Antique Arms & Militaria

A Superb Excavated ‘Grand Tour’ Fine Bronze Age Lance Head, Trojan War Period 3200+ Years Old. From the Legendary Age of Odysseus, Hector, Agamemnon,Paris, Helen of Troy and Achilles

Dominant central rib, graduating long triangular blade and engraved socket. A lance or spear head traded with the Eastern Mediterranean Scythians, Persians and Greeks during the 2nd to Ist millennium B.C. around 2700 to 3200 years ago. Copper alloy circa 1200 B.C. A beautiful Bronze Age battle spear, probably the most used and popular weapon of all the ancient wars of antiquity. Items such as this were oft acquired in the 18th and early 19th century by British noblemen and women touring famous battle sites and their regions in Europe, especially Northern France, Italy and the Middle East on their Grand Tour. Originally placed on display in the family 'cabinet of curiosities', within their country house upon their return home. A popular pastime in the 18th and 19th century, comprised of English ladies and gentlemen traveling for many months, or even years, througout classical Europe, and Middle East, acquiring antiquities and antiques for their private collections.
One such family’s descendants have been allowing us to purchase such wonderful pieces from their family collection for around the past 30 years.

We are very privileged to be the UK’s premier original military antiques gallery and website, and to be able to consistently, continually, and regularly, offer the finest original collectors items in our shop for over 100 years

This is a most handsome ancient bronze weapon from the era of the so called Trojan Wars. The ancient Greeks believed the Trojan War was a historical event that had taken place in the 13th or 12th century BC, and believed that Troy was located in modern day Turkey near the Dardanelles. In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey . "The Iliad" relates a part of the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the Achaean leaders. Other parts of the war were told in a cycle of epic poems, which has only survived in fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets such as Virgil and Ovid.

The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest". Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helen's husband Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years due to Paris' insult. After the deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans (except for some of the women and children whom they kept or sold as slaves) and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath. Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, one of the Trojans, who was said to have led the surviving Trojans to modern day Italy. Made in copper bronze in the Western Asiatic region. Western Asiatic bronzes refer to items dating from roughly 1500-500 BC that have been excavated since the late 1920?s in the Harsin, Khorramabad and Alishtar valleys of the Zagros Mountains especially at the site of Tepe Sialk. Scholars believe they were created by either the Cimmerians or by such related Indo-European peoples as the early Medes and Persians. Weapons from this region were highly sought after by warriors of many cultures because of their quality, balance and durability. Graduating blade with socket. Rich deep age patination with superb natural encrustations This piece is 14 1/2 inches long overall. As with all our items it comes complete with our certificate of authenticity.  read more

Code: 23019

A Very Fine, Original, Ancient, Punic War Period Early Roman Republic Era Short Sword, A Gladius Hispaniensis Double Leaf Shaped Bronze Blade Circa 2,400 Years Old

Gladius is a Latin word properly referring to the type of sword that was used by ancient Roman foot soldiers starting from the Republic period of the 3rd century BC, and until the mid Roman Empire period of 3rd century AD. From thence forward the more standard Roman sword was the spartha

Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks, called xiphe . From the 3rd century BC, however, the Romans adopted a weapon based on the sword of the Celtiberians of Hispania in service to Carthage during the Punic Wars, known in Latin as the gladius hispaniensis, meaning "Hispanic-type sword". Over time, the Romans improved their sword into an iron version weapon, depending on how Roman battle units waged war, and also created a number of variants. By 20 BC the Hispaniensis was replaced by the Mainz gladius (named after Roman swords found in Germany), in turn replaced by the Pompeii gladius. Finally, in the third century AD the heavy Roman infantry replaced the gladius with the spatha (already common among Roman cavalrymen), relegating the gladius as a weapon for light Roman infantry.

The Roman Republic had been aggressively expanding in the southern Italian mainland for a century before the First Punic War. It had conquered peninsular Italy south of the Arno River by 270 BC, when the Greek cities of southern Italy (Magna Graecia) submitted after the conclusion of the Pyrrhic War. During this period of Roman expansion Carthage, with its capital in what is now Tunisia, had come to dominate southern Iberia, much of the coastal regions of North Africa, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia and the western half of Sicily in a thalassocracy.

Beginning in 480 BC Carthage fought a series of inconclusive wars against the Greek city-states of Sicily, led by Syracuse. By 264 BC Carthage was the dominant external power on the island, and Carthage and Rome were the preeminent powers in the western Mediterranean. Relationships were good and the two states had several times declared their mutual friendship via formal alliances: in 509 BC, 348 BC and around 279 BC. There were strong commercial links. During the Pyrrhic War of 280–275 BC, against a king of Epirus who alternately fought Rome in Italy and Carthage on Sicily, Carthage provided materiel to the Romans and on at least one occasion used its navy to ferry a Roman force. According to the classicist Richard Miles Rome had an expansionary attitude after southern Italy came under its control, while Carthage had a proprietary approach to Sicily. The interaction of these conflicting policies caused the two powers to stumble into war more by accident than design. The immediate cause of the war was the issue of control of the independent Sicilian city state of Messana (modern Messina). In 264 BC Carthage and Rome went to war, starting the First Punic War

A picture is shown in the gallery of a vase painting depicting a hoplite, 5th century BC. He is armed with a bronze cuirass, a leaf shaped hoplite sword and a hoplite shield of the Argive type, very similar to the gladius hispaniensis. (Paris, Louvre Museum). We show another sword carried in a period vase painting of the Death of Actaeon.

Bronze copper alloy, with superb natural age patination. And likely, the copper of the alloy was sourced from the ancient Cretan copper mines, with a percentage of added tin, in order to create the stronger bronze alloy. Small old age crack at the base of the blades tang. The Hilt would have been made from organic material, such as horn, bone or wood, a material that never survives once buried for the two millennia since it was last used in war. So all that remains is the bronze blade and its tang  read more

Code: 20468

An Original Ancient Greek Sword as Used by King Odysseus King of Ithaca, During The Siege Of Troy, And As incredibly Depicted in Homer's Poem The Iliad, and Homer's The Odyssey Named After Odysseus

A Superb ancient Greek bronze age sword blade, from the ancient pre-history period 'Heroic Age', with fabulous areas of crystallized malachite blue/green patina. From the era of the Mycenaean and Ithacan Greek Trojan Wars,. in overall fabulous condition.

Naturally it cannot be assumed to have been used by the most famed character in Homer's iconic poetry, however, if he was real, this is exactly the sword he would likely have used, some 3200 years ago.

The Hilt, which no longer exists, would have been made from organic material such as horn, bone or wood, and that form of material never survives once buried for the three millennia since it was used in war period in around 1200 B.C.Thus, all that remains is the bronze blade's tang and the iconic leaf form blade. The bronze for this blade, which was likely made from the Cretan copper mines, as an alloy, with an element of added tin.

The story of the Trojan War the Bronze Age conflict between the kingdoms of Troy and Mycenaean Greece straddles the history and mythology of ancient Greece and inspired the greatest writers of antiquity, from Homer, Herodotus and Sophocles to Virgil. Since the 19th-century rediscovery of the site of Troy in what is now western Turkey, archaeologists have uncovered increasing evidence of a kingdom that peaked and may have been destroyed around 1,180 B.C. perhaps forming the basis for the tales recounted by Homer some 400 years later in the Iliad and the Odyssey. According to classical sources, the war began after the abduction (or elopement) of Queen Helen of Sparta by the Trojan prince Paris. Helen's jilted husband Menelaus convinced his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, to lead an expedition to retrieve her. Agamemnon was joined by the Greek heroes Achilles, Odysseus, Nestor and Ajax, and accompanied by a fleet of more than a thousand ships from throughout the Hellenic world. They crossed the Aegean Sea to Asia Minor to lay siege to Troy and demand Helen’s return by Priam, the Trojan king. The siege, punctuated by battles and skirmishes including the storied deaths of the Trojan prince Hector and the nearly-invincible Achilles, lasted more than 10 years until the morning the Greek armies retreated from their camp, leaving a large wooden horse outside the gates of Troy. After much debate (and unheeded warnings by Priam's daughter Cassandra), the Trojans pulled the mysterious gift into the city. When night fell, the horse opened up and a group of Greek warriors, led by Odysseus, climbed out and sacked the Troy from within. After the Trojan defeat, the Greeks heroes slowly made their way home.
Odysseus took 10 years to make the arduous and often-interrupted journey home to Ithaca recounted in the Odyssey. Helen, whose two successive Trojan husbands were killed during the war, returned to Sparta to reign with Menelaus. After his death, some sources say she was exiled to the island of Rhodes, where a vengeful war widow had her hanged.

The Greek Heroic Age, in mythology, is the period between the coming of the Greeks to Thessaly and the Greek warriors' return from Troy after their return with Helen of Troy. The poet Hesiod (fl. c. 700 BCE) identified this mythological era as one of his five Ages of Man. The period spans roughly six generations; the heroes denoted by the term are superhuman, though not divine, and are celebrated in the literature of Homer and of others, such as Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides.

The Greek heroes can be grouped into an approximate mythic chronology, based on the stories of events such as the Argonautic expedition and the Trojan War. Over the course of time, many heroes, such as Heracles, Achilles, Hector and Perseus, came to figure prominently in Greek mythology.

Early heroes
Many of the early Greek heroes were descended from the gods and were part of the founding narratives of various city-states. They also became the ancestors of later heroes. The Phoenician prince Cadmus, a grandson of Poseidon, was the first Greek hero and the founder of Thebes.

Perseus, famous for his exploits well before the days of his great-grandson, Heracles, was the son of Zeus. Perseus beheaded the Medusa, saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus, and was the legendary founder of Mycenae.
Aeacus was also a son of Zeus. Bellerophon was descended from the nymph Orseis. Oenomaus, king of Pisa, in the Peloponnese, was the son of Ares.
Among these early heroes the three - Cadmus, Perseus and Bellerophon - were considered the greatest Greek heroes and slayers of monsters before the days of Heracles.

Of course, despite the Age of Heroes and the time of the Gods of Olympus, being based almost entirely on mythology, apart from the actual city of Troy, which is now proved to be not a myth, the real warriors that lived during that age and time, in ancient pre-history, actually existed, and this is their very form of sword, and one that they would have used.
Photo in the gallery of an Attic black figure vase that shows Theseus killing the Minotaur of the Cretan labyrinth with an identical pattern of Greek sword. A feminine figure looks on from the right, possibly Ariadne. Late 6th, early 5th century BCE. (Archaeological Museum, Milan). See discussion in Branigan, K. Aegean Metalwork of the Early and Middle Bronze Age, Oxford, 1974, p.8-21. `15.5 inches long overall  read more

Code: 22103

A Beautiful, Pirate Age, Late 17th Century Brass Barrel Blunderbuss By William Wallis & John Hall. Barrel Proofs of 1690. John Hall Supplier of Fuzees, Buccaneer Guns & Blunderbusses For The Royal African Co. King William IIIrd to Queen Anne Period

A stunning blunderbuss desirable for service, both on the company galleons of the merchants, and, the pirate's galleons that pillaged them in the 17th century seven seas.

Finest walnut stock, all brass furniture finely engraved, widely flared brass barrel proofed by its maker William Wallis, with his crowned WW proof stamp, and also, bearing King William IIIrd's 1690 proofs. the steel lock engraved for the guns maker John Hall.

In the mid to late 17th century in the Western world, the period from the 1680s to the 1720s, has come to be known as the ‘Golden Age’ of piracy.

This was a time of heightened pirate activity, when thousands of ships in the Atlantic and beyond became the prey of roving bands of sea-robbers. Many of the most infamous pirates and buccaneers from history come from this era, Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach, Captain William Kidd, Anne Bonny, 'Calico' Jack Rackham, Henry Morgan, Stede Bonnet and more.

The Caribbean and the east coast of North America were the main areas that saw a surge in activity in the early 1700s. Ships carrying expensive cargoes were often intercepted, and stolen goods were sold in nearby islands and European colonies. Some pirates operated further afield, off the West African coast or in the Indian Ocean, where the island of Madagascar became a key base.

The real Pirates of the Caribbean
"The ‘golden age’ of piracy coincided with the expansion of English, later British, colonial activity around the Caribbean," writes Blyth. "This began in earnest with the capture of Jamaica from Spain in 1655." While piracy has been traditionally portrayed as a male-dominated pursuit, historical evidence suggests that women actively participated in piratical activities during various periods. In the Golden Age of Piracy, from the late 17th to the early 18th centuries, the presence of women in pirate crews became more pronounced. Anne Bonny and Mary Read are two notable examples of women who defied societal norms and navigated the perilous waters of piracy alongside their male counterparts. Their inclusion in pirate crews challenged prevailing gender roles and added a layer of complexity to the maritime lore of the era.

The story of Henry Morgan

Henry Morgan, a British privateer turned pirate, rose to prominence as a cunning strategist and a master of raiding Spanish colonies. Born circa 1635 in Wales, Morgan's early life remains relatively obscure, with scant historical records providing details about his upbringing. His maritime career began as a privateer, authorized by English authorities to harass Spanish colonies and shipping interests in the Caribbean during a period marked by geopolitical tensions between England and Spain.

Sir Henry Morgan was a unique individual in the history of buccaneering. He started out life as an indentured servant on a plantation in Barbados, but worked himself up to become one of the most notorious buccaneers there ever was, receiving not only praise from his uncouth brethren of the coast, but also from his king, who rewarded him with the a knighthood and a lofty position. Morgan had connections running in all levels of society, from the lowest dregs, his mutinous crewmen, to the highest echelons of nobility. Together with his loyal friend and crony, Sir Thomas Modyford, he rampaged the Spanish territories in the Caribbean, his name inspiring fear along the vast coastline of New Spain and its dependencies. Through his network he was able to operate as a broker between criminals from various countries and a nation state, culminating in the biggest amphibious buccaneering raid ever in the Caribbean and the destruction of the once proud city of Panama, of which the ruins can still be visited today. The expected end for a man of his making would be at the gallows, or swinging from the gibbet in some port or another. But not for Sir Henry Morgan. His networking skills protected him, set him up with a respectable position after his career as a buccaneer, and provided him with the luxury of drinking himself to death in the comfort of his own home at the ripe age of 53; a fate most other pirates must have surely envied him for. His exploits in the plunder of Port Royal and the attack on Spanish merchant ships contributed to the era’s rich folklore and became the stuff of legends. Sabatini based the first part of the story of Blood on Henry Pitman, a surgeon who tended the wounded Monmouth rebels and was sentenced to death by Judge Jeffreys, but whose sentence was commuted to penal transportation to Barbados where he escaped and was captured by pirates. Unlike the fictional Blood, Pitman did not join them, and eventually made his way back to England where he wrote a popular account of his ordeal. For Blood's life as a buccaneer, Sabatini used several models, including Henry Morgan and the work of Alexandre Exquemelin, for historical details

The motivations for women to join pirate crews were as diverse as those of their male counterparts. Some, like Anne Bonny and Mary Read, disguised themselves as men to gain access to the adventurous and lucrative world of piracy. Their ability to conceal their gender allowed them to operate freely within the confines of a pirate ship, participating in raids, engaging in combat, and earning the respect of their fellow crew members. The reasons for adopting a pirate's life were multifaceted, often stemming from a desire for economic independence, a rejection of societal constraints, or a quest for personal freedom in an era when opportunities for women were limited.



Anne Bonny, as pictured in Charles Johnson’s 1724 book, A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates. Anne Bonnya (disappeared after 28 November 1720) was a pirate who served under John Rackham. Amongst the few recorded female pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy, she has become one of the most recognized pirates of the era, as well as in the history of piracy in general.
The first biography of Bonny comes from Captain Charles Johnson's 1724 book A General History of the Pyrates. In August 1720, Bonny, Rackham, and another woman, Mary Read, together with about a dozen other pirate crewmembers, stole the sloop William, then at anchor in Nassau harbor, and put out to sea. The crew spent months in the West Indies attacking merchant ships. Bonny took part in piracy alongside the men, handing out gunpowder to fellow pirates, a job usually referred to as a powder monkey. On 5 September 1720, Governor Rogers put out a proclamation, later published in The Boston Gazette, demanding the arrest of Rackham and his associates. Among those named are Anne Bonny and Mary Read

Capt. Sir Henry Morgan, as pictured in Alexandre Exquemelin's Piratas de la America (1681) It is probable that in the early 1660s Morgan was active with a group of privateers led by Sir Christopher Myngs attacking Spanish cities and settlements in the Caribbean and Central America when England was at war with Spain. It is likely that in 1663 Morgan captained one of the ships in Myngs' fleet, and took part in the attack on Santiago de Cuba and the Sack of Campeche on the Yucatán Peninsula

Capt. Stede Bonnet flew a Jolly Roger flag {from A General History of the Pyrates 1724}
Stede Bonnet (c. 1688 – 10 December 1718) was an English pirate who was known as the Gentleman Pirate because he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born into a wealthy English family on the island of Barbados, and inherited the family estate after his father's death in 1694. Despite his lack of sailing experience, Bonnet decided he should turn to piracy in the spring of 1717. He bought a sailing vessel, the Revenge, and traveled with his paid crew along the Eastern Seaboard of what is now the United States, capturing other vessels and burning other Barbadian ships.

Bonnet set sail for Nassau in the Bahamas, to the haven for pirates known as the "Republic of Pirates", but he was seriously wounded en route during an encounter with a Spanish warship. After arriving in Nassau, Bonnet met the infamous pirate Blackbeard. Incapable of leading his crew, Bonnet temporarily ceded his ship's command to Blackbeard. Before separating in December 1717, Blackbeard and Bonnet plundered and captured merchant ships along the East Coast. After Bonnet failed to capture the Protestant Caesar, his crew abandoned him to join Blackbeard aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. Bonnet stayed on Blackbeard's ship as a guest, and did not command a crew again until summer 1718, when he was pardoned by North Carolina governor Charles Eden and received clearance to undertake privateering against Spanish shipping interests. Bonnet was tempted to resume his piracy but did not want to lose his pardon, so he adopted the alias "Captain Thomas" and changed his ship's name to Royal James. He had returned to piracy by July.

The brass barrel and the guns brass furniture are in superb condition, the steel lock is good, with working action, and bearing old surface russetting traces, typical of sea service guns, bearing the maker's name engraved of HALL. The walnut stock has a breathtaking patination, garnered over three centuries of dedicated polishing and care, and has the usual combat surface marks and light cracks thereon as to be expected.

15 inch barrel, overall 30.5 inches  read more

Code: 26307

A Superb & Most Scarce King George IIIrd Period Therapeutic Phlebotomy Mechanical Instrument, A Scarifyer Of Superb Quality by Ferguson of London. A Pistol Action To Instantaneously Release & Retract 12 Rotating Blades to Slice The Skin For Blood Letting

A fabulous Georgian collectable, mechanical scientific medical instrument, and a superb conversation piece.

Made in 1822 by Daniel Ferguson, 14 Castle Street, London

A phlebotomy scarificator (or scarifyer) is a historical 18th- and 19th-century spring-loaded medical device used to perform bloodletting by making multiple, uniform shallow cuts in the skin.

One of the best condition and beautiful examples, outside of the Science Museum, we have seen in the past 50 years

The Spring-Action Mechanism The device was armed by cocking a lever like a pistol hammer, and placed the instrument flat side down firmly against the patient's skin (typically on the back, arms, or legs).
When the practitioner pressed a trigger, a complex internal gear system released a series of rotating or snapping concealed blades—usually numbering around 12—which instantly slashed the flesh.

Practitioners used bloodletting under the belief that draining blood could re-balance the body's four fundamental "humors" and cure ailments ranging from fevers and infections to mental illness.

Compared to a single handheld lancet or knife, the multi-bladed scarificator was considered a more sophisticated and rapid way to draw a large volume of blood.

By the late 19th century, medical science advanced, proving that the ancient practice of bloodletting lacked therapeutic value for most conditions and often worsened patient outcomes, rendering the scarificator obsolete

See you tube film on their action, use and lack of efficacy from the Medical History Museum In Mebourne Australia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTF0yGGjZEQ&t=100s  read more

Code: 26306

A Superb Royal Naval, Brass Cannon Barrel Blunderbuss With Finest 'Juglans Regia' Walnut Stock Spring Bayonet, Elaborately Engraved All Brass Furniture, by Daykin of Nottingham

More photos to add tomorrow.

Manufactured circa 1780, this is an jolly rare example of a brass, cannon barreled blunderbuss, from the mid Georgian period, with a sprung loaded, quick-release snap-bayonet. Overall in superb condition for age.

A hugely popular gun used aboard naval ships by their captains in the era of King George IIIrd during the American Revolution and including the Napoleonic Wars, from the days of Admiral Nelson's Victory at Trafalgar. The rarest of the types used had a spring loaded bayonet that was incredibly effective for use after the blunderbuss had discharged its load against any 'boarders', and to effect the 'coup de gras' {the stroke of grace} to those that are still determinedly putting up a fight against the British ship's captain.

The three-stage round barrel has a flared muzzle and turned moldings. The sprung bayonet is fitted beneath, and the ramrod is housed to left side. The right side of the breech is struck with Tower private proof marks and the maker’s mark. The engraved action is signed "Daykin" and the barrel engraved " Daykin Nottingham" the blunderbuss has finest and elaborately engraved brass fittings, including the trigger guard. with a beautiful acorn finial.
The figured walnut buttstock it mounted with an engraved brass buttplate. The ramrod is in traditional naval service steel

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, such as for protection of a Royal Mail coach, 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, and the flashing bayonet nicely finished off those that survived the first salvo of shot! 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. In fact, the short-form version of the Blunderbuss came to be known as the "Dragon", giving rise to the term "Dragoon" for such gun-wielding cavalrymen. Dragoons went on to form specialized units of mounted infantrymen within their respective armies during the end of the 17th Century and into the middle of the 18th Century - in a way, becoming an evolutionary step of the fabled mounted knight of the Middle Ages. Their use of Dragons soon gave way to the widely-accepted carbine musket. The Blunderbuss was also known as the "Blunderbess"

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

The stock is superb with some edge bruising etc. around the lock.  read more

Code: 26303

A Rare Crimean War Issue, P1839 Tower of London Royal Naval Sea Service Pistol, In Spectacular, As issued Condition, With Original Finish, Blue and Stock Varnish. Positively and Profusely Stamped & Ordnance Marked, With Numerous Inspection Marks

VR Crown Tower lock with date 1855, stock maker marked by the ordnance contractor.
The new Pattern 1839 Sea Service Pistol, was a single shot percussion action sidearm with a captive ramrod, and was adopted for use by the Royal Navy from 1839. This pistol was nearly identical to the Pattern 1839 British Naval Coast Guard Pistol, but with two significant exceptions. First, the calibre was reduced to 26-Bore (about .57 caliber) and secondly, the pistol was mounted with an additional conventional belt hook rather than just the butt swivel. One other change was the elimination of the bolted safety behind the cock.

The list below was of the ships of the Royal Navy, issued with this pistol for use in the Crimean war, alongside their launch dates.
Arrow-class gunvessel
HMS Agamemnon (1852)
HMS Ajax (1809)
HMS Amphion (1846)
HMS Arrogant (1848)
HMS Ardent (1841)
HMS Basilisk (1848)
HMS Beagle (1854)
HMS Belleisle (1819)
HMS Blenheim (1813)
HMS Boscawen (1844)
HMS Britannia (1820)
HMS Calcutta (1831)
HMS Cornwallis (1813)
HMS Cossack (1854)
HMS Cruizer (1852)
HMS Cumberland (1842)
HMS Cyclops (1839)
HMS Dauntless (1847)
HMS Driver (1840)
HMS Duke of Wellington (1852)
HMS Edinburgh (1811)
HMS Euryalus (1853)
HMS Eurydice (1843)
HMS Exmouth (1854)
HMS Gorgon (1837)
HMS Hornet (1854)
HMS Imperieuse (1852)
HMS James Watt
HMS La Hogue
HMS Leander (1848)
HMS London (1840)
HMS Majestic (1853)
HMS Merlin (1838)
HMS Miranda (1851)
HMS Monarch (1832)
HMS Neptune (1832)
HMS Nile (1839)
HMS Odin (1846)
HMS Orion (1854)
HMS Pique (1834)
HMS Prince Regent (1823)
HMS Princess Royal (1853)
HMS Queen (1839)
HMS Rodney (1833)
HMS Royal George (1827)
HMS Sans Pareil (1851)
HMS St Jean d'Acre
HMS Tartar (1854)
HMS Tiger (1849)
HMS Valorous (1851)
HMS Virago (1842)
HMS Vulture (1843)

The 1839 Sea Service pistols, and WD contract Colt Navy revolvers, were also used in service by the Navy and Marines in the Second Opium War in China.The Colt revolvers for use by the officers, and the sailors and Marines, the single shot sea service pistols.
The Second Opium War, which brought English Camp's Royal Marines to Guangzhou, started after the Chinese seized a suspected pirate ship that was registered as a British merchant vessel, and the murder by the Chinese of a French priest. In retaliation, Britain made an alliance with France began destroying Chinese forts and eventually gathered an international force that would include British, French, and American combatants. This war would last for four years and climaxed with the burning and looting of the Summer Palace in Beijing, shortly after the Royal Marines arrived at English Camp. The Americans joined as allied combatants in the war, but didn’t make a formal alliance with the Anglo French force.  read more

Code: 26291

A Pair Of Finest Irish Silver Mounted Holster Pistols By John Govers Of Dame St. Dublin 1760. Finest Silver Cartouches Each One Engraved With The Original Owner, An Irish Duke's, Noble Crests, Of Irish Ducal Crowned Lions Passant, Set In Noble Shields

John Gover is recorded working in Dame Street, Dublin between 1745 and the year of his death in 1774. 18 bore.

Bearing upon their silver noble shield cartouches with grotesque masks at the shield base, are engraved noble crests of an Irish, ducal crowned lions passant, standing with one paw raised, over two heraldic bars.
A superb pair of silver grotesque mask butt caps, and all over silver fittings of florid designs including, pieced sideplates of stands of arms, including cannon, flags, cuirass armour, cannon balls and axes. Also very fine silver trigger guards with florid finials and fine engraving, and a pair of silver ramrod pipes containing their original horn tipped rammers.

Grotesque mask butt caps on antique flintlock pistols primarily feature human-like caricatures, mythological beasts, and stylized theatrical faces. These ornamental metal caps—commonly made of silver, brass, or German silver—were most popular on 17th- and 18th-century European and American firearms, especially Queen Anne and pocket pistols.
Exaggerated human features with wide-open mouths, prominent noses, and furrowed brows, often modeled after architectural gargoyles.
Designs inspired by Greco-Roman theatre masks, woodland spirits, or symbolic "death demons" meant to ward off evil

A pistol grotesque butt mask was one of the very few of its kind recovered from colonial excavation sites throughout Maryland, USA, is important not only for what it is, but for what it represents. While no other gun parts were recovered from Site 18CH354, the grotesque butt cap represents ideologies and traditions transferred from the old world to the new, and characterized how these ideas spread up through the Revolution (Gusler & Levin 1977).

These are truly a beautiful pair of finest status pistols from the mid 18th century, from the era of great turmoil across the Atlantic in the Americas, the Anglo Indian French War {aka the 7 years war in } and simply a joy to behold. The Metropolitan Museum in America have numerous similar wondrous examples in their collection, carried by the high ranking English and American officers {colonels and generals} in both the 1760’s war and the subsequent War of American Independence in the 1770’s to 80’s. The wars where George Washington first fought as British colonel against the French, then as General, the commander of the American forces, the Continental Army, against his former natural loyalties to the crown. The American Revolution, historically, was one of the most formative for world history until the 20th century world wars.
A war, that by defeating the British forces, by mostly former British colonists and crown subjects, along with elements of European emigres, and, the considerable assistance by the Britain’s greatest rivals at the time, France, creating, arguably, the most powerful nation of earth, in the much later 20th and 21st centuries. And, the other consequences, spawned the French Revolution, thus assisting Britain to expand the British Empire, and creating the worlds greatest power for the next 140 years until the 20th century, when America took its place, but only thanks to Germany, another of France’s great rivals.
The King of France expended so much gold from the French treasury, in loans and assistance to American revolutionaries, that it bankrupted the King, and naturally, France. Entirely, in many respects, due to the fact America, simply refused to pay back any financial contribution King Louis had made, and thus, creating the groundwork for his revolution, that cost him, and the nobility of France, their heads.
Ironically it was the French Kings ability to expend his vast resources against his government wishes, that lost him his realm, and it was the English kings inability to stop the war, as he was firmly against the British governments policy of the war, as he was a constructional monarch, thus head of state in name, but with no effective power to control policy or his governments wishes, that helped to create the most popular royal family in the world.
Another great irony, was, all the blame by America was heaped upon the British King George IIIrd, {the so-called, king of tyranny} to enable the circumstances of the war, but, he was one of the few men of ‘power’ in Britain that supported their situation, of course, behind the scenes so to speak, but, could do nothing about it. He was in reality, one of the kindest of men to have every ruled {in name only} a great nation, known by his beloved subjects as ‘Farmer George’, due to his passion of working hand in hand with his estate labourers, who he regarded as friends, digging ditches and tending animals.
Thus the French Kings action cost him his families throne, and lives, and the British Kings lack of action, went on the create the worlds greatest empire of the 19th and early 20th century. A lesson on the advantages of constitutional monarchies no doubt.
The previous few paragraphs, if you kindly forgive our wandering narrative, show, very briefly, and concisely of course, and naturally we had to leave out a few other minor historical events {around sixty ‘lesser’ wars, but whose counting} that just how intriguing and fundamental history truly is to all future events. The ultimate demonstration of ‘actions and consequences’ and what the studying of history can truly reveal to the curious mind. All current presidents and prime ministers, please take note!

See the most interesting and illuminating article of the pistol grotesque butt cap mask of the early 18th century

https://apps.jefpat.maryland.gov/curatorschoice/CCIssues/2010-11.aspx

Each pistol is 14 inches long overall with barrels of 8 1/4 inches overall condition is very good with usual commensurate age wear and small areas of dings and nicks to the walnut stocks around the locks.  read more

Code: 26295

A Magnificent Pair of 18th Century London, Silver Mounted Long Holster Pistols Circa 1720, By George Halfhide of The Minories London. Elected Master of the London Gunmakers Company in 1736

A wondrous pair of finest English silver mounted, 25 bore long barrelled, holster or horse pistols, by one of the great London makers of early Georgian England.

George Halfhide was a master gunsmith. and accordingly held in most high esteem, to such an extent, he was elected master of the gunmakers company in 1737. A highly prestigious position, carrying much responsibility and enormous respect within the trade.

He is renowned for making the finest pistols for the nobility and gentry of society in the earliest Georgian period of the 1700s. His silver mounts were finest quality for the time, and his carving and wood crafting always exemplary. The pistols are mounted with silver grotesque butt caps of extraordinary beauty.

These are an exceptional pair of such silver mounted pistols and are in fine condition for their age. with the usual wear commensurate for their date.

Long barrel holster pistols were in much great demand and in their day were extraordinary expensive. They could be carried in saddle mounted buckets (the earliest name for holsters) when mounted on horseback.

Made before the days of duelling pistols, but is from their size and design that pairs of cased duelling pistols evolved into later society in Georgian England.

Grotesque mask butt caps on antique flintlock and wheellock pistols primarily feature human-like caricatures, mythological beasts, and stylized theatrical faces. These ornamental metal caps—commonly made of silver, brass, or German silver—were most popular on 17th- and 18th-century European and American firearms, especially Queen Anne and pocket pistols.
Exaggerated human features with wide-open mouths, prominent noses, and furrowed brows, often modeled after architectural gargoyles.
Designs inspired by Greco-Roman theatre masks, woodland spirits, or symbolic "death demons" meant to ward off evil

A pistol grotesque butt mask was one of the very few of its kind recovered from colonial excavation sites throughout Maryland, USA, is important not only for what it is, but for what it represents. While no other gun parts were recovered from Site 18CH354, the grotesque butt cap represents ideologies and traditions transferred from the old world to the new, and characterized how these ideas spread up through the Revolution (Gusler & Levin 1977).

See the most interesting and illuminating article of the pistol grotesque butt cap mask of the early 18th century

https://apps.jefpat.maryland.gov/curatorschoice/CCIssues/2010-11.aspx

Overall 17 3/4 inches long, 11 1/4 inch barrels



One hammer is slightly out of true with a hairline, one forestock has an old contemporary split repair  read more

Code: 26302

A Superb Pair of 18th Century Naval Ship Captain's Pistols, Dated 1783, with All Brass Frames and Barrels and Hallmarked Silver Buttcaps. By Master Gunsmith John Rea of London

American revolutionary war period and used into the Napoleonic Wars.
John Rea was an 18th-century London gunsmith who operated and produced fine antique firearms, notably Royal Navy form pistols and brass cannon-barrel blunderbusses.

Boxlock actions with sliding safeties, very tight and crisp strong actions. Shield form butt cartouches, with solid silver buttcaps.

The quality of these pistols is beyond improvement, as is their condition.

He was active in London from 1782 to 1793.
Associated with classic British maritime personal defense arms of the Georgian era.

Noted for producing "cannon mouth" pattern brass-barreled blunderbusses featuring Tower proof marks and fine walnut stocks.

Utilized high-grade brass furniture, finely engraved trigger guards, and robust flintlock mechanisms suited for close-quarters naval defense actions  read more

Code: 26301