The Auction Report: November 2015

As last year was the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo we started the November sale with an appropriate medal, the Waterloo 1815 medal, (to Neil M’Pherson 1st Batt. 79th Regt Foot). The condition was good to fine or better with contact marks overall. It sold for £1200. Then we sold a Military General Service medal 1793-1814 with three clasps, Roleia, Vimiera, Talavera (to Saml Spring 40th Foot). The condition was good to very fine and it had some edge bruising. Nonetheless it went for £1100.

Here we have an early Victorian officer’s full dress embroidered sabretache of The 12th (Prince of Wales’s) Royal Lancers, red cloth, gilt lace border, embroidered crown, VR cypher on crossed lances, with XII, Sphinx and ‘Egypt’, and scrolls ‘Peninsula’ and ‘Waterloo’, three suspension rings, 14½ inches by 12 inches. It was in good condition for its age and went to a commission bidder for £1600.

Headdresses always make a good display and are popular items. Here we have a French dragoon’s brass helmet circa 1830. The tall brass skull with front and back peaks, leather backed wire loop chinchain, frosted ear to ear plate and back band, the front embossed with a large grenade in wreath, tall comb with Medusa head finial and palm wreath in front. Red ‘shaving brush’ plume, black hair crest and tail plume, white feather side plume, leather and cloth liner (replaced). The plumes had been replaced and it sold for £850.

This shows a Victorian General officer’s 1831 pattern mameluke hilted sword, with curved flat blade 33½ inches long, by Manton & Co, England, etched with crowned VR cypher on one side and crossed baton and sword on the other, in scrolled foliate and floral panels. In its brass scabbard with two crosslet mounts and rings. The blade retained much original polish and it sold for £550.

A French M An XI (1800) light cavalry trooper’s sword, curved shallow fullered blade 34½ inches long, with stamps at the forte and marked ‘Mafcture Nale de Klingenthal Coulaux Freres Entreprs’ on the backstrap. Heavy brass hilt with crossguard and quillon, slender langets, knucklebow and two sidebars, the knucklebow with traces of stamps and ‘Versailles’, in its heavy steel scabbard. The hammer fell at £825.

 

Fired Up

Now we move on to firearms with this 18 bore flintlock pistol by Freeman, London, circa 1775. The eight-inch barrel with London and maker’s proofs and engraved ‘London’ in a teardrop panel, the signed rounded lock with swan neck cock and unbridled frizzen, the walnut fullstock with shell carving behind barrel tang and tear drop behind lock and sideplate. It was in good order for its age and sold for £875.

Here we have a mid-18th century partly silver mounted 16 bore flintlock fowling piece by Clarkson of London. The 36 inch round barrel with London proofs and maker’s mark ‘RE’, breech engraved with long teardrop panel, muzzle with silver teardrop foresight; plain slightly rounded lock with raised edge, raised pan and swan neck cock, plate signed ‘Clarkson’. Slender walnut stock set with a silver escutcheon engraved with crest of doubleheaded eagle over coronet and motto ‘Festina Lente’; with its original wooden ramrod and iron worm. It was in good working order with light pitting to the lock. The sideplate and breech of this gun was illustrated in ‘Great British Gunmakers, 1740-1790’ by Neal and Back, plate 525. It made £1700.

Next we have a good cased 5-shot 60 bore Third Model Webley ‘long spur’ single action percussion revolver, number 1420. The 4¼ inch barrel engraved ‘Webley & Son, Birmingham’, Birmingham proved, the chambers numbered 1 to 5, the frame and trigger guard scroll engraved, the back strap engraved ‘1420/ By Her Majesty’s Royal Letters Patent’, with checkered walnut grips and small loop for lanyard. It was in good order with the barrel and rammer blued, the cylinder bright, the hammer colour hardened and the frame and trigger guard silver-plated. It came in its green baize-lined fitted mahogany case with shield shaped escutcheon in the lid, containing many accessories.

It was a nice clean set overall but the case showed slight signs of being forced open in the past. It sold for. £3000

 

The right thing

Now we come into the 20th Century with this pre-1995 ‘old spec’ de-activated German 9mm MP40 Schmeisser Machine pistol. Three or four of these have come onto the market this year and have proved very popular with re-enactors. This example was numbered 94595/5757, with maker’s codes ‘ayf43’ and ‘cnd’, and with magazine and leather strap. It was in good order with some moderate pitting and a patched repair to the Bakelite stock. The certificate of deactivation was dated September 1994. After bidding between a bidder in the room and the Internet it was finally bought by the latter for £1800.

This shows a Third Reich Luftwaffe parachutist’s helmet, the skull with ET maker’s mark (Eisenhuttenwerke, Thale). The textured dark green and brown camouflage finish with eagle decal (very worn), and late type bolt heads, the leather lining stamped with maker’s name etc, and with leather chinstrap. The paint was chipped and worn and it sold for £725.

Finally for the report we have this Italian Fascist MVSN Leader’s model 1937 dagger, the plain plated blade 7¾ inches (197mm) long in its black painted sheath with brass mounts and copper plated chape, with original leather hanging straps having brass eagle belt clasp, and black wool portepee. There was some wear to the sheath paint and hanging straps but it sold for £700.

The next sales are on: 5th January, 16th February and 5th April. Last date for entries: February sale - 8th January, April sale - 19th February.