A Fabulous Quality King George IIIrd Cased Double Barrel Sporting Gun By World Renowned Gunsmith S.Nock, Early Transitional Flintlock To Percussion

Very fine sighted damascus barrels of the finest quality, engraved Saml. Nock 180 Fleet St. London Maker to His Majesty, case colour hardened gold lined breech engraved with a hound, border and foliate engraved, signed lock converted from flintlock using the drum and nipple principle, half stocked with chequered wrist, border and scroll engraved steel mounts, the trigger guard decorated with a hound, serial numbered to the underside of the barrels, contained in its green baize lined oak case, the lid with trade label for Samuel Nock at the Regent Circus address, complete with commensurate and later accessories.
Samuel Nock was the nephew of famed innovative gunmaker Henry Nock and apprenticed under him. He was also a highly rated and accomplished gunmaker and worked through the transitional period from flintlocks to percussion systems. He served as a royal gunmaker to the English monarchy from King George III in 1805 up to Queen Victoria starting in 1837. He died in 1851. To replicate such a fine hand made ‘bespoke’ double barrelled gun today, only Purdey or Boss of London could have the skills required to replicate it. A finely engraved, bespoke single Purdey side by side sporting gun, with a Damas barrels, costs today £113,500, with an 18 months to 2 year waiting time, and additional costs for casing and tools. The double-barrelled sporting gun was seen as a weapon of prestige and authority, especially in the days of the East India Company and the later Raj in India, where it was known as Dunali (literally "two pipes"). It was especially valued by the nobility in the Raj in Bihar, Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab  read more

Code: 23371

A Wonderful Original 16th Century Map of America By Giovanni Antonio Magini

A fabulous original historical artifact ideal for the collector with an interest in early maps and the earliest period of modern America. Magini (Giovanni Antonio), Plate XXXIIII, Descrittione Dell'America, O Dell'India Occidentale, no date [ printed in 1598], engraved map of America [North and South] with Italian text below, map plate 140mm x 180mm, uncoloured, mounted, framed and glazed. Giovanni Antonio Magini (in Latin, Maginus) (13 June 1555 11 February 1617) was an Italian astronomer, astrologer, cartographer, and mathematician. He was born in Padua, and completed studies in philosophy in Bologna in 1579. His father was Pasquale Magini, a citizen of Padua. Dedicating himself to astronomy, in 1582 he wrote Ephemerides coelestium motuum, translated into Italian the following year.

In 1588 he was chosen over Galileo Galilei to occupy the chair of mathematics at the University of Bologna after the death of Egnatio Danti. He died in Bologna. Magini supported a geocentric system of the world, in preference to Copernicus's heliocentric system. Magini devised his own planetary theory, in preference to other existing ones. The Maginian System consisted of eleven rotating spheres, which he described in his Novo colestium orbium theoric congruentes cum observationibus N. Copernici (Venice, 1589).

In his De Planis Triangulis (1592), he described the use of quadrants in surveying and astronomy. In 1592 Magini published Tabula tetragonica, and in 1606 devised extremely accurate trigonometric tables. He also worked on the geometry of the sphere and applications of trigonometry, for which he invented calculating devices. He also worked on the problem of mirrors and published on the theory of concave spherical mirrors. Framed 38cm x 30.5cm  read more

Code: 19811

A Very Attractive, Edo Era 17th to 18th Century Samurai's Tetsu Abumi Stirrup, Inlaid With Silver in a Geometric Pattern

This Japanese stirrup, is made in the traditional dove's breast (hato mune) shape with an open platform lined slightly curved forward so that the foot fits in without sliding backwards. In the front extremity the stirrup has a rectangular buckle with several horizontal slots which also serve as a handle.
The whole surface is in ancient russetted iron in the distinctive Higo school style, with a large onlaid decorative mount of a bird and various flora.

It is to be noted that these stirrups, due to their weight, were also used as weapons against the infantry adversaries. Abumi, Japanese stirrups, were used in Japan as early as the 5th century, and were a necessary component along with the Japanese saddle (kura) for the use of horses in warfare. Abumi became the type of stirrup used by the samurai class of feudal Japan Early abumi were flat-bottomed rings of metal-covered wood, similar to European stirrups. The earliest known examples were excavated from tombs. Cup-shaped stirrups (tsubo abumi) that enclosed the front half of the rider's foot eventually replaced the earlier design.

During the Nara period, the base of the stirrup which supported the rider's sole was elongated past the toe cup. This half-tongued style of stirrup (hanshita abumi) remained in use until the late Heian period (794 to 1185) when a new stirrup was developed. The fukuro abumi or musashi abumi had a base that extended the full length of the rider's foot and the right and left sides of the toe cup were removed. The open sides were designed to prevent the rider from catching a foot in the stirrup and being dragged.

The military version of this open-sided stirrup, called the shitanaga abumi, was in use by the middle Heian period. It was thinner, had a deeper toe pocket and an even longer and flatter foot shelf. It is not known why the Japanese developed this unique style of stirrup, but this stirrup stayed in use until European style-stirrups were introduced in the late 19th century. The abumi has a distinctive swan-like shape, curved up and backward at the front so as to bring the loop for the leather strap over the instep and achieve a correct balance. Most of the surviving specimens from this period are made entirely of iron, inlaid with designs of silver or other materials, and covered with lacquer. In some cases, there is an iron rod from the loop to the footplate near the heel to prevent the foot from slipping out. The footplates are occasionally perforated to let out water when crossing rivers, and these types are called suiba abumi. There are also abumi with holes in the front forming sockets for a lance or banner. Seieibushi (Elite Samurai)
Traditionally the highest rank among the samurai, these are highly skilled fully-fledged samurai. Most samurai at the level of Seieibushi take on apprentices or Aonisaibushi-samurai as their disciples.

Kodenbushi (Legendary Samurai)
A highly coveted rank, and often seen as the highest attainable position, with the sole exception of the rank of Shogun. These are samurai of tremendous capability, and are regarded as being of Shogun-level. Kodenbushi are hired to accomplish some of the most dangerous international missions. Samurai of Kodenbushi rank are extremely rare, and there are no more than four in any given country.

Daimyo (Lords)
This title translates to 'Big Name' and is given to the heads of the clan.

Shogun (Military Dictator)
The apex of the samurai, the Shogun is the most prestigious rank possible for a samurai. Shoguns are the leaders of their given district, or country, and are regarded as the most powerful samurai.  read more

Code: 25320

A Beautiful & Superb Quality, Antique, Late Victorian, Finely Engraved Silver & Mother O'Pearl Handled Sword-Cane. A Most Elegant & Sophisticated Work of Art In Near Mint Condition.

Long silver and mother o'pearl handle. A long bamboo haft with superb patination and a quatrefoil four sided edged blade. Overall in stunning condition for age, as much a work of art as a former functional walking cane sword.

Lord Byron's was a most exponent of the use and carrying of the gentleman’s sword stick. His was exhibited in King's College London, bearing a mercurial gilt collar bearing his name, coronet and adopted surname Noel. Upon the death of Byron's mother-in-law Judith Noel, the Hon. Lady Milbanke, in 1822, her will required that he change his surname to "Noel" so as to inherit

An interesting 19th century conversation and collector's piece, and one can ponder over of the kind of gentleman who would have sought and required such a piece of personal defence paraphernalia. Although one likes to think that jolly old England had a London full of cheerful cockneys and laddish chimney sweeps, it was also plagued with political intrigue, nefarious characters and caddish swine prowling the endless foggy thoroughfares and dimly lit passageways. The swordstick was a popular fashion accessory for the wealthy during the 18th and 19th centuries. While the weapon's origins are unknown, it is apparent that the cane-sword's popularity peaked when decorative swords were steadily being replaced by canes as a result of the rising popularity of firearms, and the lessening influence of swords and other small arms.

The first sword canes were made for nobility by leading sword cutlers. Sixteenth century sword canes were often bequeathed in wills. Sword canes became more popular as the streets became less safe. Society dictated it mandatory that gentlemen of the 18th and especially 19th centuries would wear a cane when out and about, and it was common for the well-dressed gentleman to own and sport canes in a variety of styles, including a good and sound sword cane. Although Byron was proficient in the use of pistols, his lameness and his need to defend himself in some potentially dangerous situations made a swordstick doubly useful to him. He received lessons in London from the fencing master Henry Angelo and owned a number of swordsticks, some of which were supplied by his boxing instructor Gentleman John Jackson.

On Byron’s sword cane was the name NOEL BYRON, upon the ferrule of his one indicated that it was used after 1822, when Byron added the surname Noel after the death of his mother-in-law.

There are several references to sword sticks in the correspondence of Byron and his circle. Byron wrote to Hobhouse from Switzerland on 23 June 1816 asking him to Bring with you also for me some bottles of Calcined Magnesia a new Sword cane procured by Jackson he alone knows the sort (my last tumbled into this lake ) some of Waite's red tooth-powder & tooth-brushes a Taylor's Pawrsanias Pausanias and I forget the other things. Hobhouse responded on 9 July: Your commissions shall be punctually fulfilled whether as to muniments for the mind or body pistol brushes, cundums, potash Prafsanias Pausanias tooth powder and sword stick.

In the entry for 22 September 1816 in Byron's Alpine Journal he describes how, at the foot of the Jungfrau,
"Storm came on , thunder, lightning, hail, all in perfection and beautiful, I was on horseback the Guide wanted to carry my cane I was going to give it him when I recollected it was a Sword stick and I thought that the lightning might be attracted towards him kept it myself a good deal encumbered with it & my cloak as it was too heavy for a whip and the horse was stupid & stood still every other peal."

In a letter to Maria Gisborne of 6-10 April 1822, Mary Shelley described the "Pisan affray" of 24 March, in which Sergeant-Major Masi was pitch-forked by one of Byron's servants. She recounted how Byron rode to his own house, and got a sword stick from one of his servants.

Sword sticks came in all qualities, and for numerous purposes, from the simplest bamboo sword cane personal defender to stout customs officer’s ‘prod’, to offensive close quarter stiletto dagger canes and even to the other side of the world in the form of Japanese samurai’s shikome-sue, hidden swords.

We show two famous sword sticks in the gallery, one that belonged to Lord Byron, and another in a Presidential Centre Library collection, a historic sword stick is part of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Centre Library collection in Fremont, Ohio from the Waggoner family, the sword-cane was said to have been presented to Mr Waggoner by General George Washington in honour of Waggoner's service in Washington's Life Guard during the American Revolutionary War.

But it was Louis XIII who brought the cane to importance as a royal accessory. The king, as his portraits depict, supposedly always held one in his hands. He also gave them – along with valuable snuffboxes – as gifts of honour. Accordingly, gentlemen who wanted to be fashionable never went without this accessory from that time on. At the time, these were sort of ornate rods without a curved handle that were held in the hand or carried under the arm.

The 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century became the age of the cane. The tremendous popularity then created the desire to be seen with a cane. And so a wealth of unique
pieces with practical and strange handles and a mysterious inner life were created. The painter
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, for example, owned a cane containing a bottle that held a pint of absinthe.
In the mid-18th century Saxony's prime minister, Heinrich Graf von Brühl, possessed 300 sticks to go with 300 suits, together with just as many snuffboxes which he weared in turn. King Friedrich II, too, had a huge collection of luxurious walking sticks and snuffboxes. After the Seven-Years War one particular type of sticks with a handle formed like a rope, which was King Friedrich’s constant companion, became so popular, that it was dubbed the "Fritz crutch".

Overall 39 inches long, blade 25.75 inches long, silver & mother o'pearl handle, 12.5 inches long.  read more

Code: 25319

An Exceptionally Handsome 500 Year Old Samurai Katana, Signed Bizen Osafune ju Kanemitsu, A Museum Quality Piece of Early Samurai History

In a classic and highly sophisticated all black ensemble of koshirae, and a sword that has a breathtakingly impressive curvature. It has all its original Edo mounts, of patinated copper, decorated with takebori relief dragons, an early iron Koto o-sukashi tsuba, a stunning, original, Edo period uniformly narrow ribbed black urushi lacquer saya, in super bright and glossy original condition. Deeply curved blade showing an outstanding active and vibrant hamon in great polish. The tsukaito is over-lacquered silk, in black, over-wrapped on pure gold and shakudo menuki which in turn are on traditional samegawa giant rayskin.

The activity in the hamon is, simply, spectacularly beautiful, and shows the wide Hi horimono groove on one side and a double Bo Hi on the other side of the blade face.

The Incredible Story of Japanese Lacquer on Samurai Swords Scabbards, called Saya

Japanese lacquer, or urushi, is a transformative and highly prized material that has been refined for over 7000 years.

Cherished for its infinite versatility, urushi is a distinctive art form that has spread across all facets of Japanese culture from the tea ceremony to the saya scabbards of samurai swords

Japanese artists created their own style and perfected the art of decorated lacquerware during the 8th century. Japanese lacquer skills reached its peak as early as the twelfth century, at the end of the Heian period (794-1185). This skill was passed on from father to son and from master to apprentice.

Some provinces of Japan were famous for their contribution to this art: the province of Edo (later Tokyo), for example, produced the most beautiful lacquered pieces from the 17th to the 18th centuries. Lords and shoguns privately employed lacquerers to produce ceremonial and decorative objects for their homes and palaces.

The varnish used in Japanese lacquer is made from the sap of the urushi tree, also known as the lacquer tree or the Japanese varnish tree (Rhus vernacifera), which mainly grows in Japan and China, as well as Southeast Asia. Japanese lacquer, 漆 urushi, is made from the sap of the lacquer tree. The tree must be tapped carefully, as in its raw form the liquid is poisonous to the touch, and even breathing in the fumes can be dangerous. But people in Japan have been working with this material for many millennia, so there has been time to refine the technique!

Flowing from incisions made in the bark, the sap, or raw lacquer is a viscous greyish-white juice. The harvesting of the resin can only be done in very small quantities.
Three to five years after being harvested, the resin is treated to make an extremely resistant, honey-textured lacquer. After filtering, homogenization and dehydration, the sap becomes transparent and can be tinted in black, red, yellow, green or brown.

Once applied on an object, lacquer is dried under very precise conditions: a temperature between 25 and 30°C and a humidity level between 75 and 80%. Its harvesting and highly technical processing make urushi an expensive raw material applied in exceptionally fine successive layers, on objects such as bowls or boxes.After heating and filtering, urushi can be applied directly to a solid, usually wooden, base. Pure urushi dries into a transparent film, while the more familiar black and red colours are created by adding minerals to the material. Each layer is left to dry and polished before the next layer is added. This process can be very time-consuming and labor-intensive, which contributes to the desirability, and high costs, of traditionally made lacquer goods. The skills and techniques of Japanese lacquer have been passed down through the generations for many centuries. For four hundred years, the master artisans of Zohiko’s Kyoto workshop have provided refined lacquer articles for the imperial household . Overall 37.75 inches long, blade tsuba to tip 27 inches  read more

Code: 24324

A Super WW2 Luftwaffe Bomber Radio, Morse Tapper and Earphones. Deutche Telefonwerk und Kabelindustrie ag Berlin Likely From A Heinkel He 111

A most rare Luftwaffe bomber radio element prufgerat PG10, with earphones, throat-mike and morse tapper. All original Luftwaffe issue and possibly removed from a crashed bomber. Serial number plate shows it was manufactured by Deutche Telefonwerk und Kabelindustrie ag Berlin, WW2 German code number 'bxo'. According to its 24 page manual it was issued with a splash-proof case, one might assume in case the plane crashed at sea and the radio was salvageable.

As may be used in the Heinkel He 111, and it probably was removed from such an aircraft. It was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter G?nter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after the First World War prohibiting bombers, it masqueraded as a civil airliner, although from conception the design was intended to provide the nascent Luftwaffe with a fast medium bomber.

Perhaps the best-recognised German bomber due to the distinctive, extensively glazed "greenhouse" nose of later versions, the Heinkel He 111 was the most numerous Luftwaffe bomber during the early stages of World War II. The bomber fared well until the Battle of Britain, when its weak defensive armament was exposed. Nevertheless, it proved capable of sustaining heavy damage and remaining airborne. As the war progressed, the He 111 was used in a variety of roles on every front in the European theatre. It was used as a strategic bomber during the Battle of Britain, a torpedo bomber in the Atlantic and Arctic, and a medium bomber and a transport aircraft on the Western, Eastern, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and North African Front theatres. Top right guage lacking.  read more

Code: 21642

Simply Superb Hand Painted Portrait Miniature of a Winston Churchill’s ‘Harpoon Force’ Irish Guards Officer, 2nd Lieut. Gipps Romer, 2nd Batt. Irish Guards. The Heroic Rescuers of The Royal Dutch Family May 1940, And The Rear Guard Battle of Boulogne

A 2nd Battalion Irish Guards officer of ‘Harpoon Force’, and the heroic Dunkirk evacuation rear guard action at Boulogne, which was a ‘special section’ personally created by Churchill, the day Winston Churchill became Prime Minister.
Their first task was to rescue of the Dutch Royal Family and Government from the Hook of Holland and the second resulted in the incredible rear guard Battle of Boulogne. Effectively, it was Winston’s very first military special executive version of his later brainchild, the Commandos. A form of the British commando force before the commandos even existed. We had the privilege to own for a brief while the actual autographed book by Robert Graves, personally given to Churchill by Graves, {that he read in his bath during the war}, about a British Officer’s combat against the American sniper riflemen in the American Revolution, that inspired his decision how to create the British Commandos. That book now resides in a museum in Florida.

An original, stunning, WW2 Irish Guards miniature portrait. Of an officer of one of the great and famous regiments of the British Army. It was while serving in the Irish Guards that John Kipling, son of one of England's greatest poets and novelists, Rudyard Kipling, was declared missing, presumed killed, at Loos 1915.

A miniature portrait of 2nd Lieut. Gipps Romer, 2nd Batallion Irish Guards painted just prior to WW2, who died during his service in the early part of the war, August 1940.

His combat service included the protection of the Netherlands Royal Family in their evacuation in Holland, and his combat service was also noted by Colonel Hayden, commander of Harpoon Force, as being commendable at the rear guard action at Boulogne, to defend the withdrawal of the BEF and French Army from Dunkirk.

It is a fine small miniature, painted with stunning detail and a wonderfully fresh and vibrant colour. In a square gilt frame, with dart edging and plush velvet rear cover. Domed glass front.
The Irish Guards were formed on 1st April 1900 by order of HRH Queen Victoria to commemorate the bravery of the Irish people who fought in the Boer war. The Irish Guards played a major part in both World Wars, winning a total of six Victoria Crosses including the last to be presented in the Second World War and have seen armed conflict in many parts of the world since 1945.

During the Second World War, the regiment fought in Norway, France, North Africa, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. The regiment first saw combat during the Norwegian Campaign. Following a challenging sea voyage to Norway, the 1st Battalion arrived in May 1940 and fought for two days at the town of Pothus before they were forced to retreat. The Irish Guards conducted a fighting withdrawal and served as the Allied rearguard.

The Battalion was evacuated along with the rest of the expeditionary force in June. While the 1st Battalion was fighting in Norway, the 2nd Battalion was deployed to the Hook of Holland to cover the evacuation of the Dutch Royal Family and Government in May 1940. The 2nd Battalion was then deployed to France and ordered to defend the port of Boulogne. The guardsmen held out against overwhelming odds for three days, buying valuable time for the Dunkirk Evacuation, before they were evacuated themselves. The Irish Guards (IG), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and, together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has participated in campaigns in the First World War, the Second World War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan as well as numerous other operations throughout its history. The Irish Guards claim six Victoria Cross recipients, four from the First World War and two from the Second World War. 1940: George Gipps Romer, known as 'Gipps' was involved in the evacuation in 1940. According to the history of the Irish Guards in Celtopedia:

"In May 1940, the 2nd Irish Guards deployed to the Hook of Holland to cover the evacuation of the Dutch Royal Family. The battalion evacuated the day after the Government and Dutch Royal Family had been evacuated. They had only a short respite upon their returned to the UK for just a few days later they returned, along with the Welsh Guards, to the continent, to Boulogne, a port in northern France, reaching the town on 22 May.

Their orders were to defend part of Boulogne during the epic evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from the overwhelming and inexorable advance of the Germans. The Guards stoutly defended their area of responsibility from better equipped German forces, repulsing a number of German attacks on the 22nd, but on the morning of the 23rd, superior Germany forces attacked the battalion and the Guards suffered very heavily in the attack. Later that day the battalion was evacuated from Boulogne, they were the last to leave, and fought valiantly while waiting to be evacuated." He was a "First reinforcement for the Harpoon Force under the command of Colonel Haydon.

"Colonel Haydon now determined to reorganize the whole position. Captain McCausland collected all his remaining men and at nine o’clock withdrew No. 1 Company to the centre of Outreau village, where they defended the road down into Boulogne. At the same time, Captain Murphy withdrew his remaining platoons to cover the area between No.. 1 and No. 2 Companies. No. 3 Company, under Captain Finlay, remained where it was, as yet untouched. Thus the line now ran from the centre of Outreau through some fields, which gave a field of fire of some 150 yards, on to the northern exits of Outreau, and thence to the sea. Though shorter than the original line, it was still too long and too thinly held to withstand a concentrated attack on any one point. Colonel Haydon sent Major Ross, his second-in-command, back to find some inner line of defence that could be held with only three companies, leaving one in reserve. ‘At this stage,’ he said, ‘I did not yet realize that No. 1 and 4 Companies had already been reduced to almost microscopic numbers.’ Of the 107 men of No. 4 Company who landed in Boulogne, only nineteen returned and only forty of No. 1 Company. Most of these casualties they had lost already, so the Battalion now had only two and a half rifle companies left.

A light railway runs through the middle of Boulogne, curving round behind the Battalion’s present position. At half-past ten the Companies began withdrawing to the line of this railway, from which they could defend the west of the town and the main road from the south. The remnants of No. 1 Company held the village till the rest of the Battalion was established in the houses and gardens along the railway. They and the Germans were within fifty yards of each other. For two hours the Company beat off every attempt to outflank or rush them. ‘The holding of this post by No. 1 Company,’ said Colonel Haydon, ‘in spite of the very heavy losses it had suffered, reflects the very highest credit on Captain C. R. McCausland, 2/Lieutenant G. G. Romer and the other ranks who held the post.’
80mm x 67mm in frame

link to;

THE RESCUE OF THE DUTCH ROYAL FAMILY
BY THE IRISH AND WELSH GUARDS
By Captain P.R.J.TILLEY
Former Welsh Guards
(Permission given to Krista Salter to publish article)

copy and paste

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/21/a4678121.shtml  read more

Code: 23087

German Solid Silver Medal {900 fine} Commemorating The William Randolph Hearst Sponsored, American Flight, of the World’s First Round the World Passenger Flight, of the "Graf Zeppelin" Airship In August 1929.

Medal commemorating round the world flight of the "Graf Zeppelin" airship, with portraits of Zeppelin and Eckener, silver, diameter 36mm, depth 3mm, German, 1929. Rim legend: Preuss. Staatsmunze. Silber 900 Fein. Obverse: legend, Weltfahrt August 1929. L.Z.127; exergue scene, airship above ocean. Reverse: Graf Zeppelin. Dr Hugo Eckener. 1898-1928. exergue, double portrait bust profiles to left
The airship LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin is considered the most successful commercial airship of its time and marked the pinnacle of airship travel. On August 15, 1929, it started under the leadership of Dr. Hugo Eckener in Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance on the most spectacular demonstration flight in aviation history at the time:

Graf Zeppelin Round-the-World Flight (“Weltfahrt”)

In 1929, Graf Zeppelin made perhaps its most famous flight; a round-the-world voyage covering 21,2500 miles in five legs from Lakehurst to Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshafen to Tokyo, Tokyo to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Lakehurst, and then Lakehurt to Friedrichshafen again.

It was the first passenger-carrying flight around the world and received massive coverage in the world’s press.

The flight was partly sponsored by American newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, who paid for about half the cost of the flight in return for exclusive media rights in the United States and Britain.
Hearst had insisted that the flight begin and end in America, while the Germans naturally thought the Round-the-World flight of a German ship should begin and end in Germany. As a compromise, there were two official flights; the “American” flight began and ended at Lakehurst, while the “German” flight began and ended at Friedrichshafen.

The Round-the-World flight carried 60 men and one woman, Hearst newspaper reporter Lady Grace Hay-Drummond-Hay, whose presence and reporting greatly increased the public’s interest in the journey. Other passengers included journalists from several countries, American naval officers Charles Rosendahl and Jack C. Richardson, polar explorer and pilot Sir Hubert Wilkins, young American millionaire Bill Leeds, and representatives of Japan and the Soviet Union. All of those that took part received one of these solid silver medals.

Graf Zeppelin left Friedrichshafen on July 27, 1929 and crossed the Atlantic to Lakehurst, New Jersey, and the “American” flight began on August 7, 1929 with an eastbound crossing back to Germany.

The successful journey took just under 5 weeks with stopovers in Tokyo, Los Angeles and Lakehurst (New York).  read more

Code: 24154

A Superb Pre WW2 Nazi SS Fire Protection Police Sidearm & Original Frog. Used From 1933 till 1945 By The SS. Feuerschutzpolizei.

Originally manufactured circa 1933. Used by the Fire Protection Police under the control of the SS. With original leather frog. Plated blade, plated hilt with checquered celluloid grip. Double 'S' quillon guard.

An organization that was an auxiliary to the Ordnungspolizei, and during the war was absorbed into the SS. Feuerschutzpolizei. By 1938, all of Germany's local fire brigades were part of the ORPO. Orpo Hauptamt had control of all civilian fire brigades. ORPO's chief was SS-Oberstgruppenfuhrer Kurt Daluege who was responsible to Himmler alone until 1943 when Daluege had a massive heart attack. From 1943, Daluege was replaced by Obergruppenfuhrer Alfred Wunnenberg until May 1945.

ORPO was structurally reorganised by 1941. It had been divided into the numerous offices covering every aspect of German law enforcement in accordance with Himmler's desire for public control of all things. Small lateral crack in both quillon.  read more

Code: 24018

A Beautiful Suit of Edo Samurai Armour in Gold and Black Lacquer With Blue and Black Lacing, Multi Plate Helmet with Dragon Fly Fukegaeshi, With Ressai {Fierce Face} Menpo

This is a wonderful piece of Japanese Samurai 'art' made for warfare, in a mixture of golds and black lacquer with blue and black with multi plate kabuto {helmet} with a dragonfly on the lacquer oneach front wing, and ressai {fierce face} mento face armour, which features a kuchi hige (mustache), shiwa (facial wrinkles). Extremely collectable art that is most desirable in its own right, often stunningly used for interior decoration as an individual work of samurai art in its own right. A very good urushi lacqured embossed iron mask of 'Me no Shita Men' (half face) type.

Gold and black lacquer do with blue lacing, kazuri with blue lacing, gold and blue laced shirokoro, kusazuri in gold lacquer and purple lacing, armoured sleeve kote.

This armour has remained untouched since it arrival in England likely over a hundred years ago, and probably for longer than that when it was in Japan, and only the two red cords have been replaced on the helmet and waist. We are leaving it exactly as is

Samurai used dragonfly motifs on their armour, clothing and weapons in hope of success in battle.

The urushi lacquer saya is in ishime stone finish pattern.

Japan was once known as the “Land of the Dragonfly”, as the Emperor Jimmu is said to have once climbed a mountain in Nara, and looking out over the land, claimed that his country was shaped like two Akitsu, the ancient name for the winged insects, mating.

Dragonflies appeared in great numbers in 1274 and again in 1281, when Kublai Khan sent his Mongol forces to conquer Japan. Both times the samurai repelled the attackers, with the aid of huge typhoons, later titled Kamikaze (the Divine Winds), that welled up, destroying the Mongol ships, saving Japan from invasion. For that reason, dragonflies were seen as bringers of divine victory.

Dragonflies never retreat, they will stop, but will always advance, which was seen as an ideal of the samurai. Further, although the modern Japanese word for dragonfly is Tombo, the old (Pre Meiji era) word for dragonfly was Katchimushi. “Katchi” means “To win”, hence dragonflies were seen as auspicious by the samurai.

Insects in general have been celebrated in Japanese culture for centuries. The Lady Who Loved Insects is a classic story of a caterpillar-collecting lady of the 12th century court; the Tamamushi, or Jewel Beetle Shrine, is a seventh century miniature temple, once shingled with 9,000 iridescent beetle forewings. In old Japanese literature, poems upon insects are to be found by thousands, Daisaburo Okumoto is director of the Fabre Insect Museum. An avid insect collector and a scholar of French literature, he has translated many of Fabre's works. He ascribes the popularity of insects in Japan to national character. It seems like Japanese eyes are like macro lenses and Western eyes are wide-angle, he says. A garden in Versailles, it's very wide and symmetrical. But Japanese gardens are continuous from the room and also very small. We feel calm when we look at small things. The medieval Japanese monk Yoshida Kenko put it this way: “If man were never to fade away like the dews of Adashino, never to vanish like the smoke over Toribeyama, how things would lose their power to move us!

In the 16th century, Japan began trading with Europe, during what would become known as the Nanban trade. This was the first time matchlock muskets were imported, and as they became mass-produced domestically, samurai needed lighter and more protective armour. As a result, a new style of armour called tosei-gusoku (gusoku), which means modern armour, appeared. After the Battle of Sekigahara and the victory of the Tokugawa, a united Japan was created and entered the so-called 'peaceful Edo period', however, then from henceforth, the shoguns promoted rivallry between his daimyo fuedal clan lords, in order for their military ambitions, attention and suspicions to be upon each other, rather than the shogun. So there were no wars, as such, for over 250 years, but, hundreds of internecine battles, thus samurai continued to combat as usual, using both plate and lamellar armour. This practice, of a version of divide and conquer, of internal factions, rather than external forces, was adopted by many despots ever since, including Sadam Hussein of Iraq, extremely efficiently, and for over 20 years in his case.

Ōyamazumi Shrine is known as a treasure house of Japanese armour. It houses 40% of Japanese armour that has been designated as a National treasure and an Important Cultural Property. Kasuga Grand Shrine is also known as a treasure house of valuable armour

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading, as Britain’s oldest established, and favourite, armoury and gallery  read more

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