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Historic commentswelcome to antique militaria!
I have been a military antiques dealer (based at Grays Antique Market in London's West End until Christmas 2008) for over 45 years: antique swords, weapons, guns, uniforms, helmets, equipment, medals, belt buckles, bayonets and almost all other items of general militaria. British, German, European and worldwide items... I have provided all kinds of arms and armour and military collectibles to both private customers, trade and museum clientele all around the world!
featured antique military items
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Silver smallsword, Inspecteur aux Revues - French
This sword, dating from 1805-09, would have been carried by an Inspecteur aux (or 'des') Revues (the equivalent of Commissary in the British Army), responsible for pay, provisions (hence the ears of wheat on the guard and knuckle bow) and the depot system. Before this, they simply carried an ordinary infantry sword. The sword is rare.
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Prussian forestry cutlass with by-knife, knot and ivory grip - German
This is the classic Forestry cutlass worn by senior Foresters (denoted by the ivory grip and the gold/green knot) across Europe from the early 18th century onwards. They continued in use through the Weimar era and Third Reich, only latterly losing the by-knife. Lower ranks wore cutlasses with a stag horn grip and a plain green knot.
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Hunting hanger with tortoiseshell grip - German
The hilt could be Dutch or French, the use of tortoiseshell having been introduced to Europe in the late 17th century, probably through Dutch colonial connections. The mid 18th-century German blade (26" long) would have replaced an earlier, shorter, straight, double-edged blade (broken?), probably to enable the weapon's use as a naval hanger.
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Whitworth bayonet marked for 2nd/60th - British
This is the bayonet for the .451 muzzle-loading Whitworth rifle. In extensive trials these were issued in 1863-67 to infantry units, including various guards and rifle regiments. Some 8,000 bayonets were produced, the general scale of issue being some 68 rifles and bayonets per regiment. The 2nd Battalion 60th were in the Maori Wars 1860-70.
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Metropolitan Police inspector's tipstaff - English
This is almost certainly an unmarked Parker Field product, made under contract for the Metropolitan Police. These were standardised c 1840 and the design lasted until c 1880 when they were phased out and replaced by the warrant card c 1890. The arresting officer simply touched the crown on the suspect's shoulder - a formal notice of arrest.
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Silver-mounted hunting sword - German
This hanger is almost certainly of German origin, probably the Oels family of Brunswick (the hereditary dukes) because of the presence of the gold 'O' featured in four places on the mounts. An unusual feature is the ovoid pommel, similar to that of a smallsword of the period.
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a little history on my antiques interest
I am now retired and this site is kept up for posterity. I have been a collector of military antiques since the age of 12, starting with bayonets and moving gradually on to swords, finally entering the broader military antique dealing arena in about 1970. At that stage, I rapidly started to learn about antique English pistols and revolvers.
In about 1980, I broadened my dealing coverage from mainstream militaria to include English campaign medals. The arrival of powerful auction houses in this field drove me back to my original interest in general militaria (swords, bayonets, dirks, guns, pistols, etc).
However, I still maintain a lively interest in all military objects, especially the rare and exotic, eg Imperial Russian and Austrian.
Throughout my dealing career, I have built up my personal collection of antique military prints and drawings and a substantial selection of early military photographs up to 1945, principally German and English. To aid both my dealing and collecting, I have a huge library covering all military aspects of antiques going back to the Middle Ages, and many aspects of antiques in general, especially early English silver.
