A Superb & Most Rare 'New York City' Manufactured 1851 Colt Navy Revolver, British Royal Naval Contract Pistol For The British War Department's Supply of Arms For The Crimean War in Russia. In Stunning Condition, & A Rare Beauty.

With matching serial numbers, for 1853, and very good patinated colour and finish overall, with clear and crisp stampings, and good tight action. A truly super and most rarely surviving, original, US manufactured, 1851 Colt Navy ‘British War Department Contract’ marked and stamped pistol. With fine roll engraved cylinder depicting the sailing ship sea battle. Nicely coloured varnished grips.
With the advent of the Crimean War and the sudden need for handguns in the field, the British Ordnance Department placed orders for a total of 23,700 Colt’s “Navy” pistols. The .36 calibre revolver was a departure from British military handgun doctrine in many ways, as it was both a smaller calibre (.36) when compared to the traditional British military pistols that were typically between .58 and .65 calibre, and it was a multi-shot weapon. The general acceptance of modern repeating handguns was still very much up in the air with the British military at that time, but they proceeded with the order anyway. These revolvers were delivered between March of 1854 and February of 1856. While most of these guns were delivered from Colt’s London production facility, additional revolvers were delivered, out of urgency, from his US based Hartford {New York} manufactory as well. Of all the revolvers supplied, 9,600 were issued to the Royal Navy, and 5,000 were issued to the army in the Crimea, such as to the ‘Guards’ regiment officers.

The majority of the British purchased military guns were standard London production Colt Model 1851 Revolvers. These guns featured iron backstraps, large iron rounded triggerguards, the standard Colt London address, small “severe” London style serial numbers, rounded head frame screws and “Slim Jim” grips. Some American-made revolvers were delivered to complete the order, with the usual brass backstraps and triggerguards. This example is one of those few very rare American made examples.
Eventually nearly all of the British military acquired Colt Navy revolvers were marked with the usual London Address, the London proof marks, as well as the government ownership mark of a small {Broad Arrow} and WD (War Department) mark. However, as to the acquisition of the few American manufactured revolvers, and the speed with which the revolvers were issued, some of the American revolvers went into the field during the Crimean War without the added British proof markings {just as this one doesn't possess} but, with just the War Department WD and Broad Arrow, just as this revolver does indeed have.

Period accounts indicate that the Royal Navy found the revolvers very popular and useful, particularly for boarding parties. In fact, after the conclusion of the Crimean conflict, the Royal Navy continued to utilize the Colt revolvers {alongside the 1839 Pattern Sea Service Single Shot Pistol} in Chinese waters during the Second Opium War that broke out in the fall of 1856. Such as aboard HMS Tribune, which brought the Royal Marines to English Camp, and was a participant in the battle of Guangzhou, during which it had successfully destroyed a fleet of Chinese warships in the Pearl River Delta. Members of the Royal Marines had seen combat across China during the Second Opium War, including fighting in sieges of Chinese forts and naval battles also using the WD Colt revolvers.

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. In retaliation, Britain 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.

Interestingly, Colt’s 1851 Navy revolver, their 1860 Army Model and the 1861 Navy Model, all sport cylinder scenes of a naval conflict. If you look closely at the cylinders, you’ll find the legend “Engaged 16 May 1843,” along with the flags of the young Texas Republic and the early Mexican colours flying from the ships’ masts. This date, along with the nautical imagery, represents a seaborne battle in which Texas’s Commodore Edwin Ward Moore defeated a superior (in both number of ships and their size) fleet of Mexican warships—a crucial event in Texas’s struggle for independence. This naval scene was another shrewd move on the part of Colonel Sam Colt, since he was purposely catering to the Texas market that had been so prosperous for him in the past.

The Crimean War was the first major European conflict since Samuel Colt’s revolvers took the world by storm at the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in 1851, the first World’s Fair. Colt debuted his new revolvers in a large display at the fair, including the Model 1851 Navy which was known originally as Colt’s Belt Model. This was to be Colt’s most significant revolver on the international market.

The Observer of London on November 23, 1851, under the heading “Colt’s Revolvers” noted, “No weapon has attracted more attention than the American revolvers of which several specimens were exhibited during the recent Exhibition…” They stated that U.S. Ordnance tests that showed the ‘51 Navy could be fired 1,500 times a day with only one cleaning. It also reported that they had been used in the Mexican-American War, referencing Colt’s earlier Paterson revolvers, and that the British government had approved the Colt for officers in Africa and India and that this sanctioning had, “not only served to clear the shelves and counters of the American department of the Exhibition, but has been the means of obtaining a large number of orders to be executed for persons in this country.”

Other historic 1851 Navy Colt revolvers used by figures involved in the Crimean War, include Emperor Napoleon III, and a cased pair owned by Lord Cardigan, British Commander of the Light Brigade,

A photo in the gallery of HMS Warrior, and Iron-Clad warship, with the rack of WD 1851 Navy Colts aboard.
HMS Warrior is a 40-gun steam-powered armoured frigate built for the Royal Navy in 1859–1861. She was the name ship of the Warrior-class ironclads. Warrior and her sister ship HMS Black Prince were the first armour-plated, iron-hulled warships, and were built in response to France's launching in 1859 of the first ocean-going ironclad warship, the wooden-hulled Gloire. She is now in HM Dockyards  read more

Code: 25229

Very Fine Regimental Officer's Sword WW1 of the 5th Prussian Jäger Battalion (1st Silesian). Imperial Prussian Eagle Guard With Crest of Kaiser Willhelm IInd. Commanded By Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia the Heir of Kaiser Wilhelm IInd. Sword No 1

Stamped on the guard for the first officer of the 5th Jäger Battalion, the 1st Company, Sword Number 1. Stamped on the hilt, 5.J.1.1, in it it’s matching numbered scabbard. Used in the 1914 Schlieffen Plan, the Battle of the Ardennes, and the Battle of Verdun and Marne. Overall the sword is in excellent condition, with its original multi wire bound sharkskin grip fully original and intact. Bronze guard, with the personal monogram of the Kaiser upon the grip, and guard depicting the Imperial Prussian Eagle, pieced and in relief. Double fullered blade and it’s original all steel combat scabbard. The blade bears the Kaiser Wilhelmi W Crown proof inspection mark
The 5th Prussian Jäger Battalion (1st Silesian)
AKA The Jäger-Batallion von Neumann (1.Schlesisches ) Nr.5 was formed in 1808 as the 1. Schützen-Abteilung (Schlesische). They fought Napoleon at the Battles of Leipzig and Waterloo, Revolutionaries in Baden in 1849, Austria- Hungary at Königgrätz in 1866 and France again at Wörth and Sedan in 1870. Since 1901 Archduke Ferdinand Carl of Austria-Hungary was honorary Colonel in Chief of the battalion.

In 1914 they were garrisoned at Hirschberg (modern Jelenia Góra, Poland) and formed part of the V Army Corps. During the First World War they served on the Western Front, notably at the Battles of the Marne and Verdun.

On mobilisation, V Corps was assigned to the 5th Army forming part of centre of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front.

In August 1914 the command of 5th Army was assigned to Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany, heir to the Hohenzollern throne, with General Schmidt von Knobelsdorf serving as his chief of staff, and would remain thus until late 1916. The opening hostilities on the Western Front saw the Crown Prince's 5th Army, along with the neighboring 4th Army (commanded by Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg), acting at the center of the Schlieffen plan attack into Belgium and France. On 21 August 1914, in what became known as the Battle of the Ardennes, the 4th and 5th Armies advanced into the Ardennes to counter a thrust by the French 3rd and 4th Armies. Over the next two days 5th Army played a major part in halting the opposing French forces. By 23 August, after taking heavy losses and being outmaneuvered strategically, the two French armies were driven into retreat. Following the German 5th Army's victory in the Battle of the Ardennes it moved to Verdun, where it would remain until 1918. In February 1916 the Crown Prince's 5th Army would launch Operation Gericht, the German offensive that began the Battle of Verdun, one of the bloodiest and longest battles in history. Late in 1916, after suffering terrible losses in its efforts at Verdun, General Max von Gallwitz assumed control of 5th Army. Before the close of the war 5th Army fought in several noteworthy actions, including the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, in September 1918, when it was defeated by the American Expeditionary Force under John J. Pershing. The Fifth Army continued to oppose the AEF's Meuse-Argonne Offensive until the Armistice of 11 November 1918. At the end of the war it was serving as part of Heeresgruppe Gallwitz

It was still in existence at the end of the war in Armee-Abteilung C, Heeresgruppe Gallwitz on the Western Front.

Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; 6 May 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the eldest child of the last Kaiser, Wilhelm II, German Emperor, and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, and thus a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, and distant cousin to many British royals, such as Queen Elizabeth II. As Emperor Wilhelm's heir, he was the last Crown Prince of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, until the abolition of the monarchy.

Wilhelm became crown prince at the age of six in 1888, when his grandfather Frederick III died and his father became emperor. He was crown prince for 30 years until the fall of the empire on 9 November 1918. During World War I, he commanded the 5th Army from 1914 to 1916 and was commander of the Army Group German Crown Prince for the remainder of the war. After his return to Germany in 1923, he fought the Weimar Republic and campaigned for the reintroduction of the monarchy in Germany. After his plans to become president had been blocked by his father, Wilhelm supported Adolf Hitler's rise to power, but when Wilhelm realised that Hitler had no intention of restoring the monarchy, their relationship cooled. Wilhelm became head of the House of Hohenzollern on 4 June 1941 following the death of his father and held the position until his own death on 20 July 1951.

Small denting to the scabbard.  read more

Code: 25235

An Early 'Special Boat Service' Royal Navy Special Forces Frogman's Bracelet Compass With Original Strap. Excellent Condition Leather, Fully Working Compass. Can Be Operational With a Lanyard Mount

Brass pressure sealed case, with with screw fitted filling or release aperture, original long leather strap in excellent condition with original buckle. In good working order.

The pattern 261. No. 1241B. Divers Compass. Stamped upon the face seal ring.

The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Royal Navy formed special forces with several name changes—Special Boat Company was adopted in 1951 and re-designated as the Special Boat Squadron in 1974—until on 28 July 1987 when the unit was renamed as the Special Boat Service after assuming responsibility for maritime counter-terrorism. Most of the operations conducted by the SBS are highly classified, and are rarely commented on by the British government or the Ministry of Defence, owing to their sensitive nature.

The Special Boat Service is the maritime special forces unit of the United Kingdom Special Forces and is described as the sister unit of the British Army 22 Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS), with both under the operational control of the Director Special Forces. In October 2001, full command of the SBS was transferred from the Commandant General Royal Marines to the Commander-in-Chief Fleet.6 On 18 November 2003, the SBS were given their own cap badge with the motto "By Strength and Guile". SBS operators are mostly recruited from the Royal Marines Commandos.

Origin: Second World War
Roger Courtney became a commando in mid-1940 and was sent to the Combined Training Centre at Achnacarry in Scotland. He was unsuccessful in his initial attempts to convince Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes and later Admiral Theodore Hallett, commander of the Combined Training Centre, that his idea of a folding kayak brigade would be effective. He decided to infiltrate HMS Glengyle, an infantry landing ship anchored in the River Clyde. Courtney paddled to the ship, climbed aboard undetected, wrote his initials on the door to the captain's cabin, and stole a deck gun cover. He presented the soaking cover to a group of high-ranking Royal Navy officers meeting at a nearby Inveraray hotel. He was promoted to captain and given command of twelve men as the first Special Boat Service/Special Boat Section.

The unit, on the shores of Sannox, Isle of Arran, was initially named the Folboat Troop, after the type of folding canoe employed in raiding operations and then renamed No. 1 Special Boat Section in early 1941. One training exercise required SBS members to navigate folboats 140 miles (230 km) over 3 days and 3 nights from Ardrossan to Clachan, via the Isle of Kerrera, where they reconnoitred and sketched RAF Oban. Attached to Layforce, it moved to the Middle East. The unit worked with the 1st Submarine Flotilla based at Alexandria and did beach reconnaissance of Rhodes, evacuated troops left behind on Crete, and carried out a number of small-scale raids and other operations. In December 1941 Courtney returned to the United Kingdom where he formed No2 SBS, and No1 SBS became attached to the Special Air Service (SAS) as the Folboat Section. In June 1942 they took part in the Crete airfield raids. In September 1942 eight men of the SBS carried out Operation Anglo, a raid on two airfields on the island of Rhodes; all but two of the men were captured after carrying out their mission. Destroying three aircraft, a fuel dump and numerous buildings, the two uncaptured SBS men had to hide in the countryside for four days before they could reach the waiting submarine. After the Rhodes raid, the SBS was absorbed into the SAS due to the heavy casualties they had suffered.

The Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment (RMBPD) was formed on 6 July 1942, and based at Southsea, Portsmouth. The RMBPD was under the command of Royal Marines Major Herbert 'Blondie' Hasler with Captain J. D. Stewart as second in command.The detachment consisted of 34 men and was based at Lumps Fort, and often exercised in the Portsmouth Harbour and patrolled the harbour boom at nights.

1st SAS was divided, with 250 men from the SAS joining the Small Scale Raiding Force to form the Special Boat Squadron under the command of Major the Earl Jellicoe. They moved to Haifa and trained with the Greek Sacred Regiment for operations in the Aegean.

They later operated among the Dodecanese and Cyclades groups of islands in the Dodecanese Campaign and took part in the Battle of Leros and the Battle of Kos. They, with the Greek Sacred Band, took part in the successful Raid on Symi in July 1944 in which the entire German garrison was either killed or captured. In August 1944 they joined with the Long Range Desert Group in operations in the Adriatic, on the Peloponnese, in Albania, and, finally, in Istria. So effective were they that, by 1944, the 200–300 men of the SBS were holding down six German divisions.

Throughout the war, No.2 SBS did not use the Special Boat Squadron name but instead retained the name Special Boat Section. They accompanied US Major General Mark Clark ashore before the Operation Torch landings in October 1942 on Operation Flagpole. Later, one group, Z SBS, which was based in Algiers from March 1943, carried out the beach reconnaissance for the Salerno landings and a raid on Crete, before moving to Ceylon to work with the Special Operations Executives, Force 136 and later with Special Operations Australia. The rest of No. 2 SBS became part of South-East Asia Command's Small Operations Group, operating on the Chindwin and Irrawaddy rivers, and in the Arakan, during the Burma campaign.23

Although their roles always overlapped to some extent, the various canoe and boat units became more specialised from late 1942 onwards. The RMBPD focused on ship attack and harbour sabotage, the Special Boat Section and COPP undertook covert beach surveys, and the Special Boat Squadron engaged in raiding, sabotage and reconnaissance above the high-water mark.

Picture in the gallery of the printed details on the RN service guide for its use, and storage of compass when not in use.

A few years ago we were privileged to have acquired the service sword of a WW2 SBS D.Day hero, and his ancestral; sword of his ancestor, the great ‘Nicolson of Delhi’ hero of the Raj in the 19th century, one of the few men to still have his much revered statue still standing in India.  read more

Code: 25234

A Good 1796 Pattern Infantry Officer's Sword, With Near Mint Hilt of Almost All Its Original Mercurial Gilt and Silver Grip Wire.

Mercurial gilt hilt with double shell fold down guard and silver bound grip, and fully engraved blade with Royal cypher and crest, and some dark blue remaining. From the Napoleonic Wars, the Peninsular war, The War of 1812 in America, then in 1815 at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, and with around 95% of the gilt remaining on the hilt. A simply stunning sword in wonderful condition. British infantry officer's sword of the Napoleonic Wars. The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major conflicts pitting the French Empire led by Emperor Napoleon I against an array of European powers formed into various coalitions. They revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly owing to the application of modern mass conscription. The wars are traditionally seen as a continuation of the Revolutionary Wars, which broke out in 1792 during the French Revolution. Initially, French power rose quickly as the armies of Napoleon conquered much of Europe. In his military career, Napoleon fought about 60 battles and lost seven, mostly at the end. The great French dominion collapsed rapidly after the disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. Napoleon was defeated in 1814, and then once more in 1815 at Waterloo after a brief return to power. The Allies then reversed all French gains since the Revolutionary Wars at the Congress of Vienna.

Before a final victory against Napoleon, five of seven coalitions saw defeat at the hands of France. France defeated the first and second coalitions during the French Revolutionary Wars, the third (notably at Austerlitz), the fourth (notably at Jena, Eylau, and Friedland) and the fifth coalition (notably at Wagram) under the leadership of Napoleon. These great victories gave the French Army a sense of invulnerability, especially when it approached Moscow. But after the retreat from Russia, in spite of incomplete victories, France was defeated by the sixth coalition at Leipzig, in the Peninsular War at Vitoria and at the hands of the seventh coalition at Waterloo.

The wars resulted in the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and sowed the seeds of nationalism that would lead to the consolidations of Germany and Italy later in the century. Meanwhile, the global Spanish Empire began to unravel as French occupation of Spain weakened Spain's hold over its colonies, providing an opening for nationalist revolutions in Spanish America. As a direct result of the Napoleonic wars, the British Empire became the foremost world power for the next century, thus beginning Pax Britannica.

No consensus exists about when the French Revolutionary Wars ended and the Napoleonic Wars began. An early candidate is 9 November 1799, the date of Bonaparte's coup seizing power in France. However, the most common date is 18 May 1803, when renewed war broke out between Britain and France, ending the one-year-old Peace of Amiens, the only period of general peace in Europe between 1792 and 1814. Most actual fighting ceased following Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo on 18 June 1815, although skirmishing continued as late as 3 July 1815 at the Battle of Issy. The Second Treaty of Paris officially ended the wars on 20 November 1815. Overall this battle cum dress sword is in fabulous condition, from a large former museum collection of original Napoleonic Battle of Waterloo swords

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 at Waterloo .

No scabbard.  read more

Code: 25233

An Original and Superb WW2 RAF Air Ministry Issue 'Scramble Bell', Cast Bronze With Turned Hardwood Handle On A Brass Socket Mount With Brass Ball Top. Interior Bears The AM Crown Mark of the Air Ministry Contract

An iconic centre piece of any collection from the most renowned and famed era of the British RAF. This would would make an amazing addition to any collection, or display, or a unique historic gift for any collector of aeronautica.

A most scarce, original, 'Battle of Britain' piece of original, RAF Air Ministry issue aeronautica, an original brass bracket mounted then hand-held 'scramble' bell, complete with its wooden handle, stamped AM Crown, marked with crown and initials AM, Used at an RAF air base. Made in the period when the RAF knew very well that war was imminent and very likely, and it was used throughout the entire war, right from the 'Battle of Britain' period. It’s diameter of the bell is 200 mm, and height 300 mm approx, it weighs, 3.15 kilos.

A very fine example, in super condition, of an original RAF scramble bell from a RAF base, such as RAF North Weald, as it likely came from that location area, another that came from RAF Debden, an airfield 3 miles south east of Saffron Waldon in Essex, was sold over six years ago for 2,500 at auction in New York.

This hand bell would have been rung when instructions came through from HQ of an imminent attack by the feared and deadly Luftwaffe Bombing Squadrons, in order to scramble the bravest of the brave, the frighteningly young, RAF, RAAF or RCAF pilots into the air. During the Battle of Britain and beyond the average age of the pilots was just 20 years old, of the 2,937 British and Allied aircrew. Britain aircrew were flying multiple sorties a day to intercept the relentless Luftwaffe raids over the British skies, Aircrew from sixteen nationalities flew and fought together against the Luftwaffe, who outnumbered the RAF in both aircraft and pilots.

Against all odds, the RAF defeated the Luftwaffe. Hitler was forced to abandon his plans to invade Britain.
544 aircrew were killed during the Battle of Britain. A further 422 aircrew were wounded. Almost a third of all the men that flew.

British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, famously expressed the incredible debt owed to the Battle of Britain aircrew:

“Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.”

During WW2 the world's premier gallantry medals were granted to air Force personnel, 22 Victoria Crosses were awarded, and 2,001 Air Force Crosses were Awarded, 26 were awarded to the same recipient twice, and just 1 was awarded to the same man three times.

Throughout the summer of 1940, across England, on hundreds of grass makeshift runways, with young eager pilots that awaited in huts for the bell to be rung, then rushing ‘hell for leather’ to their fighter planes, in order to attack the German bomber and fighter formations descending on vulnerable Southern England. Such as RAF Debden, in Essex, that was built in April 1937, with the tarmac airstrip laid in 1940. It was a sector station for 11 Group RAF. Many British Hurricane and Spitfire squadrons were based at Debden, including number 17 squadron throughout the Battle of Britain. In September 1942, it was handed over to the USAAF, as part of British support for the American bombing campaign in Europe. The Battle of Britain (German: Luftschlacht um England, literally "The Air Battle for England") was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. It has been described as the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. The British officially recognise the battle's duration as being from 10 July until 31 October 1940, which overlaps the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, that lasted from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941. German historians do not accept this subdivision and regard the battle as a single campaign lasting from July 1940 to June 1941, including the Blitz.

The primary objective of the German forces was to compel Britain to agree to a negotiated peace settlement. In July 1940 the air and sea blockade began, with the Luftwaffe mainly targeting coastal-shipping convoys, ports and shipping centres, such as Portsmouth. On 1 August, the Luftwaffe was directed to achieve air superiority over the RAF with the aim of incapacitating RAF Fighter Command; 12 days later, it shifted the attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed, the Luftwaffe also targeted factories involved in aircraft production and strategic infrastructure. Eventually it employed terror bombing on areas of political significance and on civilians.

The Germans had rapidly overwhelmed France and the Low Countries, leaving Britain to face the threat of invasion by sea. The German high command knew the difficulties of a seaborne attack and its impracticality while the Royal Navy controlled the English Channel and the North Sea. On 16 July, Adolf Hitler ordered the preparation of Operation Sea Lion as a potential amphibious and airborne assault on Britain, to follow once the Luftwaffe had air superiority over the UK. In September, RAF Bomber Command night raids disrupted the German preparation of converted barges, and the Luftwaffe's failure to overwhelm the RAF forced Hitler to postpone and eventually cancel Operation Sea Lion. Germany proved unable to sustain daylight raids, but their continued night-bombing operations on Britain became known as the Blitz.

Historian Stephen Bungay cited Germany's failure to destroy Britain's air defences to force an armistice (or even outright surrender) as the first major German defeat in World War II and a crucial turning point in the conflict. The Battle of Britain takes its name from a speech by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on 18 June: "What General Weygand has called The Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin." The scramble bell came three different forms, the larger mounted bell, with the same AM Air Ministry marks, but much heavier, so they had to be wall mounted, or on a free standing bracket, hanging outside of say, a hut, and this type the medium sized bracket mounted for hanging outside of a hut, but as this one with an added handle, which was naturally much somewhat portable, and ideal for emergency RAF bases and landing strips, created with makeshift or tented non-permanent buildings. And the smaller regular contract hand-bell was also ideal in those bases.  read more

Code: 25232

A Rare & Beautiful, Early 19th Century, Scottish Rams Horn Butt, All Steel, Highlander's Flintlock Pistol Made by Macleod. In Super Condition, With All The Features As to Be Expected For a Fine, Original, Highland Officer's Regimental Pistol

A most fine and stunning, early 19th century, Scottish all steel highlander's flintlock belt pistol by MacLeod {a gunsmith works that was founded in the mid 18th century in Doune, Scotland} with flared octagonal muzzle and proved barrel, a signed lock of "highland" type and finely engraved with typical scrolls and a fern border, the entire stock finely and lightly etched overall with iconic thistles, scrolls and trophies. With fine highland ramshorn butt, with removable ball pricker between, and round ball trigger, side belt hook, and a fancy turned steel ramrod. A typical example of the "highland" type lock, but with a fine, automatic hook-cock, half-cock safety to stop accidental missfire. It ejects from the lock plate when cocking the hammer to safely and firmly hold it in place until full-cock is engaged. Beautifully tight and crisp action.

Highland regiment officer's and sergeants wore one steel pistol under the left arm, hung through the pistol's belt hook on a thin buff leather belt. See the original 18th century portrait painting of Captain Gorry of the Highland Volunteer Regiment, with his pistol belt-hook mounted under his left arm. {For illustrative purposes only}

Pistols were considered requisite items for the Highland soldier as early as the 1730s. By the 1740s the elegant pistol styles of Christie & Murdoch (armourers of Doune, Stirlingshire) had became the most sought after amongst Highland officers. The unique elements of the Doune pistols were the scroll or rams horn butt, fluted barrels at the breech and the octagonal flared muzzles. Soon pistol makers all across Scotland (and in England) began to copy the styles of Doune.

Another same form and age pistol by the same maker, signed MacLeod, with the highlanders scroll butt of an 18th century form, with flintlock and rainproof pan, stock, lock and barrel of decorated steel, silver butt escutcheons engraved with the crest of Scott of Abbotsford, sold for £18750 three years ago, in Edinburgh at auction.

A pair of pistols by the same maker which are still within the collection of Sir Walter Scott and on display at Abbotsford. The pistols on display are not only by the same maker but bear a similar armorial engraving as on the pistol sold in Edinburgh. More remarkably, the pistols are recorded in correspondence between Scott and the gunsmith, Mr.MacLeod, being commissioned by him for King George IV’s visit to Scotland in 1822.

Sir Walter Scott’s personal interest in Scottish history and life is well recorded and his collection of historical arms and armour is famous, much of which still decorates his remarkable Borders home, Abbotsford.

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet FRSE FSAScot (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels Ivanhoe (1819), Rob Roy (1817), Waverley (1814), Old Mortality (1816), The Heart of Mid-Lothian (1818), and The Bride of Lammermoor (1819), along with the narrative poems Marmion (1808) and The Lady of the Lake (1810). He had a major impact on European and American literature.

Barrel length 7½", 13" overall length,  read more

Code: 25228