrapping, and ray-skin grips. Though these are all works of art in themselves, and some of these fittings can indeed be almost priceless in their beauty quality and indeed value, in their own right, but the blade remains the true centerpiece of the finished work, and in fact the age of the blade dictates the time period of the age of the whole sword, despite how ever old or young it’s additional fittings may be. It combines to be an example of the ingenuity of centuries of Japanese smiths and their desire to achieve the perfect blend of technology and art.  read more

Code: 24737

A Good Napoleonic Wars Regimentally Marked East Prussian Life Grenadier 'Guard' Regt. Rifle Musket

Marked on the butt tang a weapon number, or possibly a company number,12, then L.St B., likely the Lieb Stabawache Bat. {Life {Grenadier} Guard Staff Battalion}.

Regulation 133 cm long overall, with a rifled barrel and three steel barrel bands in 1809 the barrel bands were often made from steel instead of brass to save costs. Good flintlock action, superb patination overall and good stock.

Life Grenadier Battalion (Leib-Grenadier-Bataillon)
fought in over 21 battles during the Napoleonic Wars including: in 1807 -
Verteidg,
Colberg,
Sellnow,
Ausfallgefechte and
Wolfsburg.
1813 - Groß-Görschen,
Bautzen,
Katzbach,
Naumburg,
Hochkirch,
Reichenbach,
Bischofswerda,
Hänichen,
Möckern,
Freiburg and Hörselberg,
1814 - Montmirail,
Château Thierry,
Laon,
Trilport and Paris.

And an army of 50,000 Prussians fought at Waterloo under Boucher, and this musket’s user was thus likely attached to this army, possibly one of the 8,000 Prussians that were lost on the field of combat.

Historically, the Prussian army went through a radical reorganisation following Napoleon’s downfall in 1814. In October of that year the six existing grenadier battalions became two regiments and, as a mark of respect, the King of Prussia named these regiments after his allies, Czar Alexander of Russia and Emperor Francis of Austria. The Kaiser Alexander Grenadier Regiment was formed of the 1st and 2nd East Prussian battalions and the Life; the Kaiser Franz regiment was formed of men from the Pomeranian, West Prussian and Silesian battalions.

Prussia's catastrophic defeat at the hands of Napoleon in 1806-07 reduced the once-proud kingdom to an abject vassal of the Emperor of the French. The Prussian Army had been practically destroyed: At the twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt alone (14 October 1806) 38,000 Prussian troops were killed, wounded or captured, and more than 300 colors and standards were lost. Thus when the work of military reconstruction began in 1807 many regiments had to be rebuilt from scratch. The military reformers under General Gerhard von Scharnhorst consolidated the remaining units, renumbering many regiments in the process. A Prussian infantry regiment was now to be composed of two musketeer battalions, one fusilier battalion and two grenadier companies. The latter, however, were detached to form composite grenadier battalions, each four companies strong. Later these independent battalions were consolidated into two grenadier regiments, titled in honor of the Austrian and Russian Emperors. The line infantry regiments acquired territorial titles reflective of their recruiting areas. Infantry Regiment Nr. 1, for example, became Infantry Regiment Nr. 1 (East Prussian Nr. 1). The infantry of the Royal Guard, in 1806 consisting of the Liebgarde Regiment (Nr. 15, two battalions) and the Lieb Grenadier Battalion (Nr. 6), was also reconstituted, at first as a single regiment of Foot Guards. By 1815 there were two, along with a Guard light infantry battalion and a Guard rifle battalion. The 2nd Foot Guards Regiment was formed by amalgamating the Guard Grenadier Battalion with two battalions drafted in from the line; the latter continued to carry the colours of their old regiments. The two Guard regiments were organised like the line infantry, with two musketeer battalions, a fusilier battalion and two grenadier companies. The latter were detached to form the Lieb Grenadier Battalion. 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.  read more

Code: 24731

Most Rare, Original Pair of Napoleonic War Period Issued Medals, The Prussian & Bavarian Battle of Waterloo & Battle of Leipzig, One Made From Captured Cannon, Just as The British Victoria Cross Was Made From Captured Russian Cannon.

Really rare to find, but exceptionally good value when one considers the British equivalent for two original medals for the Napoleonic campaigns would be between five and ten times this price. The Prussian Campaign Medal for 1813, a cross within a circle, made from captured cannon, and the Bavarian Military Campaign Medal for the Napoleonic Wars in 1813, 1814, 1815, for Officers and Other Ranks, awarded in 1817-1818.
Prussian Medal; Circular bronze medal with loop for ribbon suspension; the face with a cross pattee with rays between the arms, the date 1813 centrally within a laurel wreath; the reverse with the crowned cypher of Friedrich Wilhelm III above the inscription Preusens tapfern kriegern (Prussia's brave warriors) circumscribed Gott war mit uns, Ihn sey die Ehre (God was with us To Him the Glory); the edge inscribed AUS EROBERTEM GESCHUTZ (from captured cannon); some surface wear; on an old correct ribbon. The medal was instituted by King Friedrich Wilhelm III at Frankfurt-am-Main on 24 December 1813 and amended on 3 October 1815 to be awarded to all warriors who without exception, whether in the field or before a fortress, truly fought and uncompromisingly did their duty throughout this current conflict? (jeden Krieger ohne Ausnahme, der im Felde oder vor einer Festung wirklich mitgefochten und der wehrend der Dauer des jetzigen Krieges seinen Pflichten treugeblieben ist). The medal exists with the dates 1813, 1814, 1813/1814 and 1815 and with square and rounded ends to the cross. Prussia was a key member of the coalition that fought Napoleonic France and its allies, culminating with victory at Waterloo on 18 June 1815. Bavarian medal; Bronze cross pattee alise with loop for ribbon suspension; the face with a circular central medallion bearing the cipher of King Maximilian I Joseph within an oak leaf border, the upper, left, right and lower arms inscribed FUR DIE JAHRE 1813 / UND / 1814 respectively; the reverse with a circular central medallion bearing the Bavarian lion on a lozenge ground within an oak leaf border, the upper, left, right and lower arms inscribed KONIG UND VATERLAND (King and Fatherland) respectively; on replaced correct ribbon. The Medal was instituted on 4 December 1814 and confirmed in statutes on 25 May 1817 to be awarded to Bavarian military who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. 16 June 1815
Wellington and Blucher meet at the windmill of Bussy at 1 pm, where they agree that Napoleon seems to be about to attack Ligny, not Quatre-bras. The Prussians take responsibility for this battle, but the 4th corps, headed by General von Bulow, doesn't arrive in time, and the 80,000-strong Prussian army loses the Battle of Ligny against Napoleon. Blucher is injured in the attack when his horse is shot from underneath him.

Later that same afternoon, the French Marshal Ney leads an attack at Quatre-Bras against the British, but the latter's superior numbers and French indecision allow them to avoid defeat.

17 - 18 June 1815
Though badly mauled on 16 June, Blucher retreats not east towards Prussia but re-establishes his position around Wavre (north and east from Ligny), thereby staying in contact with the allied force which had retreated from Quatre-Bras to Waterloo.

One of Wellington's ADCs reaches Blucher at 11 pm on 17 June, informing the Prussian general that the British general would fight a defensive battle at Waterloo. Blucher, after consultation with Gneisenau, resolves to send Bulow's 4th corps to attack the enemy's right flank. This would be followed by the 2nd corps, with the 1st and 3rd held in reserve. The 4th, 2nd and 1st corps march in two columns from Wavre towards the battlefield at Waterloo. Whilst Blucher was to hold the French off at Wavre, Bulow and Pirch II were to lead the left column (that which would finally take Plancenoit, to the rear of Napoleon's right) and Zieten on the right column would finally emerge onto the battlefield alongside Wellington's left round about 7 pm.

Though the battle at Plancenoit was to be hard fought, the Prussians eventually overrun the French right, causing the French army to turn and flee. Blucher was famously to meet Wellington on the battlefield between 9 and 10 pm, close to the Belle-Alliance farm, where the Prussian general used the only French he knew: 'Quelle affaire !' are the words that history has recorded.

Given the battering the Allied army had received throughout the day, the relatively fresh Prussian troops were to take the lead in pursuing the fleeing French troops. The Prussians had nevertheless lost 7,000 men. Napoleon's carriage was to be seized by Prussian cavalry at Gemappes, and the routed French were to be given no quarter by the furious Prussian pursuit. Blucher's advance guard was finally to reach the outskirts of Paris on 29 June. With Napoleon's abdication on 22 June, the war would officially end upon the signature of the Convention of St-Cloud on 3 July 1815. The Bavarian story from 1813 up to 15. King Maximillan I Josef turned with a heavy heart away from the French and changed to the Allied camp shortly before the Battle of Leipzig. The attempt by Wrede to stop the victory of the Grande Armee in 1813 at the Battle of Hanau ended in a narrow defeat for his Austro-Bavarian corps. The campaign of 1814 began badly for the Allies, but Wrede made up for his earlier defeat with valuable victories over his former allies at the battles of Arcis-sur-Aube and Bar-sur-Aube.

In 1814, the Bavarian army consisted of a Grenadier Guard regiment, 16 regiments of Line Infantry, two battalions of Jager, seven regiments of light cavalry (of which one was territorial), one regiment of Uhlans, two Hussar regiments, one regiment of Garde du Corps (mounted royal bodyguard), two regiments of foot artillery and one of horse-artillery.

In 1815, the 7th (National) Light Cavalry regiment was formed into two Cuirassier regiments. A very early pair of Napoleonic Wars Germanic Kingdom medals from the Napoleonic Wars. By comparison these medals are extremely inexpensive for the equivalent, British Waterloo medal is now anything up 8,000 plus depending on regiment etc..

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  read more

Code: 22369

A Most Beautiful Ancient Bladed Tanto, Around 650 -700 Years Old In Hon-zukuri Form, in Stunning Carved Wood and Carved Stag Antler Original Edo Mounts

Blade from the Kamakura 1192-1336 to Nambokochu period 1333 to 1391, The undulating hamon looks spectacular,
Sukide-Bori Mino school style reticulated carved staghorn suite of mounts including the fuchi kashira, tsuba, kozuka, kurigata, koiguchi, and a Higo school sayajri of an embossed dragonfly. two intriguing menuki on the tsuka of takebori water buffalo wrestling a serpent beneath a prunus bush. the buffalo have inlaid silver dots.
The tanto was invented partway through the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon. With the beginning of the Kamakura period, tanto were forged to be more aesthetically pleasing, and hira and uchi-sori tanto were the most popular styles for wars in the kamakura period. Near the middle of the Kamakura period, more tanto artisans were seen, increasing the abundance of the weapon, and the kanmuri-otoshi style became prevalent in the cities of Kyoto and Yamato. Because of the style introduced by the tachi in the late Kamakura period, tanto began to be forged longer and wider. The introduction of the Hachiman faith became visible in the carvings in the tanto hilts around this time. The hamon (line of temper) is similar to that of the tachi, except for the absence of choji-midare, which is nioi and utsuri. Gunomi-midare and suguha are found to have taken its place. In Nambokucho, the tanto were forged to be up to forty centimetres as opposed to the normal one shaku (about thirty centimetres) length. The tanto blades became thinner between the uri and the omote, and wider between the ha and mune. At this point in time, two styles of hamon were prevalent: the older style, which was subtle and artistic, and the newer, more popular style. Blades could be of exceptional quality. As the end of the period neared, the average blade narrowed and the sori became shallow.

The blade has a superb and most beautiful and active hamon with few surface aging areas, but just as one must expect with a blade of such great age.  read more

Code: 24345

WW1 Ottway Naval Gunsight Telescope V.P 5 to 15,. Made by W Ottway & Co, Ealing

As used on the Dreadnought class battleships.
This amazing looking scientific instrument is a 1913 WW1 Ottway Military Gunsight Telescope V.P 5 to 15,. Made by W Ottway & Co, Ealing, 6 kilos, a noted high quality manufacturer of optical instruments.

On the gun deck of the battleship it would be securely mounted accordingly. Jolly good optics.

Composed of, predominantly, brass and its very heavy! This type of gunsight was often used on the gun turrets of British Royal Navy ships, including the capital ships the “Dreadnought.” The small additional viewing site {shown in position and separate in the photos} affixes on the top is lacking its small mounting screws.  read more

Code: 24675

A Beautiful Ancient Samurai Long Sword, A Koto Period Katana Around 500 Years Old Sengoku Period With All Original Edo Period Mounts & Fittings

A most impressive and beautiful sword, a fine statement piece of any collection of oriental art. A sword mounted in wonderful original Edo period koshirae, all decorated on the theme of bamboo.
A superb pair of shakudo fuchigashira carved with bamboo leaves, shakudo is a billon of gold and copper (typically 4-10% gold, 96-90% copper) which can be treated to form an indigo/black patina resembling lacquer. Unpatinated shakudo Visually resembles bronze; the dark colour is induced by applying and heating rokusho, a special patination formula. Shakudo was historically used in Japan to construct or decorate katana fittings such as tsuba, menuki, and kozuka; as well as other small ornaments. When it was introduced to the West in the mid-19th century, it was thought to be previously unknown outside Asia, but recent studies have suggested close similarities to certain decorative alloys used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
Large iron plate tsuba with bamboo and birds, and bamboo form menuki under the green/blue silk wrap over giant rayskin. The original Edo saya is subtly decorated with incredible skill and detail with wonderful, dark, scrolling and crushed Abilene shell. Long powerful blade, with beautiful polish. The activity of the grain in the hada {blade mid section} is now visible since renovation, and it looks absolutely beautiful, especially bearing in mind it is around 500 years old.

For centuries, if not millennia, bamboo has permeated everyday Japanese life, figured in some of the country’s best-known literature and become a staple of its art, as both motif and material. Its propensity to bend yet endure makes it a cultural symbol. In both Japan and China, an ink painting of a tiger in a grove of bamboo signifies social harmony and, it would seem, political savvy, as this wily animal is among the few able to navigate the dense bamboo forest. Bamboo contains multitudes. Perhaps nowhere more than in Japan, home to over 600 species of this amazing plant, officially a subfamily of grasses but blessed with a woody stem and the ability to lift well above its weight. Japan’s ubiquitous bamboo is unsurprisingly storied. Woven artifacts evidence from the later Jomon Period (10,000-200 B.C.). The ancient nation- and culture-building texts, the “Kojiki” (Records of Ancient Matters) and “Nihon Shoki” (“The Chronicles of Japan”), record bamboo knives and combs with magical powers. The oldest surviving baskets are 8th-century offering trays kept in the Shosoin treasure house in Nara. Bamboo was obviously crucial to the 10th-century prose narrative “Taketori Monogatari” (“Tale of the Bamboo Cutter”). Tea masters of the 15th century revered seemingly artless utensils in their burgeoning spiritual practice. Emperors were gifted the choicest of bamboo wares. The Sengoku period Sengoku Jidai, "Warring States period") is a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war, social upheaval, and intrigue from 1467 to 1615.

The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga Shogunate. Various samurai warlords and clans fought for control over Japan in the power vacuum, while the Ikkō-ikki emerged to fight against samurai rule. The arrival of Europeans in 1543 introduced the arquebus into Japanese warfare, and Japan ended its status as a tributary state of China in 1549. Oda Nobunaga dissolved the Ashikaga Shogunate in 1573 and launched a war of political unification by force, including the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War, until his death in the Honnō-ji Incident in 1582. Nobunaga's successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed his campaign to unify Japan and consolidated his rule with numerous influential reforms. Hideyoshi launched the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592, but their eventual failure damaged his prestige before his death in 1598. Tokugawa Ieyasu displaced Hideyoshi's young son and successor Toyotomi Hideyori at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and re-established the feudal system under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Sengoku period ended when Toyotomi loyalists were defeated at the siege of Osaka in 1615.
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Overall in super condition, just tiny denting to the small kashira {as is often the case}, overall length in saya 37.5 inches long, when the sword is withdrawn from saya it is 35.25 inches long overall  read more

Code: 24723

A Superb Heavy Grade Viking Bearded Axe Around 1000 Years Old

Viking Axehead 9th-12th century AD. An iron axehead with triangular socket, narrow blade with curved edge with beard section.
One of the most famous Viking axes is Hel (named after the Norse death goddess), which belonged to King Magnus of Norway and Denmark. He is said to have inherited the weapon from his father, Olav Haraldsson of Norway, whose ax features prominently in Norway’s national coat of arms. Some Viking axes if they were wielded by a particularly strong and a skilled warrior could even cut through chainmail and helmets. When King Magnus’s poet credited the king with being able to split heads like firewood, he wasn’t necessarily being hyperbolic. Writing about the pre-Viking Franks and their use of throwing axes, the Francisca, Procopius makes it clear that the Franks threw their axes immediately before hand to hand combat with the purpose of breaking shields and disrupting the enemy line while possibly wounding or killing an enemy warrior. The weight of the head and length of the haft would allow the axe to be thrown with considerable momentum to an effective range of about 12 m (40 ft). Even if the edge of the blade were not to strike the target, the weight of the iron head could cause injury. The francisca also had a psychological effect, in that, on the throwing of the francisca, the enemy might turn and run in the fear that another volley was coming. It is most logical that the Vikings may well have adopted this system of axe throwing combat from the earlier Franks, as it seemed most effective in numerous combat arenas. 6 3/4 inches across Almost every iron weapon that has survived today from this era is now in a fully russetted condition, as is this one, because only the swords of kings, that have been preserved in national or Royal collections are today still in a good state and condition.  read more

Code: 22080

A Pair Of Durs Egg Boxlock Pocket Percussion Pistols Circa 1835

In very good order, with what appears to be very nice original finish. All steel furniture with engraved side plates, barrel tangs and trigger guards, slab sided walnut butts, oval name cartouches to sides, one engraved D.Egg.

Durs Egg was one of England finest ever gunsmiths, but at this period his working life was coming to an end, and after his death, his relatives John and George Frederickson carried on working in his name. Good turn-off breech loading barrels with excellent proof markings. Both actions are very crisp indeed, but one pistol is reticent to engage past first cock. As with all our antique guns no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables  read more

Code: 21533