Auctions - Wallis & Wallis Connoisseur Collection

Wallis & Wallis- Connoisseur Militaria Auction 15th & 16th October 2013 - and Sale number 556 (Part 2)

This Connoisseur Sale saw several large private antique firearms collections come on to the market, giving other collectors a chance to own models they have been searching for. The sale is a prelude to several other big auctions to be held by Wallis & Wallis this year, including one of the largest Zulu collections in the world, to be sold in January, and a huge private collection of antique swords and edged weapons, which will go under the hammer in the Spring Connoisseur Sale in early May. The following is Part Two of our report, commencing with items from two single owner collections of antique pistols that made up much of this large section.

Duelling Pistols

First we have a pair of 26-bore flintlock duelling pistols, by Samuel Nock, London, circa 1820. Each pistol had very heavy thick twist barrel 10 inches long with a platinum touch hole, gold line and maker’s poinçon at the breech, they were engraved ‘Gun Maker to His Majesty’ and bore an Irish registration number. The elaborately engraved breech tang had unusual screw in adjustable rearsight (seized); stepped bolted lock with French style cock, rainproof pan and roller on frizzen spring. The lock plate had the maker’s name in a small gold poinçon; walnut halfstock with chequered butt, engraved steel spurred trigger guard. Each was in good condition and sold in the room against a commission bidder for £6250.

A good cased pair of 28-bore percussion duelling pistols by J W Edge, Manchester, measuring 13½ inches long was offered. The 8¼ inch heavy deeply browned octagonal twist barrels engraved ‘Manchester’ in Gothic script and with rearsight on the breech tangs. Each lock had a foliate engraved plate and hammer and ‘J W Edge’ in Gothic script. Each had nicely figured and polished stock with silver fore-end cap and barrel wedge plate, silver escutcheon engraved with initials. They were in good crisp condition and came in their fitted brass bound mahogany case with folding handle, containing three-way oval section copper and brass flask, 30-bore steel pincer ball mould, nipple key with pricker, loading/cleaning rod etc. They sold to a bidder in the room against the internet for £2800.

Another pair of cased percussion duelling pistols were offered, this time continental in origin and 42-bore circa 1860. Measuring 16 inches overall the browned octagonal twist barrels were 10ins long and had typically continental fine multigroove rifling. Each had a back action lock and rounded hammer engraved with simple scrolled foliage, and with single set trigger; black stained wood halfstock with shell carved fore-ends and chequered butt with flared and carved finial. They were in good order in their fitted brown velvet lined oil cloth covered case with brass corners and leather covered carrying handles, containing a very complete set of accessories. The hammer fell to a room buyer at £2600.

Other Antique Pistols

First was a little 26-bore flintlock pistol made by H W M Mortimer, circa 1790. It measured 8 inches long and had a 4 inch rebrowned octagonal barrel engraved ‘London’. The lock was engraved ‘H W Mortimer’ and it had a walnut stock with distinctive rounded chequered butt. It was in good condition and sold to a room bidder for £900.

Moving across the English Channel we have a scarce French 14-bore Model 1816 flintlock pistol of Garde du Corps de Roi type. The 8 inch barrel had a small regimental stamp at the breech ‘13-L’_ and was numbered ‘233’. The lock was stamped with a fleur de Lys and engraved ‘St Etienne Mfre Royale’. It had a walnut fullstock with regulation brass mounts including plain domed butt cap, and with original steel ramrod. It had a nicely patinated finish and sold to an internet bidder for £1175.

Balkan pistols have been rising in value over the last year, so a pair of silver mounted 18-bore flintlock pistols with spring bayonets made them even more unusual. They measured 14 inches long with 8 inch barrels. Each breech had a silver damascened panel of stars and crescent and inscription, with a small poinçon in imitation of London proofs. Above each barrel was a 6 inch spring bayonet decorated with silver damascened scrolls and released by a large thumb catch. Each lock was also decorated with silver damascene scrolls and tendrils and the stocks were inlaid overall with wire scrolls, leaves and with silver mounts. This untouched pair of pistols sold in the room for £1850.

A rare pair of 90-bore triple barrelled over and under flintlock boxlock tap action pocket pistols by Thomas circa 1790, with 2¾ inch turn off barrels numbered 1 to 6 was offered. This configuration of barrel is seldom seen. Each pistol was engraved with a trophy of flags on the breech superimposed with ‘Thomas’ within an oval panel on one side and a drum on the other, with proof marks on the lower breech, a top safety and plain walnut butt. They were in good condition and sold to a telephone buyer against a Russian bidder for £2300.

Although this next item had been refinished it was sympathetically done and the pistol had obviously been carefully selected for that process. The bore was superb and just the sort of lot that would end up being put on a firearms certificate and used in black powder competitions.

It was a scarce single shot .50” centre fire Remington Rolling Block military holster pistol, measuring 12 inches long with round 6¾ inch barrel, patent dates to 1866, two piece wooden grips, butt stamped ‘CRS’ in cartouche. It sold in the room for a healthy £1200.

Next up was a very fine German double barrelled 32-bore officer’s percussion holster pistol, with browned 7½ inch barrels with German silver fore sight, the top rib silver inlaid ‘L. Bossel in Suhl’. The simple scroll engraved flat locks and hammers with hinged nipple protectors, walnut stock with horn fore-end cap and carved and chequered butt. It had bright German silver mounts and was in very good condition indeed, selling for £1650.

Manton is yet another name to covet and a good cased pair of 28-bore officer’s flintlock holster pistols by Joseph Manton attracted much attention. Each measuring 13½ inches long with 8 inch rifled octagonal twist barrel with gold line and touch hole. The underside of the barrel with London provisional and definitive proof marks and engraved with the initials ‘JP’, the muzzle with swivel ramrod, flat bolted lock with rainproof pan and raised cam on the frizzen spring and with single set triggers. The plate engraved with fern tip borders and ‘Joseph Manton, London’. Each with walnut stock with silver barrel wedge plate and escutcheon and rounded chequered butt. The steel mounts engraved and shaped. They were in good condition and came in their original green baize lined fitted brass bound mahogany case, with folding handle in the lid and with good trade label of ‘Joseph Manton, Gun Maker, Davies Street, Berkeley Square, London’. It contained a 28-bore steel pincer mould, three-way copper and brass flask with screw base, and later turnscrew and cleaning rod. They sold to a commission bidder for £10,000.

Revolvers

A five shot .36” Manhattan Navy percussion revolver in good condition went to a room bidder for £1200. It measured 10 inches in length with a 5 inch barrel marked ‘Manhattan Fire Arms Co. Newark N.J.’, number 27808, the cylinder engraved with scenes in oval panels, and stamped ‘Patented Dec 27 1859’, with silver plated brass trigger guard and backstrap along with polished walnut grips. It came in a fitted mahogany box with a good embossed copper pistol flask, a reproduction double cavity brass mould, and a centre fire cap tin.

Cased English pistols are always popular and an example of a 54-bore Tranter’s patent double action percussion revolver was no exception. The 6 inch barrel with London proofs and engraved ‘Wilkinson & Son, Pall Mall, London’, ‘No 21756T’. It had deeply chequered walnut grips and retained traces of original blued finish. The original mahogany case had a circular brass lid escutcheon and Wilkinson & Son trade label and contained a double cavity 54-bore mould stamped ‘Tranters Patent’, a bag shaped copper flask by Hawksley, a brass mounted cleaning rod, ebony handled turnscrew, Joyce cap tin with labels, and a Hawksley pewter oil bottle. It went for £1700.

Artillery!

Finally a lovely pair of 18th century bronze cannon, the barrels with truly beautiful green patina, 33 inches long including the cascabel. The bore diameter was 2” and they had four holes around the touch-hole to take a firing mechanism. They were in excellent condition although the old 4 wheeled stepped wooden carriages needed just a little love. Each had a bronze trunnion cap and wooden elevating wedge. There were a number of telephone bidders on the line and several room bidders and they finally sold for £7000.

Future Sales

Wallis & Wallis will be holding sales on 11th February 2014, 18th March 2014, and the Spring Connoisseur Sale on 29th & 30th April 2014.  For further details of these and other future sales at Wallis & Wallis, phone 01273 480208 or visit the website at http://wallisandwallis.co.uk

Bonhams sale of Sporting Guns on December 4th featured a selection of weapons once owned by establishment and military figures well known during the WW1 and WW2 period, among them a gun linked to the 7th Marquess of Londonderry. Lord Londonderry (or Viscount Castlereagh) is best remembered for his tenure as Secretary of State for Air in the 1930’s, who on multiple occasions visited Germany and met Hitler and his cabinet to discuss Germany’s position in Europe. Hitler was an admirer of Viscount Castlereagh and famously confided in him his intended plans for invading both Czechoslovakia and Poland - years in advance of the invasions.

His gun, a fine .303 sidelock ejector rifle by J. Rigby & Co., estimated to sell for £12,000-16,000, made £27,500. It was completed in 1904 for Viscount Castlereagh. During the First World War he witnessed the horror of the Battle of the Somme and also took part in a number of the last cavalry charges for the British Army, of which his battalion, the Royal Horse Guards, unsurprisingly took heavy casualties.

Naval Hero’s Pistol

A Colt Model 1911 pistol once owned by a naval hero also featured in this Bonhams sale. Formerly the property of Commander Harry Kemmis (1894-1970) who fought at the Battle of Jutland and was mentioned in dispatches, the .455 (Eley self-loading) ‘Model 1911’ semi-automatic pistol by Colt sold for £11,000, well above the pre-sale estimate of £3,000 to £4,000.

The Commander (a Sub-Lieutenant at the time) took command of H.M.S. Onslaught at the age of twenty-two after all other officers had been killed by a German shell. Despite the ship being crippled and its navigation equipment destroyed, he managed to navigate the ship back to Scotland for repairs.

Included with the gun were copies of correspondence to the Admiralty and by his mother regarding the Commander’s involvement in the battle.

Admiralty and by his mother regarding the Commander’s involvement in the battle.