A Very Fine Napoleonic, Ist Empire, General Staff Officer's Sabre. Three Bar Hilt with Deluxe Imperial General Staff Officer's Scabbard

A fabulous Ist Empire deluxe quality Light Cavalry pattern staff officer's sabre with three bar guard hilt, called in France the "Hunter-style".

Overall in excellent plus condition for its age, with original wire bound leather grip.

During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars the French armies had approximately 2,000,000 plus serving soldiers, of those there were around 2000 generals commanding them in the armies of France, directly under their commander-in-chief, the Emperor Napoleon. However, for example, at the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon lost 1928 of his officer's including 49 Generals, in just one day!

This sword would have been used and carried in combat by one of those officer's on Napoleon's general staff. Napoleon was, and remains, famous for his battlefield victories, and historians have spent enormous attention in analysing them.

Napoleon had numerous general staff officer's. However, a general in the field would have a relatively smaller cadre of officers supporting them.. Whether they were on Napoleon's staff or the staff of a general, their function was the same, to gather reports from field officers, précis them and ensure Napoleon and the generals have the right information. Then take Napoleon's or the general’s high level orders and ensure they get to the correct field officers, which may mean encoding them by hand.
Manage all the logistics, ensure that all the units are supplied with food, equipment and munitions.

In 2008, Donald Sutherland wrote:

The ideal Napoleonic battle was to manipulate the enemy into an unfavourable position through manoeuvre and deception, force him to commit his main forces and reserve to the main battle and then undertake an enveloping attack with uncommitted or reserve troops on the flank or rear. Such a surprise attack would either produce a devastating effect on morale, or force him to weaken his main battle line. Either way, the enemy's own impulsiveness began the process by which even a smaller French army could defeat the enemy's forces one by one.

After 1807, Napoleon's creation of a highly mobile, well-armed artillery force gave artillery usage increased tactical importance. Napoleon, rather than relying on infantry to wear away the enemy's defences, could now use massed artillery as a spearhead to pound a break in the enemy's line. Once that was achieved he sent in infantry and cavalry. The Napoleonic Wars brought radical changes to Europe, but the reactionary forces returned to power and tried to reverse some of them by restoring the Bourbon house on the French throne. Napoleon had succeeded in bringing most of Western Europe under one rule. In most European countries, subjugation in the French Empire brought with it many liberal features of the French Revolution including democracy, due process in courts, abolition of serfdom, reduction of the power of the Catholic Church, and a demand for constitutional limits on monarchs. The increasing voice of the middle classes with rising commerce and industry meant that restored European monarchs found it difficult to restore pre-revolutionary absolutism and had to retain many of the reforms enacted during Napoleon's rule. Institutional legacies remain to this day in the form of civil law, with clearly defined codes of law an enduring legacy of the Napoleonic Code.

While Napoleon is best known as a master strategist and charismatic presence on the battlefield, he was also a tactical innovator. He combined classic formations and tactics that had been used for thousands of years with more recent ones, such as Frederick the Great's "Oblique Order" (best illustrated at the Battle of Leuthen) and the "mob tactics" of the early Levée en masse armies of the Revolution. Napoleonic tactics and formations were highly fluid and flexible. In contrast, many of the Grande Armée's opponents were still wedded to a rigid system of "Linear" (or Line) tactics and formations, in which masses of infantry would simply line up and exchange vollies of fire, in an attempt to either blow the enemy from the field or outflank them. Due to the vulnerabilities of the line formations to flanking attacks, it was considered the highest form of military manoeuvre to outflank one's adversary. Armies would often retreat or even surrender if this was accomplished. Consequently, commanders who adhered to this system would place a great emphasis on flank security, often at the expense of a strong centre or reserve. Napoleon would frequently take full advantage of this linear mentality by feigning flank attacks or offering the enemy his own flank as "bait" (best illustrated at the Battle of Austerlitz and also later at Lützen), then throw his main effort against their centre, split their lines, and roll up their flanks. He always kept a strong reserve as well, mainly in the form of his Imperial Guard, which could deliver a "knockout blow" if the battle was going well or turn the tide if it was not.

Overall the condition is stunning . The scabbard's inner and outer side has just a very few surface contact bruises. In the 20th century generals plotted campaigns and were not often in the thick of combat. In the Napoleonic wars era general staff officers fought, more often than not alongside their men in hand to hand combat, hence, Napoleon lost so many of his general staff officers.  read more

Code: 25315

A Beautiful, Original, 16th Cent. Italian Knight’s ‘Close’ Helmet From William Randolph Hearst’s Castle, San Simeon Formerly the Most Famous Private Museum Collection in the World. He Was Portrayed in Orson Welles Film Masterpiece ‘Citizen Caine’.

Although Orson Welles, possibly the greatest genius filmmaker Hollywood ever produced, hid the depiction of W.R. Hearst as the near despotic millionaire fictional character Charles Foster Caine, in his masterpiece, not a single person ever believed it not to be a depiction of Hearst, {least of all Hearst himself} thus, it resulted in Orson to be, possibly the first, movie star and director to be effectively ‘cancelled’, and his career henceforth was thus ruined and destroyed by Hearst’s media empire. Many believed, and some still do, this was the greatest tragedy to befall Hollywood film making in its 20th century history. Like the death of Mozart in his youthful prime, when mentioned, Orson Welles, is often followed by one of the saddest of remarks “what might have been?”.

A similar form of helmet is illustrated in the *treatise of René of Anjou, Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence, King of Jerusalem and Sicily. See picture of the similar helmet from the treatise in the gallery.

A fine original close helmet, probably Italian, with funerary face visor. Fine original brass rose head rivets. The front visor was adapted when the knight perished and this helm would have been mounted above his tomb with his achievements, in circa 1590, likely with his sword. Such as two other helmets *King Henry Vth (d. 1422), buried in Westminster Abbey. Set up over the dead king’s monument until the 20th century was his funerary helmet, a finely decorated jousting helm, now kept in the abbey museum.

Edward the Black Prince or Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 - 8 June 1376), eldest son of Edward III, King of England. Dating from 1376 his funerary visored helmet is to be found above his funerary monument in Canterbury Cathedral.

This helmet we offer is a stunning piece with amazing provenance, was owned by one of the greatest yet notorious men in world publishing history. William Randolph Hearst ( April 29, 1863 - August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper Mogul, a publisher who built the nation’s largest newspaper chain and whose methods profoundly influenced American journalism. His collecting took his agents around the Europe to acquire the finest treasures available, for his project of building the largest and finest private estate in the world, Hearst Castle in San Simeon. In much of this he succeeded. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887 after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father. Moving to New York City, he acquired The New York Journal and engaged in a bitter circulation war with Joseph Pulitzer's New York World that led to the creation of yellow journalism sensationalized stories of dubious veracity. Acquiring more newspapers, Hearst created a chain that numbered nearly 30 papers in major American cities at its peak. He later expanded to magazines, creating the largest newspaper and magazine business in the world.

He was twice elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives, and ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of New York City in 1905 and 1909, for Governor of New York in 1906, and for Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1910. Nonetheless, through his newspapers and magazines, he exercised enormous political influence, and was famously blamed for pushing public opinion with his yellow journalism type of reporting leading the United States into a war with Spain in 1898.

His life story was the main inspiration for the development of the lead character in Orson Welles's film Citizen Kane. His mansion, Hearst Castle, on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean near San Simeon, California, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, was donated by the Hearst Corporation to the state of California in 1957, and is now a State Historical Monument and a National Historic Landmark, open for public tours. Hearst formally named the estate La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Slope), but he usually just called it the ranch. This helmet was acquired by Hearst for his mansion, Hearst Castle, but when his empire began to crumble much of his collection was sold at Gimbels In New York in 1941, which is where the Higgins Armory acquired this helmet. Orson Welles film, Citizen Kane, is thought by many to be one of the greatest masterpieces of film ever made, and it's portrayal of Charles Foster Kane was so mirroring WR Hearst that there was no doubt in any mind what it was meant to represent. So much so, Hearst dedicated some considerable time and effort during the next 10 years in order to destroy Orson Welles' career, and prevent him fulfilling his obvious potential as one of the greatest directors of all time. In much of this, once more, Hearst succeeded. Items from Hearst's collection rarely surface, as owners tend to keep hold of them for obvious reasons of historical posterity and provenance, and to be able to offer such a piece from that collection is a great privilege, and a rare opportunity for it's next fortunate owner.

*Ref; The saddle, helmet, sword and shield of King Henry V, which once formed part of his funeral 'achievements', are displayed in Westminster Abbey Museum, located in the abbey's eleventh century vaulted undercroft of St Peter. They were carried at his funeral in 1422 and later suspended on the wooden beam above the Henry V chantry for centuries, but in 1972 they were restored and placed in the abbey museum.
We show in the gallery an illustration from ‘Traictie de la Forme et Devis D'ung Tournoy’, that was written circa 1460 by King Rene of Anjou, King of Jerusalem and Sicily. The tournament book shows how a helmet, such as this one, would have been dressed for the tournament and it describes a style of tournament which Rene says he has adapted from the ancient customs of France and other countries.  read more

Code: 22346

A Most Elegant Equestrian Walking Stick Cum Dandy Cane

Finely carved handle of a horses hoof and fetlock. The stick is a superb close grain hardwood. Overall in super condition. Every other portrait of a Georgian, Victorian, or Edwardian gentleman, shows some nattily dressed fellow with a walking stick pegged jauntily into the ground or a slim baton negligently tucked under the elbow. The dress cane was the quintessential mark of the dandy for three centuries, part fashion accessory, part aid to communication, part weapon, and of course, a walking aid. A dandy, historically, is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of self. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle despite coming from a middle-class background, especially in late 18th- and early 19th-century Britain.

Previous manifestations of the petit-maitre (French for "small master") and the Muscadin have been noted by John C. Prevost, but the modern practice of dandyism first appeared in the revolutionary 1790s, both in London and in Paris. The dandy cultivated cynical reserve, yet to such extremes that novelist George Meredith, himself no dandy, once defined cynicism as "intellectual dandyism". Some took a more benign view; Thomas Carlyle wrote in Sartor Resartus that a dandy was no more than "a clothes-wearing man". Honore De Balzac introduced the perfectly worldly and unmoved Henri de Marsay in La fille aux yeux d'or (1835), a part of La Comedie Humaine, who fulfils at first the model of a perfect dandy, until an obsessive love-pursuit unravels him in passionate and murderous jealousy.

Charles Baudelaire defined the dandy, in the later "metaphysical" phase of dandyism, as one who elevates esthetics to a living religion, that the dandy's mere existence reproaches the responsible citizen of the middle class: "Dandyism in certain respects comes close to spirituality and to stoicism" and "These beings have no other status, but that of cultivating the idea of beauty in their own persons, of satisfying their passions, of feeling and thinking Dandyism is a form of Romanticism. Contrary to what many thoughtless people seem to believe, dandyism is not even an excessive delight in clothes and material elegance. For the perfect dandy, these things are no more than the symbol of the aristocratic superiority of mind."

The linkage of clothing with political protest had become a particularly English characteristic during the 18th century. Given these connotations, dandyism can be seen as a political protest against the levelling effect of egalitarian principles, often including nostalgic adherence to feudal or pre-industrial values, such as the ideals of "the perfect gentleman" or "the autonomous aristocrat". Paradoxically, the dandy required an audience, as Susann Schmid observed in examining the "successfully marketed lives" of Oscar Wilde and Lord Byron, who exemplify the dandy's roles in the public sphere, both as writers and as personae providing sources of gossip and scandal. Nigel Rodgers in The Dandy: Peacock or Enigma? Questions Wilde's status as a genuine dandy, seeing him as someone who only assumed a dandified stance in passing, not a man dedicated to the exacting ideals of dandyism. 36.5 inches long  read more

Code: 23211

Very Rare, London Published, 1616 Coryate's Traveller for the English Wits

An incredible book for the seasoned explorer-traveller. Written by the first Englishman [and Elizabethan] to do so, simply for the joy of travelling to unvisited parts, and first published in 1616. Tom Coryate is known as only the second Englishman to visit India, and the first ever traveller of the so called Grand Tour. The man, that history accredits, who introduced dinner forks to the English speaking world. This superb tome is entitled 'Greeting from the court of the Great Moghul, and resident in Asmere a town in Eastern India'. By Tom Coliate. A seemingly small book, composed of numerous letters, sent in the early 1600's to his English friends, from India. They were various gentleman of note and standing, including the Master of the Rolles in Chancery Lane and to the "Fraternity of Sireniacal Gentlemen" at the Mermaid Inn. Coriates Traveller for the English Wits; Greetings from the court of the most mighty monarch, the Great Moghul. Publ London 1616. Very rare, original, early 18th century copy. It has many border annotations and quotes, made by an owner, some in ancient Greek, and additions affixed on the inside cover including old bookseller advertisements. The original and first 1616 printing is now so rare that we do not know of another coming on to the market in the last ten years, and today, if one was to appear it would be not unreasonable to attract a likely price of ?20,000. In 1912 another of his published books the earlier Cortyate's Crudities sold for the princely sum of ?45, the equivalent today of the paid employment of a household of servants for one year. Thomas Coriate traveller for the English wits, greeting: from the court of the Great Mogul, resident at the Towne of Asmere, in Easterne India ([London]: 1616), p.27. The remarkable and eccentric Coryate (1577-1617) was only the second Englishman to visit India simply out of curiosity, a journey of some 3,300 miles, most of which he accomplished on foot. In a letter to his mother in England Coryates writes, 'I have rid upon an elephant since I came to this Court, determining one day (by Gods leave) to have my picture expressed in my next Booke, sitting upon an elephant' (p.26). Coryat was born in Crewkerne, Somerset, and lived most of his life in the Somerset village of Odcombe. He was a son of George Coryate (d. 1607). He was educated at Winchester College from 1591, and at Gloucester Hall, Oxford from 1596 to 1599. He was employed by Prince Henry, eldest son of James I as a sort of "court jester" from 1603 to 1607, alongside Ben Jonson, John Donne and Inigo Jones.

From May to October 1608 he undertook a tour of Europe, somewhat less than half of which he walked. He travelled through France and Italy to Venice, and returned via Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. He published his memoirs of the events in a volume entitled Coryat's Crudities hastily gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France, Italy, &c' (1611). In 1611 he published a second volume of travel writings, this one entitled Coryats Crambe, or his Coleworte twice Sodden. Coryat's letters from this time refer to the famous Mermaid Tavern in London, and mention Ben Jonson, John Donne and other members of a drinking club "Fraternity of Sireniacal Gentlemen" that met there.

Ever restless, he set out once again in 1612, this time on a journey that would ultimately lead to Asia, visiting Greece, the eastern Mediterranean including Constantinople by 1614, and walking through Turkey, Persia and eventually Moghul India by 1615, visiting the Emperor Jahangir's court in Ajmer, Rajasthan. From Agra and elsewhere he sent letters describing his experiences; this very book his Greetings from the Court of the Great Mogul was published in London in 1616, and a similar volume of his letters home appeared posthumously in 1618. In September 1617, at the invitation of Sir Thomas Roe, he visited the imperial court at Mandu, Madhya Pradesh. In November 1617 he left for Surat; he died of dysentery there in December of that year, his demise hastened by the consumption of sack. Though his planned account of the journey was never to be, some of his unorganized travel notes have survived and found their way back to England. These were published in the 1625 edition of Samuel Purchas's Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas his Pilgrimes, contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells, by Englishmen and others.

Coryat's writings were hugely popular at the time. His accounts of inscriptions, many of which are now lost, were valuable; and his accounts of Italian customs and manners?including the use of the table fork?were influential in England at a time when other aspects of Italian culture, such as the madrigal, had already been in vogue for more than twenty years. He is considered by many to have been the first Briton to do a Grand Tour of Europe; a practice which became a mainstay of the education of upper class Englishmen in the 18th century.  read more

Code: 20700

Original 18th Century Scottish Fencible Regimental Basket Hilted Broadsword

With distinctive two part centrally welded basket, in sheet iron, with scrolls and thistles there over. Interesting original regimental swords of the 18th century, from Scottish regiments are very much sought after throughout the entire world. Scottish Fencible Regiment's swords are now jolly rare indeed, and they are highly distinctive in their most unique form. Fancy carved replacement grip. Some ironwork separation on the basket by the forte of the blade, but overall in good sound condition. Overall natural age surface pitting. Made for the war with Revolutionary France in the 1790's. The total number of British fencible infantry regiments raised during the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence was nine, of which six were Scottish, two were English and one was Manx. The regiments were raised during a time of great turbulence in Europe when there was a real fear that the French would either invade Great Britain or Ireland, or that radicals within Britain and Ireland would rebel against the established order. There was little to do in Britain other than garrison duties and some police actions, but in Ireland there was a French supported insurrection in 1798 and British fencible regiments were engaged in some pitched battles. Some regiments served outside Great Britain and Ireland. Several regiments performed garrison duties on the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. A detachment of the Dumbarton Fencibles Regiment escorted prisoners to Prussia, and the Ancient Irish Fencibles were sent to Egypt where they took part in the operations against the French in 1801.

When it became clear that the rebellion in Ireland had been defeated and that there would be peace between France and Britain in 1802 (The preliminaries of peace were signed in London on 1 October 1801) the Fencible regiments were disbanded.
The British cavalry and light dragoon regiments were raised to serve in any part of Great Britain and consisted of a force of between 14,000 and 15,000 men. Along with the two Irish regiments, those British regiments that volunteered for service in Ireland served there. Each regiment consisted of eighteen commissioned officers and troops of eighty privates per troop. The regiments were always fully manned as their terms of service were considered favourable. At the beginning of 1800 all of the regiments were disbanded  read more

Code: 20632

A Spectacular & Beautiful 'Harvey' British Dragoon Basket Hilted Sword, Culloden Period, With Large King George's Crown & Cypher Engraved Blade Museum Grade Example

As used by the Scot's Dragoon's and the 7th Queens Dragoons, in fact all the British heavy dragoons in the 1740's up to 1790's. From the Battle of Culloden until the American Revolutionary War in the 1770's.

Likely made by the world famous English blade maker of his day, Samuel Harvey, and bearing the royal GR Cypher of King George. The Harvey surname was one of the marks of renown Birmingham maker, Samuel Harvey, 1718-1778, who supplied many basket hilted swords to the British Crown, mostly for use by Highland troops. This sword is marked with the surname alone, HARVEY below the Crown and Cypher [the overlapping monogram of GR] for King George. His more common mark was a running wolf, his other marks could be Harvey or S.Harvey. The fabulous basket hilt has the large oval ring insert, for the holding of the horses reins while gripping the sword when riding to battle, and part of the original buff hide basket liner. Wire bound fishskin grip, discoid pommel.

The British dragoon regiments were a decisive force in the Battle of Culloden for example; At the close of the battle the stand by the Royal Ecossais may have given Charles Edward Stuart the time to make his escape. At the time when the Macdonald regiments were crumbling and fleeing the field, Stuart seems to have been rallying Perth's and Glenbuchat's regiments when O'Sullivan rode up to Captain Shea who commanded Stuart's bodyguard: "Yu see all is going to pot. Yu can be of no great succor, so before a general deroute wch will soon be, Seize upon the Prince & take him off ". Shea then led Stuart from the field along with Perth's and Glenbuchat's regiments. From this point on the fleeing Jacobite forces were split into two groups: the Lowland regiments retired in order southwards, making their way to Ruthven Barracks; the Highland regiments however were cut off by the government cavalry, and forced to retreat down the road to Inverness. The result was that they were a perfect target for the government dragoons. Major-general Humphrey Bland led the charge against the fleeing Highlanders, giving "Quarter to None but about Fifty French Officers and Soldiers He picked up in his Pursuit". The basket hilted sword of this very form and character were used by British heavy dragoons for several decades, importantly in the American Revolutionary war. There is a near identical sword by Harvey, bearing the same form of maker mark and crown GR in a collection of American War of Independence weaponry featured in "Swords and Blades of the American Revolution" by George C. Neumann. Page 148 sword 261s
The shortage of cavalry in the Revolutionary War was a major drawback for the British. A strong cavalry presence at battles like Long Island and Brandywine could have enabled the British to encircle the Americans and prevent their retreat. It is possible that a strong cavalry force would have captured Washington's army entirely during the march south through New Jersey in 1776. This is the form of sword used by the Scot's Greys Dragoons in the 7 Years War against France, and by the 7th Queen's Dragoons. One of the earliest basket-hilted swords was recovered from the wreck of the Mary Rose, an English warship lost in 1545. Before the find, the earliest positive dating had been two swords from around the time of the English Civil War. At first the wire guard was a simple design but as time passed it became increasingly sculpted and ornate. During the 18th century, the fashion of duelling in Europe focused on the lighter smallsword, and fencing with the broadsword came to be seen as a speciality of Scotland. A number of fencing manuals teaching fencing with the Scottish broadsword were published throughout the 18th century. Portraits from the time show this very sword as worn. 35 3/4 inch blade length  read more

Code: 21608

A Fine French Consular Period Sabre of A Cavalry Officer, With 'Marengo' Hilt. A Sabre D'Officier De Cavalrie Legere, By Repute, Said To Be The Privilege of Officer's To Wear That Served At Marengo With Napoleon

A very fine and rare example, in very fine condition for age, with a few usual scabbard combat bruises.

Modelled after Napoleon’s sabre, re-named by him the Marengo sabre, that he used from the battle of the Nile and at Marengo during his defeat of the Austrians. He presented it to his brother Jerome who was crowned King of Westphalia.
Napoleon ordered a sword to be commissioned based on his own sabre and presented it as a Sword of Honour to Captain Blou for his important and vital service at Marengo, and that sword is near identical to this sword that we offer. See photo 10 in the gallery. Napoleon’s Marengo sword was sold at auction in 2007 for $6.5 million dollars.

Sabre D'Officier De Cavalrie Legere, 1800 circa, with the 'Marengo' pattern hilt, and double fullered Montmorency pattern blade. A fabulous French Sabre from the French consular period.

An original Consular period, 'Marengo' style light cavalry officer's sabre, with very fine and bright Montmorency-style blade one-third beautifully engraved with an incised decoration of weapon trophies and foliage, gilt bronze hilt, mellon pattern pommel, single guard branch with a side engraved with a farandole of foliage, the front side has a V-shaped groove, the rear side has a concave gutter, basal half ear, quillon arched towards the front with button ending, cross hatched carved wooden grip, in its origina sheet brass scabbard, two large brass bands each carrying a supension ring,

These styles are said to have gained popularity following Consular Napoleon's victory over the Austrians in Jun 1800 at the Battle of Marengo. French sword cutlers purportedly drew their inspiration from the sabre carried by Napoleon during the campaign.

It has been claimed that only officers who had participated in the battle with Napoleon were permitted to carry this style of hilt, although there is no official recognition of this claim.

The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General Michael von Melas' surprise attack, drove the Austrians out of Italy and consolidated Bonaparte's political position in Paris as First Consul of France in the wake of his coup d'état the previous November.

Bonaparte needed to depart for Paris urgently and the next morning sent Berthier on a surprise visit to Austrian headquarters. Within 24 hours of the battle, Melas entered into negotiations (the Convention of Alessandria) which led to the Austrians evacuating northwestern Italy west of the Ticino, and suspending military operations in Italy.

Bonaparte's position as First Consul was strengthened by the successful outcome of the battle and the preceding campaign. After this victory, Napoleon could breathe a sigh of relief. The generals who had been hostile to him could see that his luck had not abandoned him. Thus, he had surpassed Schérer, Joubert, Championnet, and even Moreau, none of whom having been able to inflict a decisive blow on the Coalition. Moreau's victory at Hohenlinden, which was the one that in reality had put an end to the war, was minimised by Bonaparte who, from then on, would pose as a saviour of the fatherland, and even of the Republic. He rejected offers from Louis XVIII, who had considered the Consulate to be a mere transition toward the restoration of the king. Thanks to the victory at Marengo, Napoleon could finally set about reforming France according to his own vision.

Napoleon ordered that several ships of the French Navy be named Marengo, including Sceptre (1780), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1795), Ville de Paris (1851) and Marengo (1810). In 1802, the Marengo department was named in the honour of the battle. Furthermore, Napoleon's mount throughout the battle was named Marengo and further carried the Emperor in the Battle of Austerlitz, Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Battle of Wagram, and Battle of Waterloo.  read more

Code: 25313

An Exceptionally Beautiful & Fine, Koto Period, Armour and Helmet Piercing Samurai Yoroi-Doshi Tanto, With All Original Edo Koshirae Fittings Shakudo, Iron Tettsu, Silver, and Gold

Circa 1580. With two hi horimono on one side and a ken blade horimono suken (素剣) on the opposite side {omote} the side of the sword away from the body as it is worn. The opposite side is called the ura or back.

Beautiful notare hamon, strong and wide kasane thickness of the blade for the required strength to penetrate iron armour and helmet skull. Superb fuchi kashira higo school in low relief takebori of gold inlay on iron. Urushi black lacquer saya, with carved buffalo horn koiguchi, the lacquer is lightly carved with a decor of clouds throughout, with speckles of abilone shell to simulate stars behind the clouds. shakudo and silvered menuki of bean pods. Iron kogatana with iron kozuka inlaid with gold stars and seashells with stylized clouds, iron tettsu tsuba with inlay of gold tendrils and silver aoi leaf, and a pair of crenellated form seppa.Very fine shakudo habaki

The yoroi-doshi "armour piercer" or "mail piercer" were one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (nihonto) that were worn by the samurai class as a weapon in feudal Japan. The yoroi-doshi is an extra thick tanto, dagger , which appeared in the Sengoku period (late Muromachi). The yoroi-doshi was made for piercing armour and for stabbing while grappling in close quarters. The weapon ranged in size from 20 cm to 24 cm, but some examples could be under 15 cm, with a "tapering mihaba, iori-mune, thick kasane at the bottom, and thin kasane at the top and occasionally moroha-zukuri construction". The motogasane (blade thickness) at the hamachi (the notch at the beginning of the cutting edge) can be a third to up to a half-inch thick, which is characteristic of the yoroi-doshi. The extra thickness at the spine of the blade distinguishes the yoroi-doshi from a standard tanto blade.

Yoroi-doshi were worn inside the belt on the back or on the right side with the hilt toward the front and the edge upward. Due to being worn on the right, the blade would have been drawn using the left hand, giving rise to the alternate name of metezashi or "horse-hand (i.e. rein-hand, i.e. left-hand) blade".

23 cm blade tsuba to tip  read more

Code: 25302

Rare English Light Dragoon Officer's Sword 1773, of the American Revolutionary War, Used By Both American and British Dragoon Regiments.

One of the of the American Revolutionary War cavalry swords used by both protagonists. This superb sword was near identical {apart from the blade engraving} to one formerly in the world renown Tower of London collection, see it featured in photo plate 70, sword D, in "European Swords and Daggers in the Tower of London" by Arthur Richard Dufty, Master of the Armouries.

A beautifully engraved blade with King George's crest and family motto of the Hanovarian princes, 'Suscipere et Finire' trans. 'to support and finish', and another, on the other blade face, a loyalty motto 'for king and country', also in Latin, 'Pro Rege et Patria' This blade may well be an ancestral blade, as the regular blade would usually be flat sided without fuller. The Coat of Arms of HM King George III as King underwent a number of changes during his reign because the British Royal Arms are territorial and represent the main countries over which the Monarch rules rather than being personal. The Hanoverian Dynasty 'inherited' the Arms of the last Stuart Monarch, Queen Anne, and added a Quarter for their own territory, namely the then Electorate/Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, commonly known as Hanover.

Although practised no longer by the Tower of London Executors, during the past two centuries, on just a very few occasions, the Tower of London has sold a few items by auction in order to facilitate an influx of funds for new acquisitions

A sword of particular fine elegance, yet this was designed to do a very specific task for an 18th century dragoon officer, and it did it well. Brass stirrup hilt now very finely and naturally heavily patinated, through age, and a very long clipped back blade. It has all its original ribbed carved horn grip. This English sword is most rarely seen, with very little known of it's design origins, the blade, and as very few remain in existence it rarely appears photographed in many reference books on British/American swords of the American Revolutionary War or War of Independence as it is also known.

Little or no documentation on its original ordnance order, made some 250 years ago, regarding its manufacture, exists. What is known however, is that it is estimated it was made from 1773, but possibly slightly earlier, and it was replaced by the more abundant 1788 pattern version. That replacement 1788 sword is far more well recorded, and fair number of that type survive. A very few examples of this sword are kept in just a few, select American museums, that contain the military collections of captured British weapons, and also those used by former American born British officers that moved over to serve in the new American Continental Army Light Dragoons under George Washington in the American Revolutionary War. We show two paintings of American Continental Dragoons using this pattern of sword. In our conversations in the 1980's with the eminent Howard Blackmore, Assistant Keeper of Weapons at the Tower of London, he believed these cavalry swords, when they surfaced, were possibly one of the most interesting of swords used in the Revolution in America, in that they were used by officers of both sides, but sadly so few survived the war itself that they are now considered to be one of the rarest swords of their type to exist. These swords were originally made for, and used by, the British Light Dragoon Regiments, including the infamous and well recorded through history 'Tarleton's Green Dragoons'. Banastre Tarleton was originally a young British officer of the 1st Dragoon Guards, who purchased his rank of cornet. He proved to be such a gifted horseman and leader of troops, due to his outstanding ability alone, he worked his way up through the ranks to Lieutenant Colonel without having to purchase any further commissions.

In December 1775, he sailed from Cork as a volunteer to North America where rebellion had recently broken out triggering the American War of Independence. Tarleton sailed with Lord Cornwallis as part of an expedition to capture the southern city of Charleston. After this failed, he joined the main British Army in New York under General Howe. His service during 1776 gained him the position of a brigade major of cavalry. After becoming the commander of the British Legion, a mixed force of cavalry and light infantry also called Tarleton's Raiders, he proceeded at the beginning of 1780 to South Carolina, rendering valuable services to Sir Henry Clinton in the operations which culminated in the capture of Charleston. This was part of the 'southern strategy' by which the British directed most of their efforts to that theater hoping to restore authority over the southern colonies where they believed there was more support for the crown. On 29 May 1780, Tarleton, with a force of 150 mounted soldiers, overtook a detachment of 350 to 380 Virginia Continentals led by Abraham Buford. Buford refused to surrender or even to stop his march. Only after sustaining heavy casualties did Buford order the surrender. What happened next is cause of heated debate. According to American accounts, Tarleton ignored the white flag and mercilessly massacred Buford's men. In the end, 113 Americans were killed and another 203 captured, 150 of whom were so badly wounded that they had to be left behind. Tarleton's casualties were 5 killed and 12 wounded.6 The British called the affair the Battle of Waxhaw Creek, while the Americans called it the "Buford Massacre" or the "Waxhaw Massacre." In recounting Tarleton's action at the scene, an American field surgeon named Robert Brownfield wrote that Col. Buford raised a white flag of surrender, "expecting the usual treatment sanctioned by civilized warfare". While Buford was calling for quarter, Tarleton's horse was struck by a musket ball and fell. This gave the loyalist cavalrymen the impression that the rebels had shot at their commander while asking for mercy. Enraged, the loyalist troops charged at the Virginians. According to Brownfield, the loyalists attacked, carrying out "indiscriminate carnage never surpassed by the most ruthless atrocities of the most barbarous savages." Tarleton's men stabbed the wounded where they lay. In Tarleton's own account, he virtually admits the massacre, stating that his horse had been shot from under him during the initial charge and his men, thinking him dead, engaged in "a vindictive asperity not easily restrained." However there are strange contraditions as to Tarleton's behaviour, for, contrary to his nature, as described by his conduct at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson himself later noted,

"I did not suffer by him. On the contrary he behaved very genteely with me. … He gave strict orders to Capt. Mcleod to suffer nothing to be injured." Tarleton materially helped Cornwallis to win the Battle of Camden in August 1780. He was completely victorious in an engagement with Thomas Sumter at Fishing Creek, aka "Catawba Fords", but was less successful when he encountered the same general at Blackstock's Farm in November 1780. Then in January 1781, Tarleton's forces were virtually destroyed by American Brigadier General Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens. Tarleton however managed to flee the battlefield with perhaps 250 men. Although Tarleton had a deservedly dastardly reputation, many other Light Dragoon forces were commanded by far more respected and gentlemanly officers, and the troops under their command fought in the most formative conflicts of both American and British history. A war that shaped the whole world that followed it, arguably more than any other war before it. Although in terms of casualties, fewer men perished in the whole war of Independence, that covered several years, than in a single day during the Battle of Gettysberg, less than 100 years later in the Civil War.

The carved ribbed horn grip is expansion cracked North to South.  read more

Code: 24756

A Most Rare Item Taken From, Hitler’s No. 2, Field Marshal Keital’s Personal Library in Berlin 1946. ‘Briefe Napoleons’ From Field Marshal Keitel's Personal Collection, From His Late Son, an SS Sturmbanfuhrer, Who Was Killed in Combat

Briefe Napoleons des Ersten : in drei Banden ; Auswahl aus der gesamten Korrespondenz des Kaisers. Napoleon the First. Selection from all the correspondence of the emperor. Published in 1910; Napoleon's correspondence from 1809 until his death in 1821. Published in 3 volumes this is volume 3. Taken in 1946 from the family library of Field Marshal Keitel, and one of two books from the library we have acquired, the first one was sold. Bearing the Ex Libris Book Label of his family and eldest son, who he lost in the war, Karl-Heinz Keitel SS-Sturmbannfuhrer of 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer, awarded the German Cross in Gold, Iron Cross 1st Class for heroism, Iron Cross IInd class, Close Combat Clasp & Wound Badge in black. Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (22 September 1882 - 16 October 1946) was the most famous German field marshal of WW2 who served as chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Supreme Command of the Armed Forces) for most of World War II, making him the Chief of Defence for Germany and Hitler's number two after Reichmarshall Goring. At the Allied court at Nuremberg, he was tried, sentenced to death, and hanged as a war criminal. He was the third highest-ranking German officer to be tried at Nuremberg. Karl-Heinz Keitel was born on 2 January 1914, in Wolfenbuttel, the eldest son of Wilhelm Keitel who would rise to become Chief of the OKW, the German Military High Command, during World War II. Karl-Heinz joined the Heer in 1934 and served in various cavalry units following the outbreak of war in 1939. In June 1943 he was assigned to the Kavallerie-Schule in Potsdam-Krampnitz, and served as a battalion commander, and later the regimental commander of the Kavallerie-Regiment Nord. On 5 August 1944, he transferred into the Waffen-SS and served with the 22. SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division "Maria Theresia". On 20 October of that year, he was promoted to command SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Regiment 17 / 22.SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division "Maria Theresia" in the area of Hungary. In November 1944, combined with the Florian Geyer division, the "Maria Theresia" was assigned to the garrison of Budapest. On 12 December he was wounded in action while defending against Red Army probing attacks into Budapest for which he was awarded the Wound Badge in Black.
In March he transferred to the 37. SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division "Lutzow" as its commander, and led the 2000 strong remnants of the division in heavy fighting around Wiener-Neustadt as part of 6. SS-Panzer Armee. He was reportedly promoted Obersturmbannfuhrer (Lieutenant Colonel) in the closing months of the war. The book's label also bears the label of his wife Dorothee, the daughter of the Werner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg (2 September 1878 - 14 March 1946) was a German Generalfeldmarschall, Minister of War, and Commander-in-Chief of the German Armed Forces until January 1938. The marriage of Karl-Heinz and Dorothee was one of the reasons her father, Generalfeldmarschall von Blomberg, was forced to resign by Hitler in 1938 It was in order to avoid a damaging scandal caused by the Generalfeldmarschall's new wife's criminal history as a prostitute that was discovered by Himmler. It was an extraordinary discovery as both Hitler and Goring attended her wedding to Keitel. Another volume that we know of, also originally from Field Marshal Keitel's library, an 1827 first edition of Alexander Pushkin's 'The Robber Brothers' printed in Russian, was apparently given to Keitel in 1941/2, after it's liberation from another but unknown Russian Ex Libris collection during Operation Barbarossa. That volume was given, in its turn in 1945, to Marshal Zhukov, commander of the Army of the USSR, and bears his Red Star stamp, and also Keitel's military stamp. That volume may weel have bee liberated from the Keitel family home library as was this book alongside the other we are offering for sale. Napoleon Bonaparte was General of the French Revolution; the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from 11 November 1799 to 18 May 1804; then Emperor of the French (Empereur des Francais) and King of Italy under the name Napoleon I from 18 May 1804 to 6 April 1814; and briefly restored as Emperor from March 20 to June 22 of 1815. This unique piece is exactly the kind of item we are seeking and finding every day, and thus duly offer for sale in our shop and website. Unique, original pieces for the discerning collector, and items that simply cannot be found any where else. We are now the only shop in Britain that offers such pieces, every day, and have done and hopefully will continue to do so  read more

Code: 19643