History of United Netherlands From The Death of William the Silent,To The Twelve Years Truce - 1609. by John Lothrop Motley. New Edition With Portraits. 4 volumes,

All in fine bindings with clean and polished calf in red, two gilted leather title labels on the spines of each, 5 raised bands. Marble cover and interior pages. Marbled edges.

Published 1875/6 by John Murray Albemarle St. London. Motley, who served as United States ambassador to Austria during the Civil War and later as ambassador to Great Britain, said of his affinity for the Netherlands: "I had not first made up my mind to write a history and then cast about to take up a subject. My subject had taken me up, drawn me on, and absorbed me into itself." Although he spent much of his life abroad, Motley was a member of the Boston literary circle that included Hawthorne, Lowell, Longfellow, and Motley's future biographer, Oliver Wendell Holmes. William I, Prince of Orange (24 April 1533 ? 10 July 1584), also known as William the Silent or William the Taciturn (translated from Dutch: Willem de Zwijger), or more commonly known as William of Orange, was the main leader of the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years' War (1568?1648) and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1581. He was born in the House of Nassau as Count of Nassau-Dillenburg. He became Prince of Orange in 1544 and is thereby the founder of the branch House of Orange-Nassau and the ancestor of the monarchy of the Netherlands. Within the Netherlands he is also known as Father of the Fatherland (Dutch: Vader des Vaderlands).

A wealthy nobleman, William originally served the Habsburgs as a member of the court of Margaret of Parma, governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Unhappy with the centralisation of political power away from the local estates and with the Spanish persecution of Dutch Protestants, William joined the Dutch uprising and turned against his former masters. The most influential and politically capable of the rebels, he led the Dutch to several successes in the fight against the Spanish. Declared an outlaw by the Spanish king in 1580, he was assassinated by Balthasar G?rard (also written as "Gerardts") in Delft in 1584. A fine set, very collectable and much sought by collectors. Philip II of Spain berating William the Silent Prince of Orange by Cornelis Kruseman.  read more

Code: 22358

Rare 1st Edition 'Reveries or Memoirs Upon The Art of War', Printed in 1757

An important classic. First Edition in English. (8-1/4 x 10-1/2 inches) leather bound of 195 pages, and a page of advertisements for other books by the publisher. 40 copper plates, some fold out, on 34 pages. First edition in English of a classic 18th century military work by Saxe (1696-1750) the renowned soldier. The book is divided into 2 parts, the first examining the raising, feeding, clothing, exercising, paying, encamping, and moving of an army, and the 2nd covering the strategic aspects of combat, including attack and defence in various terrains. A nice rare copy with former owner's and name plate, Thomas Best of Park House, Boxley, Kent. Added some original Letters, upon various Military Subjects, wrote by the Count to the late King of Poland, and M. de Folard, which were never before made public: Together with His Reflections upon the Propagation of the Human Species. Translated from the French. This is the first edition in English of a classic military work by one of the world's most famous soldiers. At the age of twelve, Dresden-born Maurice de Saxe (1696?1750) entered the Saxon army, beginning a long and successful military career that culminated in his promotion to Marshal of France, where he retained full command of the main army in Flanders directly under Louis XV. Again and again, de Saxe achieved enormous victories over his enemies, becoming one of the greatest military leaders of the eighteenth century. Combining his memoirs and general observations with brilliant military thinking, Reveries on the Art of War was written in a mere thirteen days. Introducing revolutionary approaches to battles and campaigning at a time of changing military tactics and leadership styles, it stands as a classic of early modern military theory.
De Saxe's Reveries offered numerous procedural innovations for raising and training troops. His descriptions for establishing field camps were soon standard procedure. His ideas advanced weapon technology, including the invention of a gun specially designed for infantrymen and the acceptance of breech-loading muskets and cannons. De Saxe heightened existing battle formations by introducing a specific attack column that required less training, and he rediscovered a military practice lost since the ancient Romans ? the art of marching in cadence. He even delved into the minds and emotions of soldiers on the battlefield, obtaining a deeper understanding of their daily motivations.
Written by a military officer of great acumen, Reveries on the Art of War has deeply impacted modern military tactics. Enduringly relevant, this landmark work belongs in the library of anyone interested in the history, tactics, and weapons of European warfare. We show a wax miniature of the books owner, Thomas Best, in full military uniform. The miniature is held as part of the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection.  read more

Code: 21247

A Stunning & Rare Original Neolithic Battle Axe 4,000 to 5,000 Years OId. Recovered From Oxfordshire. With An Incredible Weighty Heft of Two Pounds. Potentially A PreHistoric Anglo-Norse Weapon

Although this axe was recovered some decades ago from Oxfordshire it may have been a Norse made battle axe of an English stone age settler up to 5,000 Years ago.

This lithic battle axe has convex sides that are slightly swollen around the central hole, the latter being designed for the fitting of a handle. It has been worked from a single block of carved and polished stone.
Battle-axes from the Neolithic Norse cultures were used as combat weapons in the area of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. Like the one we are now show, they were heavy and sturdy pieces, capable of dealing a heavy blow to the enemy. They were sometimes decorated with engravings and were used for hunting as well as for warfare.

The archaeological discovery of lithic industry (stone tools) is a clear sign of human activity and progress. During the Neolithic period, the lithic industry reached a high degree of skill and evolution (in fact, the very name "Neolithic" -new stone- responds to a new way of working stone, which will be polished as opposed to the carved stone of the Palaeolithic, a change that represented a real technological revolution.

Stone hand axes were in use in the Paleolithic period for hundreds of thousands of years. The first hafted stone axes appear to have been produced about 6000 BCE during the Mesolithic period. Technological development continued in the Neolithic period with the much wider usage of hard stones in addition to flint and chert and the widespread use of polishing to improve axe properties. The axes became cult objects (for example, the entry for the Battle-axe people of Scandinavia, treated their axes as high-status cultural objects). Such stone axes were made from a wide variety of tough rocks such as picrite and other igneous or metamorphic rocks, and were widespread in the Neolithic period.

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

Just over 7 inches long almost I kilo in weight  read more

Code: 24919

Stone Age Britain Flint Tools, Some of The Earliest Evidence of Stone Age Man in the UK. Paleolithic Henley Pit Chopper Core & Moortown Pit Handaxe 200,000 to -300,000 Years Old

Approximately a quarter of a million years old. A framed display containing two large stone age tools, the Paleolithic Henley Pit chopper core and the Moortown Pit handaxe Acheulian (Homo erectus) brown flint hand axe / chopper, c.300,000 to 200,000 B.C. One artefact comes from Moortown Pit, Dorset, UK. The other Henley Pit. In untouched condition before mounting. They are in jolly fine condition. From an early Lincoln Collection originally found in Dorset. The frame is somewhat later.  read more

Code: 22297

An Extraordinary Original Conversation Piece. A Superb, Original, Late Queen Elizabeth Ist to King James Ist Period Miniature Pistol. Late 1500's, To The Turn of The 17th Century, Functioning Miniature Pistol

A pistol made in bronze, many hundreds of years ago, to fire off for the entertainment of the nobility and their children. Dark blue-black bronze age patination

An extraordinary little piece of rarely known history, from the earliest age of the black powder pistol. These intriguing miniature functioning pistols were called petronel, named after the original early name of matchlock and wheellock pistols, and very much of the period, from the Elizabethan to the Carolean age.

A petronel is a 16th and 17th century black powder muzzle-loading firearm, defined by Robert Barret (Theorike and Practike of Modern Warres, 1598) as a horsemans peece. It was the muzzle-loading firearm which developed on the one hand into the pistol and on the other into the carbine. The name (French petrinel or poitrinal) was given to the weapon either because it was fired with the butt resting against the chest (French poitrine, Latin pectus) or it was carried slung from a belt across the chest. Petronels are found with either matchlock or wheellock mechanisms.

The sclopus was the prototype of the petronel. The petronel is a compromise between the harquebus and the pistol. Early petronels date back to the end of the 14th century, with a crude buttstock. Generally the touch hole is on the right side, and fired by a separate slow match. Sometimes they had small hinged plate covers to protect the priming from moisture. By extension, the term petronel was also used to describe the type of light cavalry who employed the firearm. The petronel (cavalryman) was used to support the heavy cavalry such as demi-lancers and cuirassiers. The petronel was succeeded by a similarly armed cavalryman called the harquebusier.


We acquired a stunning little collection of miniature petronel, effectively toys, and they are the Zenith of original, and historical conversation pieces, especially when one considers they are around 450 year old working pistols. Naturally they were not made with the action mechanism of a full sized petronel, one just ignited them with a smouldering match cord, to create an instantaneous small bang and puff of smoke.
Please note, under no circumstances should one try to use them today. Each pistol is to be sold seperately.  read more

Code: 24929

Beautiful European Topographic Watercolour of A Castle on The Rhine 19th C. Likely by William Callow RWS {Royal Watercolour Society} (1812-1908) Court Painting Tutor to The Children of King Louis Phillipe of France

In the British romantic landscape style, beautifully executed with fine skill, not far removed in quality by the greatest exponant of the art of watercolours, Joseph Mallord Willam Turner who is said laid the foundation for Impressionism. This is a beautiful Victorian English School watercolour, superbly executed. It is titled but unsigned, possibly by William Callow 1812-1908 {if not, by one of his esteemed contemporaries}

The topographical tradition describes a long-established tradition of painting largely or entirely concerned with specific places on the earth and their topography.

In his article "The Topographical Tradition", Bruce MacEvoy states that the topographical tradition is rooted in 18th-century British watercolour painting intended to serve practical as well as aesthetic purposes: "At the beginning of the 18th century, the topographical watercoulor was primarily used as an objective record of an actual place in an era before photography."

William Callow (1812–1908) was an English landscape painter, engraver and water colourist.

Callow was born in Greenwich on 28 July 1812. He was apprenticed to the artist Copley Fielding, where he learnt the technique of plein air sketching. He went on to study under Theodore and Thales Fielding, where he learnt to colour prints and make aquatints, and was taught water colour painting between 1825 and 1827.
In 1829 Thales Fielding found him work as an engraver in Paris, where he worked alongside his friend Charles Bentley. While in the French capital he was encouraged by Thomas Shotter Boys to take up watercolours again. After exhibiting a watercolour of Richmond Hill in the Paris Salon of 1831, he was offered a job teaching the family of King Louis Philippe I of France, and for several years gave lessons to the Duc de Nemours and Princess Clémentine, while his own works rapidly gained popularity in England.This was helped by his influence over Francois, prince de Joinville during the turbulence of the July Revolution. Briefly the 'Callow youth' was plunged into a platonic love affair that went unrequited with the darling Princess Clementine.

Elected a member of the Old Water-Colour Society, Callow returned to London in 1841 and began to paint larger pictures, moving away from the more "dashing" style of his earlier smaller works. He travelled extensively in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, had a large number of pupils, and enjoyed favour with the royal family. He married one of his students, the artist and composer Harriet Anne Smart, in 1846.

He kept detailed diaries of his early travels, and just before his death, his sight having failed, he dictated an autobiography. In 1855 he moved to Great Missenden, in Buckinghamshire, where he died in 1908

He made two major trips to Germany to paint such subjects, firstly in 1852, and 50 years later in 1902 when aged 90.

7 X 9.5 inches, Frame 18.25 x 15.25 inches  read more

Code: 16919

A Most Scarce Original Antique Sharpshooter's Sword Used By Swiss Mercenaries In the 1849 Italian Revolution. Made by F Horster of Solingen

Wooden grip with brass rivets. Single edged blade made by Horster of Solingen. Carried by the Swiss Infantry sharpshooters, snipers.

Used by of the swiss regimental sharpshooter mercenaries that fought for the King in the revolution in Italy in 1848.

A Swiss regiment that fought in the streets of Naples for Ferdinand II, King of the two Kingdoms of Sicily, during the uprising of 15 May 1848. Between 1856 and 1860, around 1,200 Swiss mercenaries from the Swiss regiments in Naples continued their military careers in the Dutch colonial army.

The Revolution which began in Palermo was one of a series of such events in Italy, though perhaps more violent than others. It quickly spread across the island and throughout Italy, where it prompted Charles Albert, King of Sardinia, to follow the example of Ferdinand II and issue a written constitution, the Albertine Statute {the Albertine Statute later became the constitution of the unified Kingdom of Italy and remained in force, with changes, until 1948}. In imitation of these events, riots and revolutions followed around Europe at the same time, and may be considered a taste of the socialist revolts to come.

King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
By the recapture of Sicily in May 1849, the battle was said to be practically over. Filangieri, however, dared not let his troops enter the set of alleys that then made up the historic center of Messina: although the regular Sicilian forces had been exterminated or forced to flee, the bombardment of the Bourbons continued on the defenseless city, that is, on the part that had not yet been occupied by the regi, for another seven hours. The soldiers of the Bourbon army gave themselves up to the looting and violence against the inhabitants.

Homes of foreigners living in Messina were also looted and destroyed, so much so that the English consul Barker reported the incident to his government writing that many English subjects living there were reduced to ruin and that even a diplomat, the consul of Greece and Bavaria M. G.M. Rillian, despite being in uniform, had been wounded by sabre, before his dwelling was also looted and burned down. The Bourbon troops did not spare even the religious buildings from looting. For example, the church of San Domenico, rich in works of art, was first looted of its sacred objects, then burned down and totally destroyed. Loss of life was incalculable. A Bourbon official wrote to his brother, immediately after the capture of Messina, stating that the Neapolitan departments had recaptured the city with a very intense fire and "trampling corpses in every step that progressed for the space of about two miles" and then commenting "What a horror! What a fire! British Admiral Parker also condemned the work of the Bourbons, and in particular the prolonged terrorist bombardment of the city even after the end of all resistance for eight hours: "The greatest ferocity was shown by the Neapolitans, whose fury was incessant for eight hours, after all resistance had ceased".

During the siege of Messina, the last insurgents who resisted the attack of the Bourbons inside a convent, rather than hand themselves over, chose to throw themselves into a well, taking their tricolour flags with them. Messina was also troubled by the work of common criminals sent by King Ferdinand II to Sicily against the insurgents and that after tormenting the Sicilians for months with brigand actions (crimes, violence, thefts, etc.) they gave themselves at the time of the fall of the city to its looting, arriving with small boats from Calabria to make loot.

Overall in nice condition, with old traces of pitting throughout the blade , one rivet cap lacking, no scabbard. A very rarely seen sword.

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury, Britain's famous, favourite, and oldest original Armoury Antique store, 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, and thus, it is a lifetime guarantee.  read more

Code: 25907

A Superb 1821 Pattern, Victorian British Officer's Light Cavalry Sabre, For Light Dragoon's, Lancer's or Hussars. Used in the Crimean War, Such As the Famous and Renown 'Charge of the Light Brigade'.

In superb naturally bright and patinated condition. Excellent fishkin grip, copper wire bound.

A most impressive sabre, and very good indeed. The very type of regulation Hussar's, Lancer's and Horse Artillery officer's sabre, as used by British Cavalry in the ill fated 'Charge of the Light Brigade' in the Crimean War against Russia.

All steel three bar steel hilt, combat blade with fine-fishskin ribbed grip with original copper triple wire binding.

Absolutely used at the time, and as used, by all the serving officer's of the light cavalry in the famous 'Charge'.

In the Crimean War (1854-56), the Light Dragoons, Hussars and Lancers were in the forefront of the famous Charge of the Light Brigade, immortalised by Tennyson's poem of that name ("Into the valley of death rode the six hundred").

The regiments adopted the title hussars at this time, and the uniform became very stylish, aping the hussars of the Austro-Hungarian army. But soon the blues and yellows and golds gave way to khaki as the British army found itself in skirmishes throughout the far-flung Empire, in India and South Africa especially.

For example in 1854 the 13th Hussars regiment received its orders from the War Office to prepare for service overseas. Five transport ships - Harbinger, Negotiator, Calliope, Cullodon, and the Mary Anne ? embarking between the 8 May and 12 May, carried 20 officers, 292 other ranks and 298 horses. After a
troubled voyage, the regiment arrived at Varna, Bulgaria on the 2 June. On the 28 August the entire Light Brigade (consisting of the 4th Light Dragoons and 13th Light Dragoons, 17th Lancers, the 8th Hussars and 11th Hussars, under the command of Major General the Earl of Cardigan) were inspected by Lord Lucan; five men of the 13th had already succumbed to cholera.
On the 1 September the regiment embarked for the Crimea - a further three men dying en-route.
On the 20 September the regiment, as part the Light Brigade, took part in the first major engagement of the Crimean War, the Battle of the Alma. The Light Brigade covered the left flank, although the regiment?s role in the battle was minimal. With the Russians in full retreat by late afternoon, Lord Lucan ordered the Light Brigade to pursue the fleeing enemy.

However, the brigade was recalled by Lord Raglan as the Russians had kept some 3,000 uncommitted cavalry in reserve.
During the 25 October the regiments, the Light Brigade, took part in the Battle of Balaclava and the famous Charge of the Light Brigade.
The 13th Light Dragoons formed the right of the front line. The 13th and 17th moved forward; after 100 yards the 11th Hussars, in the second line, also moved off followed by the 4th and 8th.

It was not long before the brigade came under heavy Russian fire. Lord Cardigan, at the front of his men, charged into the Russian guns receiving a slight wound. He was soon followed by the 13th and 17th. The two squadrons of the 13th and the right squadron of the 17th were soon cutting down the artillerymen that had remained at their posts. Once the Russian guns had been passed, they engaged in a hand-to-hand fighting with the enemy that was endeavoring to surround them by closing in on either flank.

However, the Light Brigade having insufficient forces and suffering heavy casualties, were soon forced to retire. Capt. Louis Edward Nolan (January 4 1818-October 25 1854), who was a British Army officer of the Victorian era, an authority on cavalry tactics, and best known for his controversial role in launching the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava. He was the first casualty of that engagement.

No scabbard. Great all round steel condition, and excellent grip patina.

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury, Britain's famous, favourite, and oldest original Armoury Antique store, 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, and thus, it is a lifetime guarantee.  read more

Code: 25908

Simply Fabulous, Incredibly Rare 'Queen Anne' 18th Century Hand Held, Military Grenade & Mortar Launcher 'Cohorn' Pistol, A Huge Cannon Barrelled Blunderbuss. An Incredibly Impressive Unique Blunderbuss of The American French & Indian War & Revolution

A Fabulous piece, and such a rare Cohorn pistol, an amazing, short but huge muzzled cannon barrelled blunderbuss, but designed not to fire swan shot or single ball but to launch an explosive grenade or mortar, an incredibly rare pistol size.

Made, likely in the 1730's, it is a hand portable grenade or mortar blunderbuss sometimes known in its day as a Cohorn, named after its inventor, and also known as a pyrotechnic gun. A Coehorn or {cohorn}) is a lightweight hand held mortar blunderbuss, originally designed by Dutch military engineer Menno van Coehoorn. Van Coehoorn demonstrated them in May 1701 to William III of England, and they were first used in action at the siege of Kaiserswerth in 1702

It is such a rarity today as to be likely a near unique survivor of its type.

We show in the gallery photo 10 another example, but most flamboyant and highly decorated, of another very rare hand held mortar / grenade blunderbuss gun, that sold at auction 5 years ago in Germany, for a remarkable 120,000 euros although it was certainly much more elaborate as it was a civilian gun and not made for military issue.

The two stage barrel is stunning and has traces and of scrolling flames engraved across the top. The butt has a grotesque cast mask, as was popular for some guns in the early 18th century, and a most finely engraved trigger guard, depicting and ancient helmeted warrior, and an engraved brass side plate.

Its working life, was in the Americas during the 18th century 7 years American French-Indian War, and the later Revolutionary War period of the 1770's and on into the early 19th century, as it has an American lock-maker's percussion conversion, by master gunsmith Master R. Ashmore, to enable the blunderbuss to be serviceable for at least another 20 years or so after its conversion.

Around six years ago or so we were absolutely delighted to have, albeit very briefly, a very, very rare, early, shoulder mounted grenade launcher, just As was used by the early foot grenadiers, it was also a hand held version, but larger, yet, a pistol sized version such as this, is, in some respects is even rarer still.
It has had a percussion conversion lock by R Ashmore an American maker, converted by him in the first quarter part of the 19th century. His name is engraved on the lock but worn.

The hand mortar is a blunderbuss type gun that was used in the late 17th century and 18th century to throw fused grenades. The action was similar to a flintlock, matchlock, or wheellock firearm (depending on the date of production), but the barrel was short, usually less than 2 inches (5 cm) to 4 inches (10 cm) long (though some are reported to have barrels up to 13 inches (33 cm) long), and had a very large bore to accommodate the grenade; usually between 2 and 2.5 inches (5 to 6 cm).

Between 1672 and 1740, the Royal Foundry of Berlin (Knigliches Giehaus zu Berlin) produced 302 hand mortars (Handmorser). Additionally, a mortar at the Museum of Artillery in Woolwich, Great Britain bears the inscription Fondeur Strasbourg (made in Strasbourg (France)) and several other surviving pieces bear the coat of arms of Wurttemberg indicating that they might have been made there.
The first references to the type of grenade used in a hand mortar occur in a 1472 work entitled Valturius, where an incendiary prototype may have been produced. However, widespread use of the explosive grenade does not occur until the early-to-mid-16th century under Francis I of France.
An early casualty of this type of grenade was Count de Randan who died of shrapnel wounds to the legs from a grenade during the Siege of Rouen (probably the battle of Issoire) in 1562. Explosive grenades were made from brass, glass, and possibly clay, and incendiary projectiles were made from canvas, however, Nathanael Nye, Master Gunner of the City of Worcester in a work entitled Art of Gunnery published in 1647, remarks that the soldiers of his day were not fond of handling the grenades because they were too dangerous.
While there are substantial records of infantry units called grenadiers throughout the 18th century in Europe, these units generally threw the grenades by hand, but maybe a few men of the regiment could be armed with launchers such as this. After priming the firearm and adding the gunpowder, the shooter would light a grenade fuse, place the grenade in the muzzle of the mortar, then fire it at the enemy. However, accidents could occur if the weapon misfired and the lit grenade remained in the barrel. Additional modifications attempted to light the grenade using the burning gunpowder, but accounts say that the fuse would be forced into the grenade which would explode immediately.

The low number of surviving specimens of this firearm indicate that it was not a popular weapon with their grenadier users, very possibly due to the safety issues.
In his essay on the weapon, Hewitt opines that the mortar is among a variety of "projects for destruction which have never destroyed anything but the fortunes of their inventors". At least one version of the hand mortar was probably invented by John Tinker in 1681. However, his mortar may have been an improvement on an earlier piece. A reference to this mortar may have appeared in a work entitled Ancient Armour which refers to a tinker's mortar. Another account refers to a hand mortar as a cohorn, and attributes its invention to a Dutch engineer, Menno Van Coehoorn, who lived from 1641 to 1704. Hand Mortars were also to be found in the New World. References to a hand mortar being transferred in Maryland are found in the record of The Proceedings of the Council of Maryland in 1698. Another account in the journal of Alexander Henry the younger tells of a hand mortar (called a cohorn; after Menno van Coehoorn) being loaded with a pound of powder, 30 balls, and fired in an action against Sioux indians in 1808.

Another reference to the use of cohorns in the New World can be found in The Life of Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) including the Border Wars of the American Revolution by William L. Stone (two volumes) published Albany NY 1865. Stone in describing Sir William Johnson's Niagara campaign of 1759 notes the following: "The youthful warrior likewise accompanied Sir William during the Niagara Campaign of 1759, and in the brilliant achievements of the Baronet, after the chief command had devolved upon him upon the death of General Prideaux, is said to have acquitted himself with distinguished bravery. General Prideaux, commanding the expedition, was killed by the accidental explosion of a cohorn on the 20th of July" (Stone, Vol 1, p. 20).

The action is good and tight and the forend has old working life stock repairs.
12.5 inches long , barrel 6.75 inches long 1.25 inch bore. It weighs a most impressive 1.25 kilos {2.8 pounds.}  read more

Code: 23197

A Very Rare US Civil War Mr C.Howard's, 1862 Patent, Rimfire Action Long Gun with Underlever Action. One of Only 2000 Ever Made

Ideal for the collector of original American Civil war arms at a very low and most reasonable cost.

Only the second we have seen in the past 10 years.
The Howard-Whitney Thunderbolt.

This is undoubtedly one of the scarcest patent action guns made in the 1860's used in the American Civil War. .44 Cal Rimfire cartridge. There are elements of similarity in this rifle to the profile of Jean Baptiste Revol's of New Orleans patent breech loading rifle of 1853. In America around this time all manner of new gun actions and mechanisms were being created, in order to utilize the latest breech loading cartridges that had been designed to replace the outdated percussion muzzle loading system. This rifle, although not in pristine condition, and showing an overall russet finish, is a mighty rare gun and a must for collectors of rare patented long guns from this incredible era.
For it was this very time, when no one new for certain which way the new cartridges could be made to function to their best advantage, that probably the most significant weapons were being created, and those systems and actions were to mould the whole industry of arms production even until today. Great and legendary gunsmiths, such as Mr Henry, who sold out to Winchester, were striving to create the best, most efficient, and indeed most marketable methods to evolve the rifle into the next level of development and progress, and this is likely one of those that simply failed to make the grade. This gun is one of only 2000 Mr. C. Howard's patent guns ever made, including the examples made under contract by Whitney Arms of Conn. USA. Made from the 1862 patent by Howard from the Civil War and by Whitney from 1866 to 1870. Most examples are marked by Whitney but just a few earlier examples were completely unmarked, and made from 1862, and this is one of those. Some came to England in the late 19th century some after the war, so although a very rare gun, it is far rarer here in the UK.

As with all our antique guns no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables  read more

Code: 22921