A Simply Wondrous, And An Absolute Beauty of a Set of Cased, Double Barrelled Sporting Gun 1835, Maker to The King. Master Gunsmith, W Parker of London

A finest, original cased English double Damascus barrelled sporting gun by one of England's pre-eminent makers of the 19th century, William Parker of 233 High Holborn, gun maker to Prince Edward, to King William IV (1830-1837) and the Duke of Kent. The whole gun's mounts are hand engraved with superlative skill and expertise, it features, pheasants, a gun dog, dolphin hammers a stunning pineapple finial to the trigger guard and profuse scrolling arabesques. The stock is the finest Juglans Regia walnut and the mahogany case bears its original baize lining and maker label. It is fully fitted throughout with essential equipment and tools including a signed copper powder flask, a shoulder mounted bandolier type shot flask, a percussion cap tin, a gun fitted ram rod, and a separate case ram/cleaning rod, oil bottle, and a most rare shot-pouring funnel, nipple key and screw driver. To replace such a fine hand made gun today, likely only Purdey or Boss of London could have the skills required to replicate it. A fine engraved Purdey side by side, with a pair of Damas barrels, costs today ?113,500, with an 18 months to 2 year waiting time, and additional costs for casing and tools. When John Field died in 1791, William Parker went into partnership with his widow (name not known), and they traded as Field & Parker. John Field had been a goldsmith, sword cutler and gun maker at 233 High Holborn from 1783 to 1791, trading under his own name and also as Field & Co and Field & Clarke (William Clarke of Duke Street, Portland Place). In 1793, William Parker bought John Field's widow's share of the partnership. From that date he ceased being a goldsmith. In 1803, on John Brown's bankruptcy, he appears to have bought the rights to Joseph Hall's "New Invented Hammer" patent (No. 2573 of 1802 - waterproof primer and steel)from John Brown, and he used George Dodd's 1805 patented lock. In 1803 he started to supply the London Police Offices with guns. In 1804 William Parker became a Contractor to Ordnance. In 1806 Parker opened additional workshops at 22 Chamber Street, these moved in 1808 to 52 & 31-32 Chamber Street.

In 1814 the firm rented additional production facilities at John Stinton's workshops in Glasshouse Yard. In about 1814 William Parker's daughter, Mary, married John Field Jnr. From 1820 to 1826 William was recorded at 60 Theobalds Road (workshop). In 1829 William Parker started to supply guns to the Metropolitan Police (London Police Offices re-named). At some time William Parker became gun maker to Prince Edward, then to King William IV (1830-1837) and the Duke of Kent. In 1833 William became a contractor to the East India Company, and in 1837 a contractor to the Hudson's Bay Company. 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 in Bihar, Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab

In 1838 Ordnance contract ended and the firm moved their workshops to 10 Chamber Street. In 1841 William Parker died, aged 68, and John Field Jnr and his sons trading as Parker, Field & Sons took over. This fabulous gun is in overall excellent condition. As with all our antique guns, no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables  read more

Code: 22880

A Rare & Incredible Gilbert Islands Shark’s Tooth Kiribati Warriors Sword. In the Native Culture of The Islands It Is Called a Tebute.

A rarely seen {we have only had two in 15 years}, late 19th to early 20th century shark tooth sword, known as a tebute and was unique to the Gilbert Islands of Micronesia, the islands today are known as the nation of Kiribati.

The sword is made from seasoned wood of the coconut palm with cutting edges made from sharks teeth attached with fine fibrous cords. Most of these swords were destroyed by the maritime visitors to the islands. Kiribati has a history of contrived and ritualized duels. The armour was made of thickly woven sennit, a kind of coconut fibre. The duellists wore helmets made of blowfish remains. The helmets were resilient and, due to the structure of blowfish, covered with many points, which had the ability of damaging weapons. The weapons resembled broadswords with a serrated edge created with many shark teeth. The duels were performed mostly for the purpose of settling disputes and maintaining honour. The practicality of the duels is debatable. Due to the difficulty of moving in this armour, falling over and becoming unable to get back up was common enough that duel assistants were required. Kiribati has been known for its traditional martial arts which were kept within the secrets of several families for generations. The Kiribati arts of fighting as opposed to Asian martial arts are not often mentioned or even advertised to be known by the general public. Though, there may be some noticeable parallels in principle to that of Asian martial arts, they are merely really different. For instance, generally, there is no kicking as in Karate kicks or Kung Fu kicks, and speed is more important than power. A list of some of these traditional martial arts is as follows: Nabakai, Nakara, Ruabou, Tabiang, Taborara, Tebania, Temata-aua, Te Rawarawanimon, and Terotauea.

The essence of Kiribati traditional martial arts is the magical power of the spirits of the ancestral warriors. All these martial arts skills share one thing in common. That is, they came from an ancestral spirit.

"Nabakai" is a martial art from the island of Abaiang originated from the person named Nabakai. Nabakai was a member of the crab clan called "Tabukaokao". The three ancestral female spirits of this clan "Nei Tenaotarai", "Nei Temwanai" and "Nei Tereiatabuki" which usually believed to manifest themselves with a female crab came to him and taught him the fighting art. Overall 61 cm long.  read more

Code: 20923

A Very Fine & Long 15th Century Katana, Around 600 Years Old, From An Historically Significant Great Samurai Clan, The Nabeshima Descendents of the Fujiwara, With Traditional Stone Polished Blade

The blade was sent to Japan some years ago for a fine stone traditional re polish. This superb ancient blade has a stunningly elegant curvature, and combined with a simply spectacular, vibrant and deep hamon, absolutely breathtaking, and very healthy for its age, and thus it makes this blade very special indeed, it is also very unusual for a blade of this age to survive its great length without alteration. The blade was fully traditionally stone polished. It has all its original Edo fittings, and its fine signed tsuba by Kinai of Echizen. It bears two mon, one in silver, 'Daki Myoga' mon of the great Nebeshima clan on the kashira, and the 'Sagarifuji' mon of the Fujiwara clan on the fuchi. The Nabeshima clan was a cadet branch of the Shoni clan and was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The Fujiwara became so powerful they had absolute control over the Imperial court. By the year 1000, Fujiwara no Michinaga was able to enthrone and dethrone emperors at will, effectively, "hereditary dictators". The Fujiwara controlled the throne until the reign of Emperor Go-Sanjō (1068–73), the first emperor not born of a Fujiwara mother since the ninth century. Emperor Go-Sanjō, determined to restore imperial control through strong personal rule, implemented reforms to curb Fujiwara influence. In the late 12th century, Fujiwara no Sukeyori, a descendant of Fujiwara no Hidesato in the 9th generation, received the title of Dazai Shoni (equivalent to that of vice-governor of the military government of Kyushu) from Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo, and the title became the family name.

The clan played an important role in the region as early as the Muromachi period, when it helped suppress opposition to the Ashikaga shogunate's control of Kyushu. It did not take the name Nabeshima, however, until the late 15th century, when Shoni Shigenao established himself at Nabeshima in Hizen province (today part of Saga City, Saga prefecture). Later, in the Sengoku period (1467-1603), the Nabeshima were one of a number of clans which clashed over the island. The Nabeshima sided with the Ryuzoji clan against the Otomo clan, though this ultimately ended in failure and the death of Ryuzoji Takanobu at the 1584 battle of Okita Nawate. Several years later, however, the Nabeshima recovered power and prominence by aiding Toyotomi Hideyoshi in his 1587 invasion of Kyushu; Nabeshima Naoshige was granted the region of Saga as his fief, as a reward for his efforts. Naoshige also contributed to Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea in the 1590s.

The clan initially aided Ishida Mitsunari against Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Sekigahara Campaign in 1600. However, they switched sides to support the Tokugawa, who were ultimately victorious, before the campaign had ended, battling and occupying the forces of Tachibana Muneshige, who was thus prevented from contributing directly to the battle of Sekigahara. Though regarded as tozama daimyo ("outside" lords), and assigned particularly heavy corvee duties, the Nabeshima were allowed to keep their territory in Saga, and in fact had their kokudaka increased. The clan's forces served the new Tokugawa shogunate loyally in the years which followed; they remained in Kyushu during the 1615 Osaka Campaign as a check against a possible rebellion or uprising by the Shimazu clan, and aided in the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637. In recognition of their service, members of the clan were granted the prestigious family name Matsudaira in 1648.

During the Edo period, the clan's Saga domain became quite famous. There is a stunning picture in our gallery of a painting in the British Museum, by an unknown artist, of Portrait of a Nabeshima lord, Fujiwara; Munemitsu of the Nabeshima clan wearing his tanto, with it's Nabeshima 'Daki Myoga' mon. The sukashi round tsuba is signed Echizen no Ju Kinai Saku, in the form of an aoi, or hollyhock plant, possibly by godai Ishikawa. Likely a branch of the Miōchin (Group IV), this family was founded by Ishikawa Kinai, who moved from Kiōto to Echizen province Japanese text and died in 1680. The succeeding masters, however, bore the surname of Takahashi. All sign only Kinai Japanese text, with differences in the characters used and in the manner of writing them.

The Kinai made guards only, of hard and well forged iron usually coated with the black magnetic oxide. They confined themselves to pierced relief showing extraordinary cleanness both of design and execution. Any considerable heightening of gold is found as a rule only in later work. Dragons in the round appear first in guards by the third master, fishes, birds, etc., in those of the fifth; while designs of autumn flowers and the like come still later. There are examples of Kinai tsuba in the Ashmolean and the British Museum. Very long 30.75 inch unsigned blade, measured tsuba to tip.  read more

Code: 23298

A Very Fine, Late Middle Ages, Early Hand-Bombard, Iron Mortar Cannon. The Earliest Form of Ignition Battle Weapon That Developed into The Hand Pistole & Blunderbuss

Used in both the field of combat or from a castle battlement. This fine piece would make a wonderful display piece, perhaps set on a small plinth. Ideal for a desk, bookshelf or mantle.

The weapon that provided the name to the Royal Artillery rank of bombardier, and the word 'bombardment'.

A hand bombard was the larger version of the handgonne or hand cannon, yes still a good size for handling.
Small enough and light enough to be manoeuvred by hand and thus then loosely fixed, or semi-permanently fixed, in either an L shaped wooden block and used like a mortar, or, onto a length of sturdy wooden haft, from three feet to five foot long to be used almost musket like and bound with wrought iron bands see illustration in the photo gallery of these medievil variations of mounting. The precursor to the modern day pistol and musket from which this form of ancient so called handgonne developed into over the centuries. It is thought that gunpowder was invented in China and found its way to Europe in the 13th Century. In the mid to late 13th Century gunpowder began to be used in cannons and handguns, and by the mid 14th Century they were in relatively common use for castle sieges. By the end of the 14th Century both gunpowder, guns and cannon had greatly evolved and were an essential part of fortifications which were being modified to change arrow slits for gun loops. Bombards and Hand cannon' date of origin ranges around 1350. Hand bombards and hand cannon were relatively inexpensive to manufacture, but the skill required to make them was considerable, but they were not that accurate to fire. Nevertheless, they were employed for their shock value. In 1492 Columbus carried one on his discovery exploration to the Americas.
Conquistadors Hernando Cortez and Francisco Pizzaro also used them, in 1519 and 1533, during their respective conquests and colonization of Mexico and Peru. Not primary arms of war, hand bombards and hand cannon were adequate tools of protection for fighting men.

See Funcken, L. & Funcken F., Le costume, l'armure et les armes au temps de la chevalerie, de huitieme au quinzieme siecle, Tournai,1977, pp.66-69, for reconstruction of how such hand cannons were used.
At the beginning of the 14th century, among the infantry troops of the Western Middle Ages, developed the use of manual cannons (such as the Italian schioppetti, spingarde, and the German Fusstbusse).

Photo of the hand bombard recovered from the well at Cardiff Castle, by Simon Burchell - Own work

External width at the muzzle 3.25 inches, length 8 inches. Weight 10.2 pounds  read more

Code: 25213

Most Attractive, Antique, 19th Century Fire Bucket Decorated in Scarlet Red Livery, with Royal Crest. Such A Colour Is Synonymous With Britain. The Redcoats of the Royal Guard, The Red Pillar Boxes, Even Red Telephone Boxes & Once, The Entire British Army

It shows the same crest that one would find on fixtures and fittings within in a British royal residence. It’s condition for its purpose is very good, just natural aging and wear throughout.

Fire aboard a wooden ship or residence was a constant peril, from such as burning powder shot or cannon fire, or even from an enemy fire ship, and could be the destruction of a vessel and crew in a very short time, if not subdued as quickly as possible. Thus good and sturdy leather fire buckets were an essential piece of Royal Naval equipment aboard every vessel. We show in the gallery a row in an Earls stately home, and a row of Royal Naval issue fire buckets {reproductions} aboard Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, now in permanent dock at Portsmouth.
It is still the flagship of the Royal Navy in honour of Nelsons famous victory at Trafalgar. Fire buckets have been popular with collectors and owners of period homes for a very long time, but especially the board of ordnance issue examples for naval warships. They represent a time long before most towns had established and well-equipped fire departments ready to respond at a moment’s notice to a house or shop fire, when people relied on their neighbours to come to their aid. The risk for catastrophe from fire was great. A single stand-alone house could be consumed in minutes. In towns, fire in densely populated neighbourhoods could quickly result in the destruction of dozens of buildings.

Between 1630 and 1700 Boston experienced at least six major fires that destroyed well over 200 buildings. Most fire buckets were likely purchased from merchant craftsmen who specialised in leather goods, or wholesalers who imported wares from England. The earliest reference for the sale of fire buckets in Boston comes from a 1743 newspaper where an advertisement from an unnamed merchant simply states, “A Parcel of Choice Fire Buckets to be sold.” it is very rare to find a mark or signature on a fire bucket that identifies its maker.  read more

Code: 25212

A Simply Stunning Japanese Koto Period Wakazashi Bound In Imperial White & Devil Red Urushi Lacquer From The Time of The Battle of Sekigahara, The End of the Sengoku.

Late Koto period blade, circa 1590, in beautiful polish and fine suguha hamon. With a full suite of Edo period, gold and patinated shakudo fittings, a fine iron Edo tsuba, and a crayfish handled kodzuka utilty knife in patinated copper and gold. With a pair of pure gold overlaid takebori galloping ponies as menuki underneath the white silk ito.

It has a singularly beautiful and most scarcely seen colour combination of 'Red Devil' red and imperial white. White ito binding being the prerogative of only those of the highest level of status, due to it's obvious difficulty to maintain in pristine condition when worn regularly. Rich, so-called 'Red Devil' red, was the distinctive colour, and famous in Japanese samurai history, as the Li clan family’s colour, depicted with their imposing red lacquered suits of armour and weapons.
Rich red, as opposed to the more usual black and brown, was worn by all from the lord down to the foot soldiers, and it marked them out on the battlefield and advertised their origin to those who stood opposed to them. Known as the Red Devils, samurai under the rule of the Ii family played an integral part in the battles that ended the civil war and raised Tokugawa Ieyasu to the office of shogun, gaining great fame and a fierce reputation.

The Sengoku period was initiated by the Onin 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.

The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: 関ヶ原の戦い; Kyūjitai: 關ヶ原の戰い, Hepburn romanization: Sekigahara no Tatakai) was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, Japan, at the end of the Sengoku period. This battle was fought by the forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu against a coalition of Toyotomi loyalist clans under Ishida Mitsunari, several of which defected before or during the battle, leading to a Tokugawa victory. The Battle of Sekigahara was the largest battle of Japanese feudal history and is often regarded as the most important. Mitsunari's defeat led to the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Tokugawa Ieyasu took three more years to consolidate his position of power over the Toyotomi clan and the various daimyō, but the Battle of Sekigahara is widely considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for another two and a half centuries

Ii Naomasa, served as one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's generals, and received the fief of Hikone in Omi Province as a reward for his conduct in battle at Sekigahara. The colour of their armour meant that they were the easiest to recognise on the painted screens that depicted the great events of Japanese history, showing that the Ii family understood the benefits of good public relations. The Ii and a few sub-branches remained daimyo for the duration of the Edo period.

The family remained at the heart of events until 1860 when Ii Naosuke, the last of the lords of Hikone was murdered by anti-shogun and anti-Western rebels. He was deeply involved in the negotiations between the shogunate and the Western diplomats concerning the opening of Japan to trade  read more

Code: 25203

A Very Fine British ‘Brown Bess’ India Pattern Infantry Musket, Of The Napoleonic Wars Period, Circa 1810. For Over One Hundred Years The British ‘Brown Bess’ Was The Most Famed and Feared Musket In The World. No Army In The World Failed To Respect Them

Facing a volley of several hundred or even thousands of them, fired in the enemies direction, repeated every few seconds, must have been a terrifying experience, never to be forgotten should they, by sheer luck, survive their awesome power. A demonstration of fire power that it could only be compared to, was British Artillery cannon fire.

In superb condition for age. The lock bears the ordnance ‘crown 2’ inspection stamp of Richard Duce {Crown Inspector from 1797 to 1818} universally seen on the muskets given over to the British ordnance for issue for line regiments in the Napoleonic Wars.
One of the India Pattern muskets likely turned over by the East India Co. army to the Board of Ordnance during the Napoleonic wars, due to the urgent need for arms to counter Napoleon's massive armament reserve. The musket was the standard weapon issued to the British soldier throughout the 18th and early-19th centuries. It would be the India Pattern musket that would play a central and pivotal role in the wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France.

By the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783, the British Army was armed with the Pattern 1777 Long Land and Pattern 1779(S) Short Land musket. The ‘short land’ was a musket made to the strict quality guidelines of the Board of Ordnance, and was characterised by its 42 in barrel. After the war the expectation was for a period of peace, a time when the need for Ordnance materials would be low, so the standing contracts for the Pattern 1777 and the Pattern 1779(S) musket were cancelled. Parliament was not prepared to fund equipment it deemed unnecessary, so financial retrenchment was the order of the day. Parliament is consistent in it repeated inclination to repeat over and over again its failure to grasp the realities of the most painful of lessons from history. Never being prepared for war makes it near inevitable, and being constantly prepared for war, ironically, makes it far less likely. The fundamental tenet of invasion and conquest, like bullying in the school playground is the same; the little unarmed guy gets crushed, the big, well protected guy, respected.

The world changed in 1793, a mere 10 years after the loss of the American colonies. Britain found itself once again at war, this time with Revolutionary France. An army now reduced in size to an authorized strength of only 44,432 men had to be expanded rapidly, along with the local militia and volunteer forces. The call for muskets was huge. Indeed, in 1793 the total stock of muskets in armouries around Britain, including the central arsenal at the Tower of London, was around 60,000. The stocks held in French arsenals amounted to over 700,000.

Something needed to be done. At first the Board of Ordnance tried to ramp up production of the Short Land Pattern muskets by engaging new contractors. Yet despite producing over 31,000 muskets in 1793 the numbers were still woefully inadequate for the expanding forces.

The Board of Ordnance had to fill the gap. They did this by ordering 10,000 muskets from the Birmingham gun trade and 10,000 from their usual emergency suppliers in Liege, Belgium. However this was still not enough, especially as the private contractors in both Birmingham and London were hard at work fulfilling orders for the private trade and for the East India Company, one of the biggest private purchasers of military arms. To begin to solve this lack of supply the Master General of the Ordnance, the Duke of Richmond, suggested to the government that they persuade the East India Company to sell their stocks of muskets to the government and also to agree not to place any further orders until the Ordnance's requirements were met.

The duke wrote to the Home Secretary, Henry Dundas, on the matter. As Chairman of the Board of Control of the East India Company Dundas had earlier been instrumental in securing parliamentary approval for the renewal of the East India Company's monopoly. The duke stated that he was: 'aware how unpleasant it must be to take such a step, and to deliver out to our troops these East India Company muskets, but ... the least important must give way to the most; and you will be best able to judge whether the East India Company can admit of a delay in respect of theses arms. And altho' they might not be quite so perfect as ours, they undoubtedly must be serviceable ones, and such as the new Raised Corps must put up with on the current Emergency.'

This suggestion was met with agreement, and the idea of introducing the East India Company's arms into British Army service was conceived. By the end of 1794 the East India Company had delivered 29,920 muskets into government stores, all that they could spare. Indeed transactions for East India Company muskets would continue throughout the duration of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. By 1815, the East India Company had sold the Board of Ordnance at least 142,970 small arms.

The musket that the East India Company supplied was one originally designed by General Lawrence for East India Company service, altered and simplified by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Windus in 1771. The musket in Company service became known as the 'Windus' pattern. In 1795, the Board of Ordnance began to order 'India Pattern' muskets on its own account and by 1797 it officially adopted the musket as the Model 1793 and began to place substantial orders for it with the Birmingham gun trade.

The Model 1793 India Pattern musket was standardized by the Board of Ordnance in 1797, taking account of its comparable cheapness, simplicity of design and ease of manufacture. By the end of 1797, the Birmingham gun trade was able to deliver some 72,000 muskets to the government proof house at Bagot Street. The success of this model was self evident, along with its slightly modified successor the Model 1809 India Pattern. They produced at an average price of 18 shillings and 5 pence (roughly £3,000 in today's money).

The Brown Bess musket was the standard weapon of the British infantry for more than a century. Soldiers on both sides of the War of 1812 employed it in battle, staring down its barrel at opponents across distances of less than a hundred yards.

Flintlock musket
The Brown Bess musket was the standard weapon of the British for more than a century.
British foot soldiers marched into battle with this musket—nicknamed “Brown Bess”—for more than 100 years. British redcoats used the Brown Bess to fight the War of Independence in the colonies, and many of their opponents in the Americans’ Continental army used it as well. British soldiers fighting in the Napoleonic wars carried it into battle, and it was the principal firearm used by the infantrymen who fought the War of 1812.

The Brown Bess had several distinctive features. It was a large-calibre weapon: the bullet it fired was a lead ball up to three-quarters of an inch in diameter, three times the diameter of a modern .22-caliber rifle round. The inside of its barrel was smooth: unlike more accurate “rifled” muskets used by the famous rifle regiments, the Brown Bess had a smooth bore with no grooves to make its fire more accurate. Soldiers loaded the musket through the muzzle, which meant that each bullet had to be forced down a longer than three foot barrel before firing. Even trained soldiers could only launch two or three shots per minute.

Because the weapon was slow to load and relatively inaccurate (experienced soldiers generally estimated its range between 50 and 100 yards), armies developed tactics that helped compensate for its shortcomings. The limitations of smoothbore muskets like the Brown Bess forced units employ “linear tactics,” in which a hundreds of soldiers stood in neat lines, shoulder-to-shoulder and out in the open. While such tactics appear decidedly unstealthy to twenty-first century eyes, they proved essential on the battlefields of all the conflicts which Britain was involved.
There, stealth was a low priority. Packing the men into blocs allowed officers to coordinate their troops’ fire into synchronized volleys. Firing a hundred guns in the same direction at once helped ensure that at least some, often most of the inaccurate musket balls found their targets. And grouping the men into neat lines out in the open helped commanders ensure that few of their troops gave in to the natural instinct to flee.

Of course, packing troops into blocks and fighting in the open required tremendous discipline from the individual soldiers. Infantrymen had to stand exposed to enemy fire as they loaded and fired their own muskets. And in some situations, soldiers learned the grisly dangers of fighting in lines—as at the Battle of New Orleans in the 1812 war, where American artillery attacked the exposed British formations with devastating effect.

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.

Overall in super condition, signs of combat use as to be expected, with some small carved military marking to the butt stock  read more

Code: 25208

A Signally Fine and Beautiful, Brass Cannon Barrel Blunderbuss, Revolutionary War Period Circa 1775. It Would Be Difficult To Find A More Handsome & Better Looking Example

A very fine example with finest juglans regia walnut stock with a truly exceptional natural aged patina, fine brass furniture, finely engraved throughout. An acanthus leaf form finail trigger guard, and brass cannon barrel with Tower proofs. Excellent crisp action. It is typical of the superior private purchase British Naval and ship's blunderbuss . Although made and used from the Revolutionary War it was used for its same purpose right through the Napoleonic Wars.

Brass blunderbusses were naval enforcers in war and peace. Their powerful, smooth-bore barrels were very destructive at close range. They are easy to load and fairly easy to repair, and much used by the Royal Navy during the Revolution.

With these guns at its command, and its superior fleet with commanders like Nelson, it is little wonder that Britain ruled the waves for many generations. The "Sea Service," as the British Navy was called, continued to be the world's most powerful maritime force for two centuries.

The blunderbuss, which takes its name from the German term Donderbuschse (thunder gun) is a short-barrelled firearm with a flared muzzle that made its appearance in the late 16th century. Often associated with the Pilgrims, the blunderbuss was still relatively unknown in the early 17th century. Originally intended for military purposes, these arms can be traced to 1598, when Germany's Henrich Thielman applied for a patent for a shoulder arm designed for shipboard use to repel enemy boarders. The blunderbuss quickly became popular with the Dutch and English navies. England's growing maritime power seems to have fuelled production of these bell-barrel arms, which were useful during close-in engagements between warships by enabling marines clinging to ship's rigging to use them against the gun crews of opposing vessels. The barrels and furniture of the blunderbuss were typically made from brass, and stocks were most commonly made from walnut. Other, less robust woods were sometimes used, but their tendency to shatter ensured that walnut would remain in widespread use as a stocking material.
The blunderbuss played a role during the English Civil War of 1642-48, and these arms were widely used as a personal defence arm in England during the Commonwealth Period. The lack of an organised system of law enforcement at that time, coupled with the growing threat posed by highwaymen, placed the burden of protecting life and property in the hands of honest citizens. Although some blunderbusses bore the royal cipher of the Sovereign, they typically did not feature the Broad Arrow identifying government ownership or the markings of the Board of Ordnance.

Several brass- and iron-barrelled blunderbusses were captured from the forces of Lord Cornwallis upon the latter's surrender to the Continental Army at Yorktown, Virginia in the final land campaign of the American Revolution
A similar blunderbuss around the same size, is on display in the Cody Firearms Museum, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, in Cody, Wyoming, from the Winchester Arms Collection.

This blunderbuss is of the so-called "cannon mouth" pattern. It is typical of the British Naval blunderbuss and dates from circa 1770. This type of weapon fires a multitude of shot about .25 inch in diameter. John Steele was maker in Glasshouse Yard, London, and recorded there in 1767.

The Blunderbuss (born of the Dutch word "Donderbus", appropriately meaning "Thunder Pipe" or "Thunder Gun") came to prominence in the early part of the 18th Century (1701-1800) and was more akin to the modern day shotgun than a "long gun" musket or heavy pistol of the time. As such, she excelled in close-in fighting, be it within the confines of naval warfare or walled nature of the urban environment, where her spread of shot could inflict maximum damage to targets at close ranges. Its manageable size, coupled with its spread shot, ensured some level of accuracy for even the novice user and its appearance was rather intimidating to those unfortunate enough to be staring down the business end. As with modern firearms, the Blunderbuss also made for an excellent security-minded weapon and soon found popularity amongst all matter of operators - military, civilian and, of course, criminal parties - by the middle of the 1700s.

Even George Washington championed the Blunderbuss for Continental Army "Dragoon" units of the burgeoning American military as opposed to the carbine this being nothing more than a full-featured long gun of lesser overall length, proving suitable for horse-mounted handling

The blunderbuss has a 14 inch barrel and 29.5 inches long overall. The fore stock on the outside has a small sliver lacking.

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

Code: 25209

A Sublime Napoleonic Ist Empire French Superior Officer’s Blue & Gilt Officer’s Sword in the Mameluke Style, With Finest Deluxe Grade Chiselled Decor. We Always Try Our Utmost To Offer The Finest or Most Intriguing Pieces We Can From History

With copper mercurial gilt hilt and chequered polished horn grip original gilt scabbard with helmeted Minerva head mounts, twin ring belt fittings with its original, multi looped hanging belt chains, with spring catches.
Finely engraved blue and gilt blade.

Napoleon's Egypt Campaign, that ended in 1801, many Napoleonic officer's adopted the so-called oriental mounted swords, modelled on the Mameluke taken by him from Murad Bey, commander of the Mamelukes, which he holds in his Egypt portrait captured from the Egyptian Marmalukes {see gallery} that eventually became part of Napoleons Imperial Garde.
These swords, in their turn, were captured by the British and similarly adopted as a form of highly favoured officers sword. In fact the mamaluke sabre became the British General's pattern sword that is still in use today. Several of these specific swords were part of a Sotheby's Napoleonic Wars auction in Monaco in 1990, titled "Belles Armes Anciennes Casques et Objects Militaires". The last photo in the gallery is of Joachim Napoleon Murat, King of Naples, brother of Napoleon's Mameluke sword, somewhat similar to our sword, and all based on the sword of Napoleon from Murad Bey.

In May of 1804 Napoleon established the French Empire and with it he brought back the title of Marshal of France, also known as Marshal of the Empire at this time. Abolished by the National Convention in 1793, the title of Marshal of France was officially a civilian appointment but reserved for experienced generals. It was an honor to become a marshal and the marshals received higher pay and privileges. Napoleon wished to gain legitimacy in the eyes of Europe since other nations had the rank of field marshal, and he wished to reward and ensure the loyalty of the generals to his empire and thus they wore such swords of this quality and beauty.

One of his greatest marshals to wear such a sword was Marshal
Marshal of the Empire
Étienne Macdonald
duc de Tarente
Étienne Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald. During the spring of 1810, Marshal Macdonald was sent to Spain to take command of the Army of Catalonia. While there he won at Ververa, but in 1811 he fell ill and returned to Paris again. In 1812 Macdonald was given command of the X Corps of the Grande Armée for the campaign against Russia. Macdonald's corps missed most of the fighting of 1812 due to being ordered to hold the left flank, but also due to his command being primarily composed of Prussian and German soldiers, with only his headquarters staff being French. Macdonald's corps laid siege to Riga in August, but they lifted the siege in December during the retreat, just in time for the majority of his force to defect away from the French side due to Prussian nationalism.

Napoleon needed experienced commanders for the campaigns of 1813, and in April of that year Macdonald was given command of the XI Corps. He won at Mersebourg and then commanded the right at the Battle of Lützen. Macdonald continued to lead his men into action, winning at Bischofswerda and then commanding the right at the Battle of Bautzen. That August he was placed in charge of multiple army corps but was then beaten by General Blucher at the Katzbach. Nevertheless, Macdonald continued to serve, and he fought at Leipzig , where after the bridge was blown early he had to swim the Elster River to escape capture. After surviving that escape unlike his fellow marshal Poniatowski, Macdonald resumed his command and then fought at Hanau.

Marshal Macdonald served during the defense of France of 1814, initially defending the Rhine but then being forced to fall back to Meaux. That February he fought at Mormant and Ferté-sur-Aube and then in March he fought at Provins and Saint-Dizier. By Napoleon's side, Macdonald along with Marshal Ney convinced Napoleon that he should give up the war and abdicate in favor of his son, Napoleon II. Macdonald, Ney, and Caulaincourt were then sent to negotiate with the Allies, but ultimately they were unable to secure the throne for Napoleon's son. When Macdonald returned to Napoleon to deliver the terms of surrender, Napoleon gave him the sword of Murad Bey, the Mameluke leader that he had defeated in Egypt.

Minerva, whose helmeted face is depicted and seen on the scabbard mounts, is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic warfare.

The blades scabbard has some inside denting at the base, and the blade has some natural age wear to the blue and gilt. Of course this sword’s original owner is now unknown, as none of its history was recorded or saved, however, once accurately known, a sword such as this could be valued anything from treble, to one hundred times its current price, simply depending on how famed he was then or now, or, how important he was to Napoleon and his campaigns. Marshal Nay’s sword for example could easily be valued from one to several million pounds.  read more

Code: 25207

A Most Scarce French Marine Flintlock M.1786 / An.IX 1800's Carbine. A French Sea Service Musket Carbine of the Napoleonic Ships of the Line

A most scarce sea service gun, made by the French imperial arsenals in Belgium. The main difference between this and the standard French Army An IX {year 9} carbine is that the Navy carbine’s centre band was brass and the Army’s was iron, brass not rusting at sea. These carbines were usually issued to sharpshooters manning the upper platforms of French warships, and it might well have been a carbine of this pattern that was used to shoot Admiral Nelson.

This is a version of French M.1786 carbine musket, which was shorter and lighter than the earlier issued pattern.
After some slight modifications, the weapon was distributed to various ships of the line in the Navy, with two brass barrel bands, and to hussar/ cavalry units, the cavalry versions would be supplied with a large sling swivel bar fitted to the near side of the carbine, combined with one steel, and one brass barrel slide. Barrel underside stamped G* by French inspector, Joseph Guichard, his An IX inspector stamp M1786/ Marine garnitures, 1803-5. Guichard was usually based at St. Etienne.

Napoleonic Belgium 1799-1814

Liège was the home of the fourth largest arms manufacturer in Napoleons period known as the 1st Empire. Between 1798 and 1813, the Belgian departments furnished over 200,000 troops and sailors, about 6 percent of the population, for Napoleon's armed forces.

The Battle of Trafalgar, (October 21, 1805), was a naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, which established British naval supremacy for more than 100 years; it was fought west of Cape Trafalgar, Spain, between Cádiz and the Strait of Gibraltar. A fleet of 33 ships (18 French and 15 Spanish) under Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve fought a British fleet of 27 ships under Admiral Horatio Nelson.

Nelson was outnumbered, with 27 British ships of the line to 33 allied ships including the largest warship in either fleet, the Spanish Santísima Trinidad. To address this imbalance, Nelson sailed his fleet directly at the allied battle line's flank, hoping to break the line into pieces. Villeneuve had worried that Nelson might attempt this tactic but, for various reasons, had made no plans for this eventuality. The plan worked almost perfectly; Nelson's columns split the Franco-Spanish fleet in three, isolating the rear half from Villeneuve's flag aboard Bucentaure. The allied vanguard sailed off while it attempted to turn around, giving the British temporary superiority over the remainder of their fleet. In the ensuing fierce battle 20 allied ships were lost, while the British lost none.

Nelson's own HMS Victory led the front column and was almost knocked out of action. Nelson was shot by a French musketeer during the battle, and died shortly before it ended. Villeneuve was captured along with his flagship Bucentaure. He attended Nelson's funeral while a captive on parole in Britain. The senior Spanish fleet officer, Admiral Federico Gravina, escaped with the remnant of the Franco-Spanish fleet (a third of the original number of ships); he died five months later of wounds sustained during the battle.

The victory confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century, and was achieved in part through Nelson's departure from prevailing naval tactical orthodoxy.  read more

Code: 25206