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A CHAD VALLEY DANGLING BONZO SOFT TOY with printed facial features and a red velveteen body, complete with button to back and label to right foot, 18cm high (facial features badly faded).

A silver handled button hook and shoe horn, Chester, 1923, together with a dissimilar silver handled button hook.

A silver handled button hook.

A large Edwardian silver button by A.J.Smith embossed with a ladies' bonneted head. Birmingham 1909.

A Chinese jade pendant, a Chinese gilt button and an ivory banana charm.

1930s Nazi Party enamelled Members badge with button hole fitting

Tokens - G.B. 19th century tokens, Charing Cross silver Sixpence. EF and 1812 Sheffield - Hobson & Sons, Button Manufacturer copper Penny. VF

Gentlemen's gold plated Waltham open faced pocket watch, with button-wind movement and enamel face with subsidiary dial, with presentation inscription - 'Presented for Valor in the Great War 1914 - 1918 W. Coomber'

Pair of Peacock Fresh Water Pearl Bracelets, each matching bracelet comprising a row of peacock button pearls, i.e. fresh water pearls flat on the underside, touching the wrist, and domed to the upper side, threaded on jeweller`s elastic and enhanced with tiny silver bead spacers; stretch to cover most wrist sizes(2)

Button Back Chesterfield Rocker Dark Mahogany Coloured Frame.

US style Cased Medal Military Merit, Card of 6 German Button, German Army Cap Badge

Steiff Bear `Lizzy` Steiff button to ear with label & booklet still attached.

Dark Chocolate Brown Full Length Luxurious Mink Coat, glossy and supple, with an unusual sleeve detail; self lined collar with revers, fitted top with gentle flare from the waist, elbow length cape sleeves over detachable half straight sleeves, (the upper part of the sleeves, beneath the cape, being sateen), for both evening and day wear, slit pockets, button and loop fastening, dark brown jacquard sateen lining with hidden inside pocket; exceptional in style and quality

Platinum Shadow Stripe Full Length Mink Coat, self-lined collar with revers, horizontal cuffs with decorative buttons, horizontal band to hem, half-belt to back, slit pockets, button fastening; good quality

A George III mahogany tea caddy, width 7.75 ins, a Victorian rosewood casket, casket housing a small goffering iron, pair of spectacles, button hook, miniature hammer, corkscrew, snuffbox and bone pencil. CONDITION REPORT: The spectacles are clearly quite early. They are in generally good condition and all complete. There is some surface rust but this fairly minor. All hinges operate as they should and the lenses are in generally good condition with only very minor surface scratches.

Four 19th century portable inkwells, three cylindrical, one rectangular, leather bound. CONDITION REPORT: The rectangular inkwell is in generally good order. There are some minor surface scuffs to the outer case. The locking mechanism works as it should. The smallest of the three circular inkwells is in reasonable order. There is scuffing to the top sides and main body of the base but no significant losses. The hinge and interior spring operate as they should. The darker of the two remaining inkwells has several tears and losses to the leather covering particularly to the lid and most significantly at the rear around the hinge. There is also wear around the press button at the front and all around the top edge of the bottom half. The interior is intact and operates as it should. The last inkwell has lost all of its leather covering to the top. The covering to the base is in generally good order with only minor scuffs. The interior operates as it should and is in good order.

A George III mahogany tea caddy, width 7.75 ins, a Victorian rosewood casket, casket housing a small goffering iron, pair of spectacles, button hook, miniature hammer, corkscrew, snuffbox and bone pencil. CONDITION REPORT: The spectacles are clearly quite early. They are in generally good condition and all complete. There is some surface rust but this fairly minor. All hinges operate as they should and the lenses are in generally good condition with only very minor surface scratches.

A CHAD VALLEY DANGLING BONZO SOFT TOY with printed facial features and a red velveteen body, complete with button to back and label to right foot, 18cm high (facial features badly faded).

Tokens - G.B. 19th century tokens, Charing Cross silver Sixpence. EF and 1812 Sheffield - Hobson & Sons, Button Manufacturer copper Penny. VF

Gentlemen's gold plated Waltham open faced pocket watch, with button-wind movement and enamel face with subsidiary dial, with presentation inscription - 'Presented for Valor in the Great War 1914 - 1918 W. Coomber'

1930s Nazi Party enamelled Members badge with button hole fitting

An intriguing early 19th Century heavy brass Tobacco Dispenser with carrying handle, makers name (probably Baxter), 23cm wide (put in a penny, depress the circular button and the front section opens on a spring)

A pair of 19th Century walnut and upholstered Nursing Chairs, the pierced foliate carved top rail above button back and turned fluted uprights, raised on turned tapering fluted front legs headed with flower head roundels and terminating in castors

A RARE EARLY FLINTLOCK WENDER PISTOL, DUTCH OR NORTH GERMAN, CIRCA 1655-60 with turn-over barrels formed in two stages, one with a mark struck on the breech (traces only), fitted with a raised iron figure-of-eight ring over the muzzles and released by a catch in front of the trigger-guard, bevelled flat lock struck with maker`s mark behind its chamfered leading edge, tapering to a rear finial chiselled as a stylised monster`s head, and fitted with ring-necked straight cock engaging a dog safety, ebonised wooden butt fluted about the upper breech tang (chipped below the lock), globular pommel incised with a linear segmented pattern and inset with iron button finial (the pommel collar band and finial cap each missing), deeply fluted ebonised fore-end formed of two halves, and iron trigger-guard (ramrod-pipes and ramrod missing) 64 cm; 25 3/8 in The maker`s mark on the lock is apparently unrecorded (the initials MH above a hand). A closely comparable pistol, unmarked but possibly from the same workshop, was in the collection of the late H.L.Visser; see Puype 1996, Volume I, Part 3, cat. no. 507, pp. 38-9. Cf. the early Wender gun in this collection, lot 275.

A RARE GERMAN ETCHED ALL-STEEL WHEEL-LOCK HOLSTER PISTOL, CIRCA 1580 decorated throughout with a series of etched matching panels of densely-packed and scrolling tendrils carrying spirals of foliage on a blackened ground, partly within guilloche borders, with two-stage barrel, the breech with moulded girdles at both ends, struck with the letters I and S and with two shield-shaped marks, one an eagle charged over its breast with the letters HH, the other a rampant beast, with acutely swamped muzzle, flat lock fitted with bevelled wheel-cover, sliding pan-cover (release button missing) and safety-catch, and the etched designs on the lock-plate inhabited by a stag and an exotic bird, with full stock involving a series of small linear panels interspersed throughout the etched pattern, variously involving enclosed lines of beading or ropework, with an eagle prominent behind the barrel tang and a boar pursued by a hound opposite the lock, the fore-end decorated with a raised chiselled acanthus finial applied ahead of the lock-plate, fitted with elliptical ball pommel formed in two halves, the rearmost half undecorated and originally covered in leather or fabric, and fitted with moulded iron trigger-guard (ramrod missing) 55.9 cm; 22 in The letters I S and the eagle mark on the barrel are each apparently unrecorded, the third mark is indistinct, possibly a unicorn.

A PAIR OF SOUTH GERMAN LONG WHEEL-LOCK HOLSTER PISTOLS, CIRCA 1660 each with slender tapering barrel cut over its full length with a very narrow medial rib flanked over the breech by a pair of matching short ribs, plain lock retained by three side-nails and drawn-out to a rounded tail, the wheel fitted under the lower edge of the pan and additionally retained by a single small bracket, sliding pan-cover with button release and the dog-spring bridle decorated with a pair of scallop shells chiselled in low relief, each with fruitwood full stock, carved fluted fore-end bordered at its rear by a carved pattern of narrow flutes and ribs heightened at either end by a row of pewter nails, the respective stocks carved with differing stag-hunting scenes in low relief opposite the locks and with differing sporting figures en suite behind the barrel tangs, each inlaid with mother-of-pearl rosette washers under the side-nails, the butt inlaid with pewter ropework in imitation of a short-spurred pommel and inlaid with interlaced patterns of scrolling pewter tendrils carrying varieties of engraved mother-of-pearl flowerheads, the trigger-guard, ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap all of iron, and one pistol retaining its original ramrod (the stocks each with light worm damage throughout, one stock chipped slightly on one side of the fore-end, the other chipped extensively ahead of the lock, with shrinkage about the lock and with a repaired crack at the wrist. Several inlaid plaques missing from each stock, one ramrod missing, the other incomplete) 65.5 cm; 25 ½ in (2) The carved and inlaid treatment of the stocks closely resembles the work of the stockmakers of Schwäbish-Gmund. The figural subjects appear to be inspired directly from original engravings by Jost Amman, published in his Kunstbüchlin in 1599, and are consequently shown in late 16th century dress.

TWO GERMAN OFFICER`S LONG WHEEL-LOCK HOLSTER PISTOLS, INTENDED FOR USE AS A PAIR, CIRCA 1640-50 with minor differences, with tapering barrels formed in two stages, the breeches each struck with three marks, one involving the initials KS (Neue Støckel 8337), the locks retained by three side-nails on white bone washers, each struck on the inside with a mark, IM, fitted with sliding pan-covers with button release, and one with the wheel retained by a small crescentic bracket (the other bracket missing, the pan release buttons not a pair), with ebonised wooden full stocks decorated about the barrel tangs and opposite the locks with carved designs of scrolling foliage in low relief on a contrasting stippled ground and picked-out with minute brass nails, flattened pommels each fitted with domed wooden cap decorated en suite with the stocks and bound by an iron band, with iron trigger-guards, ramrod-pipes and fore-end caps, and one pistol retaining its original iron-tipped ramrod 65.8 cm; 25 7/8 in: 65.5 cm; 25¾ in (2) The carved treatment of the stocks picked-out with brass nails is characteristic of the workshops of the Gsell family of gunmakers of Arzberg, Bavaria. Comparable examples include the stock of a wheel-lock rifle signed by Georg Gsell and dated 1649, in the former Imperial collection, Vienna (D291), and a pair of flintlock Wender guns in the armoury of the Princes von und zu Liechtenstein, Schloss Vaduz.

A GERMAN MILITARY WHEEL-LOCK HOLSTER PISTOL, CIRCA 1670 with tapering barrel formed in two stages and struck with maker`s mark, GW, on the underside of the breech (Neue Støckel 2734), bevelled plain lock retained by three side-nails, the wheel retained by a single small bracket and the pan-cover fitted with button release, ebonised wooden full stock carved with a raised moulding about the barrel tang and with a fluted raised scroll behind the ramrod aperture, and with iron mounts including spurred pommel (fore-end cap and ramrod each missing). 53.6 cm; 21 1/8 in

A RARE COMBINED HAMMER AND FLINTLOCK PISTOL (FOKOS) ALSO FITTED WITH CONCEALED RAPIER BLADE, HUNGARIAN, CIRCA 1650 with robust hammer head of one piece formed with moulded square face on a rectangular neck, down-curved spike of bevelled rectangular section, the socket fitted over the muzzle of the pistol barrel and a hinged iron cover fitted over the muzzle and the ramrod aperture, on a wooden haft of unusually great length incised with fluting and leaf ornament about its forward section, with a pair of short iron straps fitted below the hammer, pistol barrel formed in two stages, bevelled lock engraved with flowers and foliage, pierced flat cock decorated with a monster, button trigger, the greater length of the haft hollowed for a concealed blade, the latter of slender rectangular section tapering to a sharp point, with traces of a series of stamped marks about the base, and with plain wooden grip fitted with an iron collar retaining a single very short quillon 127.6 cm; 50¼ in Blade 81.3 cm; 32 in

A GERMAN BRONZE SALUTING CANNON, 18TH/19TH CENTURY with heavy multi-stage barrel cast with raised fillets and astragals, a pair of rectangular lifting handles, a pair of trunnions, and button cascable engaging the elevating screw (the lateral locking- pin for the screw missing): on its original iron-mounted wooden carriage, retaining some original dark green painted finish, with iron-shod spoked cambered wheels, and with matching painted limber 61 cm; 24 in barrel (2)

A FINE AND VERY RARE 39-BORE NUREMBERG WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING CARBINE STOCKED BY THE "MASTER OF THE CASTLES", CIRCA 1600 with swamped octagonal sighted smooth-bored barrel struck with Nuremberg mark and the maker`s mark, a unicorn and initials, profusely etched over its length, the upper planes decorated with differing gilt panels of leaf ornament linking three elongated nodular-shaped gilt panels each filled with tiered sprays of flowers and foliage over the breech, the median and the muzzle, and all within contrasting guilloche and scrollwork borders etched in the white, flat lock struck with maker`s mark, LH over a pair of brushes (Neue Støckel 3773), decorated with etched panels of scrollwork within gilt scrollwork borders and all on a matted stippled ground, fitted with gilt-iron wheel-bracket, sliding pan-cover with button release, gilt-iron safety-catch and the dog engraved with a monster and a grotesque, fruitwood full stock veneered in ebony, very finely decorated over its full length with an inlaid series of engraved horn oval plaques all set within an elaborate framework of mother-of-pearl, the horn plaques formed as game animal vignettes over the sides of the fore-end, with female personifications of the Cardinal Virtues concentrated over the rear, involving Faith inlaid on the underside of the breech, Justice and Prudence jointly opposite the lock, Charity and Temperance jointly on the cheek-piece and Fortitude on the right-hand side of the butt, together with an espagnolette mask inlaid on upper surface of the butt and a pair of scrollwork panels enclosing medallions filled with an officer`s bust and Turk`s bust respectively either side of the barrel tang, the mother-of-pearl plaques pierced and engraved with both rollwerk and scrolling interlace patterns heightened over the rearward section with cornucopia, swags, grotesque masks, monsters` heads , fruit and flowers, the entire scheme arranged as a series of segments within engraved horn stringing and border strips, the latter decorated with differing patterns of foliage and scrolls and partly inhabited by small animals and birds, the entire inlaid scheme on a ground of incised gilt scrollwork interspersed with both natural and green-stained horn pellets and sown with engraved mother-of-pearl rosettes, the patch-box cover veneered in horn decorated with panels of spiralling foliage inhabited by exotic birds and framing the full-length figure of a Turkish archer, with horn butt-plate engraved with the figure of a caliverman in contemporary dress, moulded iron trigger-guard, and the ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap each of engraved horn (the inlay with minor losses, the ramrod missing) 57.2 cm; 22½ in barrel The stockmaker known as "The Master of the Castles" remains unidentified by name but was almost certainly working in Nuremberg. He is so-called because of the castles which feature in some of his distinctive inlaid compositions; to judge from the quantity of surviving examples it is likely that this celebrated stockmaker presided over a substantial workshop. Examples of this stockmaker`s work are preserved in a wide range of institutional collections, some including the Bargello, Florence (inv. nos. R/64 and M. 235); the de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor (inv. nos. 104 and 130-132); The Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. M 1082-1910); The Hermitage, St. Petersburg (inv. nos. 6611 and 6613); and the Princely Collections in Schloss Vaduz, Liechtenstein (inv. no. 3822). For a detailed commentary on the works of "The Master of the Castles" and for a comprehensive record of his works in public collections see Blair 1974, pp.319-322.

A FINE 23-BORE GERMAN (THURINGIAN) WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE, CIRCA 1660-70 built on an earlier swamped octagonal rifled barrel signed and dated "Friden Pucksen Hans Ruhr Coburgk (sic) 1650", struck with a mark towards the breech, decorated over the breech and about the sights with finely engraved bands of scrolls and flowers, the engraving about the back-sight also enclosing the barrelmaker`s monogram HR (Neue Støckel 953) and the back-sight formed with a single pierced shaped folding leaf, finely engraved flat lock decorated with a fanciful flower-filled landscape including a sportsman shooting a running stag, iron wheel-cover pierced and engraved with a rollwerk design carrying a Goddess mask and a pair of winged putti masks, fitted with sliding pan-cover with rosette button release and the dog decorated with a marine monster and a pierced dragon, walnut full stock inlaid over its entire length with running patterns of iron wire scrollwork heightened with minute iron nails and carrying a series of iron plaques finely engraved en suite with the barrel and the lock, including large flowerheads, a pair of monsters`head scrolls about the barrel tang, a crowned harpy opposite the lock, putto masks within complex enclosures of scrollwork both on the cheek-piece on the right-hand side of the butt, the rear portion of the stock additionally carved and pricked with small scrollwork designs in low relief and heightened with small iron nails, with thumb-rest and patch-box cover en suite, the latter inlaid with an engraved dragon plaque en suite with the dog, and fitted with iron butt-plate, pierced engraved iron trigger-guard, fore-end cap, and iron-capped ramrod (ramrod-pipe missing) 82cm; 32 ¼ in barrel Hans Ruhr is recorded in 1641 as Court Gunmaker (presumably to the court of Friedrich Wilhelm II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg) but without membership of the Gunmakers` Guild; Ruhr died in 1657. The predominant themes within the engraved and inlaid decoration (the Thuringian hunting subject aside) are closely inspired by the respective engravings of the Paris gunmaker François Marcou and those of the engraver C. Jacquinet , the latter after the original designs of the royal gunmakers Thuraine and Le Hollandois. The title page of Marcou`s series of 16 engravings is dated 1657, the Thuraine and Le Hollandois engravings were possibly first published about this time also, prior to the known edition dated 1660. See Lenk 1965, p. 85 and Grancsay 1970, pp. 9-10

A FINE 26-BORE GERMAN (THURINGIAN) WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE CIRCA, 1660-70 built on an earlier rifled swamped octagonal barrel signed and dated "Friden Pücksen Hans Ruhr Coburgk (sic) 1650", decorated with finely engraved bands of flowers and scrolls at the breech and about both the fore-sight and the back-sight, the engraving about the back-sight also enclosing the engraved maker`s monogram HR (Neue Støckel 953) and the back-sight formed with a single pierced shaped folding leaf, finely engraved flat lock decorated with a fanciful flower-filled landscape including a sportsman shooting a stag, fitted with iron wheel-cover pierced and engraved with a rollwerk design issuant from a grotesque mask and carrying a pair of winged putti masks, sliding pan-cover with rosette button release, and the dog decorated with a marine monster and a pierced dragon, walnut full stock inlaid over its entire length with running patterns of brass wire scrollwork heightened with minute brass nails, carrying a series of brass plaques finely engraved en suite with the barrel and the lock, including large flowerheads, a pair of monsters`head scrolls about the barrel tang, a stag-shooting scene opposite the lock, the mounted figure of a general on the cheek-piece and a boar-hunting vignette on the opposite side, the rear portion of the stock additionally carved and pricked with small scrollwork designs in low relief and picked-out in small brass nails, the patch-box cover carved and inlaid en suite, and fitted with brass butt-plate, pierced engraved iron trigger-guard, and engraved brass ramrod-pipe (the fore-end repaired at the muzzle, the fore-end cap and ramrod missing) 81.9 cm; 32¼ in barrel Hans Ruhr is recorded in 1641 as Court Gunmaker (presumably to the court of Friedrich Wilhelm II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg) but without membership of the Gunmakers` Guild; Ruhr died in 1657. The predominant themes within the engraved and inlaid decoration (the Thuringian hunting subjects aside) are closely inspired by the respective engravings of the Paris gunmaker François Marcou and the engraver C.Jacquinet, the latter after the original designs of the royal gunmakers Thuraine and Le Hollandois. The title page of Marcou`s series of 16 engravings is dated 1657, the Thuraine and Le Hollandois engravings were possibly first published about this time also, prior to the known edition dated 1660. See Lenk 1965, p.85 and Grancsay 1970, pp.9-10

A 100-BORE SILESIAN WHEEL-LOCK BIRDING RIFLE (TSCHINKE), CIRCA 1630-50 with slender swamped octagonal sighted barrel rifled with six grooves, decorated with punched and engraved panels of scrolling foliage at both ends and at the median, tubular back-sight, iron lock decorated en suite with the barrel, fitted with matching iron bridles over the mainspring and the dog-spring, the former impaled by a button trigger, arched iron wheel-bracket, sliding pan-cover with button release, and the dog engraved with scrolling leafy tendrils and both grotesque and demonic profile masks, slender fruitwood full stock inlaid over its length with a series of engraved horn plaques, involving ballflowers, rosettes and elongated symmetrical designs all framed by pairs of horn pellets, the butt inlaid additionally with larger plaques including, on respective sides, a bird-of-prey and a goose caught by a fox, each within a distinctive linear framework of scrolls on a ground of pellets, the entire inlaid design arranged within horn segmental lines, fitted with patch-box cover decorated en suite, iron trigger-guard, engraved horn fore-end cap, and the barrel and the lock each with traces of original gilding (pieces of inlay missing, the butt-plate, the ramrod-pipe and the ramrod missing also) 99.6 cm; 39 ¼ in barrel A Tschinke with a closely related inlaid stock made within the period 1624-47 is preserved in the Veste Coburg (Inv. Nr. IV E 150): see Kruczek 2001, no. 125, p.115

A 31-BORE GERMAN WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE, THE STOCK WITH MAKER`S INITIALS MS AND FINELY INLAID WITH HUNTING SUBJECTS AFTER JAN VAN DER STRAAT, CIRCA 1590-1600 with octagonal sighted barrel swamped at the muzzle, rifled with six grooves and the breech cut with the conjoined letters HB, flat lock struck with a shield-shaped mark, a pair of crossed pistols with three clusters of ball (similar to Neue Støckel 5733), and fitted with wheel-bracket pierced with a chamfered heart-shaped ring and sliding pan-cover with button release, fruitwood full stock profusely decorated over its entire length with finely engraved horn plaques, formed as a series of hunting subjects involving figures in contemporary dress, both mounted and on foot, including a continuous woodland frieze inhabited by hares, boar, deer and foxes all pursued by hounds along the length of the fore-end on both sides, the scene on the right-hand side also involving a camel and that on the left expanded opposite the lock to include a horseman killing a boar, the butt decorated over the full length of the underside with a series of pierced rollwerk plaques involving grotesque masks and dogs` heads, the pierced figures of a huntsman and of a falconer, birds-of-prey, and a vignette involving a hare and a galloping stallion, the upper surfaces of the butt decorated with the hunting friezes continued in two panels, one involving a lion and a bear, inlaid with an elaborate bear-hunting scene over the cheek-piece, a pair of gamebird plaques inlaid about the barrel tang and enclosing a smaller plaque engraved with the stockmaker`s initials "M.S", with patch-box cover veneered in horn and engraved with deer and a hare pursued by hounds (the rear plate missing), and the entire inlaid scheme arranged within horn segmental lines, fitted with iron trigger-guard, a horn plaque over the ramrod aperture, and this, together with the horn ramrod-pipe and the fore-end cap, engraved with scrollwork patterns en suite with the plaques at the rear borders (the butt-plate undecorated, probably replaced, the ramrod missing). 87 cm; 34¼ in barrel The inlaid hunting subjects are closely inspired by the engravings of the Flemish artist Jan van der Straat, called Stradanus (1523-1605): the horses, hounds and the other animals conspicuously so. While none of the inlaid scenes are taken directly from the engravings it is nonetheless clear that the stockmaker has adapted some of the original scenes and many of the individual engraved subjects to suit his purposes, the bear-hunting scene on the cheek-piece for example draws on an engraved scene involving the killing of a stag. The van der Straat engravings also notably included exotic beasts, specifically the bears, camels and lions present on this stock. After 1567 van der Straat executed his series of hunting-themed designs for tapestries intended for the Villa Poggio a Caiano of Cosimo I de`Medici, Grand duke of Tuscany; engravings of these were published circa 1574-76. Two further series of his hunting engravings (44 and 61 prints respectively) were first published in 1578, with subsequent editions widely circulated.

A RARE 33-BORE GERMAN COMBINED MATCHLOCK AND SELF-SPANNING WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE, CIRCA 1660-70 with octagonal sighted barrel swamped at the muzzle and rifled with eight grooves, earlier large flat lock engraved with scrollwork and a flowering tendril at the rear, both the internal and the external component parts finely engraved, including the internal spindle-bridle decorated with a demon mask emerging from an acanthus pattern and the bridle over the spanning mechanism decorated with a flowering leafy branch, the external iron wheel-cover pierced and engraved with opposing pairs of human grotesques, with engraved sliding pan-cover with button release, the dog decorated with three monsters, a grotesque and a demon mask, the head of the match-holder formed as a monster`s head, the latter released by a moulded sliding bar engaging a pivot safety, and the external springs for the dog, the match-holder and the safety-catch all cut with matching fluted leaf-shaped finials, with walnut full stock, fluted fore-end, the rear portion decorated with incised hatched designs of scrollwork and foliage involving inlaid engraved horn rosettes, carved cheek-piece, patch-box cover decorated en suite (its base plate missing), horn butt-plate, iron trigger-guard with fluted finial en suite with the lock components, engraved horn ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap, and wooden ramrod (the sear-spring unseated, the butt-plate button finial and the ramrod tip each missing, discoloured varnish throughout) 98.8 cm; 38 7/8 in barrel The lock dates from circa 1650-55, it compares closely with another in this collection which is dated 1653 and which is undoubtedly from by the same workshop. The lock is without question the original on which this rifle was built

A FINE 30-BORE WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE, BOHEMIAN OR GERMAN, CIRCA 1680 with swamped octagonal sighted barrel decorated with an engraved band of leaves and monsters together with matted panels of scrolling foliage chiselled at the base of the breech, with further flowers and leaves engraved about the muzzle, a garland engraved over the muzzle face and the breech struck with a mark, engraved barrel tang, flat lock engraved with a bold scrolling pattern of flowers and leafy branches on a contrasting hatched ground, pierced engraved wheel-cover involving addorsed leaping stags, sliding pan-cover with engraved release button and the dog and its spring bridle each pierced and engraved with marine monsters, figured walnut full stock decorated over its rear half with a series of bold scrollwork mouldings carved in relief, the butt with carved thumb-rest and carved patch-box cover decorated with a demon mask within a scrollwork panel, fluted fore-end, iron mounts comprising plain butt-plate, ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap, engraved trigger-guard, and the trigger-guard and the trigger-plate each with engraved leaf finials (the back-sight and the ramrod each missing) 85 cm; 33½ in barrel. The central detail of the maker`s mark on the breech is indistinct but the mark as a whole closely resembles the cartouche-shaped marks used by some of the leading Prague gunmakers in the second half of the 17th century

A 50-BORE GERMAN WHEEL-LOCK RIFLE, CIRCA 1610-20 with octagonal sighted barrel with swamped muzzle of "Hog`s back" form, rifled with seven very narrow grooves and struck with a mark on the lower side of the breech (indistinct), flat lock fitted with siding pan-cover with release button faced with a brass lion mask cast in relief, and domed gilt-brass wheel-cover engraved with the owner`s quartered arms within a scrolling design of flowers (the internal wheel-sear and one side-nail each missing), wooden full stock inlaid with a finely engraved series of staghorn plaques, including rollwerk designs of leaves and fruit about the barrel tang, at the base of the cheek-piece and over the upper surface of the butt, the latter also involving a demon mask, with a pair of inlaid decorated plaques impaled by the lock side-nails, horn rosettes impaled by the barrel-pins and the butt sparsely inlaid with horn segmental lines, fitted with plain sliding patch-box cover, horn butt-plate, horn ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap each engraved en suite with the inlay on the stock, and iron trigger-guard (ramrod missing). 77.5 cm; 29¾ in barrel

A FINE FRENCH BRONZE MOUNTAIN HOWITZER," L`ACCUEIL", OBUSIER DE 12CM VALÉE, MODÈLE 1828, STRASBOURG, DATED 23 FEV. 1850, ON ITS ORIGINAL CARRIAGE with smooth-bore barrel cast with raised flat muzzle ring and base ring each grooved for sighting, cast with the individual name of the gun, "L`Accueil", on a stippled scroll towards the muzzle, with foundry mark between the trunnions, a cursive "C", the ends of the trunnions marked with the weight "101K" and "No.2" respectively, with the motto of the Second Republic, "Liberte Egalite Fraternite" surmounting the cipher of the Republic towards the base, recessed broad vent field, the base ring cast with a pair of stippled panels, one marked "Strasbourg" and other "23 Fev. 1850", with button cascable, and in fine condition throughout : on its original regulation grey-painted wooden carriage, "modèle de montagne", for pack transport, with two-piece trail bedded for a quoin only and with no provision for fitting a limber pintle, with lightly cambered iron-shod spoked wheels, together with its original elevating quoin and combined brush staff and ramrod stamped with the calibre designation "12" (two pins for a cap-square and other small carriage mounts missing) 95 cm; 37½ in barrel This gun was intended to fire a 4kg. explosive round. The Système Valée was developed by Sylvian-Charles, comte Valée, as an improvement on the Gribeauval ordnance system and was adopted in 1828. Further examples, each also individually named, are preserved in the Musée de l`Armée, Paris. Surviving carriages are understandably rare; this example, constructed for the Mountain Howitzer and distinct from a field carriage, is possibly now unique. Though then obsolete, the present gun and its carriage were almost certainly a trophy of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.

A CASED .32 CALIBRE AIRCANE, LATE 19TH CENTURY with smooth bore barrel fitted with a screw-in rifled brass sleeve, with turn-off brass finial for the muzzle, button trigger, screw-in air reservoir section incorporating the cane handle, retaining some early brown paint: in early fitted oak case lined in green baize, complete with key for setting the trigger, pump, bullet mould, and an early printed instruction sheet (torn) 50.7 cm; 20 in barrel

AN INDIAN SWORD (FIRANGI), 18TH/EARLY 19TH CENTURY with broad single-edged blade widening to a sharp point, cut with a series of fullers and incised with foliate panels on each side along the back-edge, iron hilt of khanda form, including a pair of langets and broad knuckle-guard with moulded edges, pommel with attenuated button, and cord-bound grip 84.5 cm; 33 3/4 in blade

AN INDIAN SWORD (FIRANGI), 18TH/EARLY 19TH CENTURY with very broad polished blade double-edged towards the point, iron hilt of khanda form, comprising a pair of langets, quillons chiselled with monster heads, figure-of-eight shaped guard, broad knuckle-guard and pommel with attenuated button, decorated throughout with gold damascened flowers and foliage (losses), and wooden grip retaining a portion of its silver thread and cord binding 68.5 cm; 27 in blade

A PERSIAN SWORD (SHAMSHIR), 18TH CENTURY with curved single-edged blade inlaid in brass with a small oval panel on one face (pitted), iron hilt including langets with pierced finials, a pair of button-shaped quillons, cap pommel and finely carved ivory grip-scales decorated with flowerheads and foliage 66 cm; 26 in blade

A FINE 25 BORE OTTOMAN MIQUELET-LOCK RIFLE, TURKEY, CIRCA 1780 with octagonal barrel rifled with seven grooves, retained by four chased silver bands, encrusted with gold scrolls and flowers at the muzzle and the breech, the middle section with three gold-encrusted inscriptions and further sprays of gold foliage, struck with the barrelsmith`s mark on the left of the breech and fitted with standing back-sight also encrusted with gold, the tang overlaid with an engraved silver plaque, characteristic lock encrusted with gold scrolls of foliage within a beadwork frame, matching cock and steel, steel button trigger, figured hardwood full stock applied with a large openwork silver plaque beneath the lock, faceted butt formed of dark hardwood bands filled with panels of coloured bone inlays forming stars framed by green and white bone fillets and a band of engraved silver, profusely applied with further elaborate openwork silver plaques, a large engraved silver plaque about the barrel tang, silver barrel bolt escutcheons, green-stained horn fore-end cap inlaid with brass pellets, and iron ramrod 83.2 cm; 32 ¾ in barrel

A FINE AND RARE DUTCH CARVED IVORY TOWN SWORD, SECOND HALF OF THE 17TH CENTURY with slender tapering blade formed in two stages with a pronounced medial ridge decorated with a filed indented pattern running the entire length of the blade on both sides, the wider rear portion terminating in abrupt shoulders at the forte, the hilt constructed almost entirely of ivory, in four pieces carved in relief, comprising cube-shaped quillon-block decorated with a concentric rosette pattern on both sides, carrying a pair of fluted lobed quillons each rising from a concentric moulding at its base and attached by metal rods with button terminals, the grip and the pommel carved in one piece, the former with a fine basketwork pattern with fluted mouldings at both ends, the pommel en suite with the quillons, the blade tang capped by a small iron washer, and the hilt in fine condition throughout 86.3 cm; 34 in blade The carved design of the hilt is closely related to a series of carved circular ivory powder-flasks broadly attributed to the 17th century and from Dutch workshops as yet not identified. A quantity of these flasks were formerly in the collection of the late H.L. Visser; see Puype 1996, Volume I, Part 3. Notable among these, in particular for the similarity of the carved subjects, is Cat. 650, pp. 376-7.

A RARE EAST EUROPEAN SWORD, HUNGARIAN OR POLISH, SECOND HALF OF THE 17TH CENTURY with broad flat double-edged blade with rebated tip, the lower half etched on both sides with an heraldic crest surmounting a classical portrait bust and a Latin inscription differing over the respective sides, with iron crosspiece formed with button tips and upper and lower langets, flat beak-shaped cap-pommel canted downwards at its front, original grip bound with leather over cords, and the blade tang secured by a lateral rivet on iron rosette washers 83 cm; 32 ½ in blade The classical portraits are named respectively "Hannibal Canagus" and "Hyppimedon"(sic). The flat and rebated form of the blade and the moralistic tone of the inscriptions would suggest that it was intended for use mounted as either a bearing sword or a sword of justice.

A GERMAN CROSS-HILTED HUNTING-SWORD WITH EXTREMELY RARE ETCHED CALENDAR BLADE, THE BLADE CIRCA 1620-30, THE HILT AND THE SCABBARD EACH 16TH CENTURY with long broad flat blade double-edged and coming to a very short point, etched in fine detail over almost the entire length of each face with a Gregorian calendar in linear tabulated form, one side bearing the months "IANIARIVS" to "IVNIVS", the other "IVLIVS" to "DECEMBER", giving the days of the week abbreviated to their first letters, each day of the month numbered and with its saints` day or day of religious observance identified, the named months additionally identified by their respective German seasonal names together with the monthly total number of days, the monthly tables punctuated by cartouches filled with the twelve Zodiacal signs together with a cabalistic Greek miniscule letter, the final cartouche inscribed "Mon Esperence En Dieu" ("My Hope in God"), and decorated with rollwerk panels on both sides at the base, fitted with earlier rounded iron crosspiece with button terminals, stopper-shaped pommel, and wooden grip retaining a pair of "Turks` heads" and a portion of the original binding all of patterned brass wire: in an earlier leather-covered wooden scabbard, decorated with tooled moulded bands about the top, with provision for extra-pieces and fitted with pierced U-shaped iron chape (the blade coarsely filed along the edges and over the surface of the base on one side, the scabbard suspension hook and the extra-pieces each missing) 87 cm; 34¼ in blade This blade would appear to be hitherto unrecorded. A sword mounted with a calendar blade tabulated and inscribed in a near identical manner, almost certainly by the same hand, is in the von Kienbusch Collection, in the Philadelphia Museum of Art: see von Kienbusch 1963, cat. no. 439, pl.CII. The von Kienbusch blade is etched additionally with portrait medallions, including that of Maximilian, Count Palatine of the Rhine, the title with which he was invested in 1623. Another closely comparable blade signed by the Solingen bladesmith Clemens Tache was formerly in the armoury of the Grand-Dukes of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in the Wartburg: see Diener-Schönberg 1912 (W.-G.-I. Nr. 4456), cat. no. 401, p.110, pl.60. The Gregorian or Christian calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. For a general account of extant German and English hunting weapons with calendar blades see Blackmore 1971, pp.17-18. Also see Seiler 1940-42, pp. 11-19, for a detailed survey of the calendar blades of Ambrosius Gemlich of Munich (active circa 1527-42), whose work was most likely the source of inspiration for the present 17th century blade. The scabbard is of the type found on German and Swiss Landesknecht swords in the early 16th century and as such is very rare in its own right. A closely comparable example with sword and extra-pieces, circa 1520, is in the collection of the late Sir James Mann: see Dufty, 1974, pl. 16a.

A GERMAN BOAR-HUNTING SWORD (SCHWEINSDEGEN), THIRD QUARTER OF THE 16TH CENTURY with short blade of flattened diamond section forged in one piece with a long slender shank of rectangular section, slotted immediately behind the blade for attaching a toggle, struck on one side with the bladesmith`s mark "PP", and formed with a short ricasso with acutely bevelled sides flared towards the base, faceted iron crosspiece with button terminals, chiselled early rapier pommel, and early moulded two-stage grip bound with leather over cords (the pommel associated, perhaps within the early period of use). 101 cm; 39¾ in blade

A RARE TWO-HAND SWORD FOR FIELD COMBAT, GERMAN OR SWISS, CIRCA 1530-40 with broad, near-flat, double-edged blade coming to a short point, one side with running wolf mark retaining some latten inlay, and with traces of marks or letters cut along the edges of the ricasso, iron hilt formed with a robust faceted crosspiece spirally fluted towards both ends, with button terminals and a rectangular solid plate over the central section, stopper-shaped pommel, and original leather-covered two-stage grip bound with a leather outer layer over cords (the outer layer probably 16th century also) 109.2 cm; 43 in blade A comparable sword attributed to circa 1540 is in the Landesmuseum, Zurich (Dep 525); see Schneider and Stüber 1980, p.88, cat. no. 114. Another, also comparable, is in the Landeszeughaus, Graz (Inv.Nr. BL 1); see Krenn 1997, pp. 8-9.

A GERMAN SWORD OF JUSTICE, TOGETHER WITH ITS SCABBARD, LATE 17TH-EARLY 18TH CENTURY with broad flat double-edged blade coming to a vestigial point, with the cabalistic numbers "1544" cut within the short fuller on each face at the forte, and incised with a wheel of justice on one face and a gibbet on the reverse, with iron crosspiece formed with a pair of swelling quillons, plummet-shaped pommel rising to a button, and the grip retaining its original leather binding over cords, complete with its original leather-covered wooden scabbard, the outer face with tooled ornament towards the top, with iron chape and a punched decorated iron hook for suspension 82.5 cm; 32½ in blade

A TWO-HAND SWORD, POSSIBLY FOR THE FIELD, GERMAN OR SWISS, CIRCA 1550-60 with robust near-flat blade with sharpened edges and coming to a short point, struck with a group of three small marks on both sides of the forte, cut with a narrow short basal fuller on both sides, formed with a pair of pyramidal short flukes at the head of the ricasso and incised with linear borders and subsidiary borders about the ricasso and the fullers respectively, blackened iron hilt also of robust construction, diagonally fluted in the middle, with a pair of rounded bars with trumpet-shaped tips each acutely in-curved to form a near-annular guard at each face, crosspiece with strongly moulded button terminals (one quillon an old replacement) and decorated throughout with segments of spiral fluting, with bulbous pommel boldly incised with three large scallop shells, and moulded two-stage grip bound with leather over cords 118.8 cm; 46¾ in blade

A GERMAN SWORD OF JUSTICE, TOGETHER WITH SCABBARD, 17TH CENTURY with broad flat rebated blade with a device inlaid in latten within the short fuller on both sides at the forte, a wheel of justice and a gibbet respectively, iron crosspiece swelling towards the ends, plummet-shaped pommel with prominent button, and leather-covered grip lightly decorated with tooled ornament (the leather covering probably an old replacement), in a contemporary leather-covered wooden scabbard, perhaps the original, with provision for a pair of by-knives and fitted with iron chape (the scabbard in deteriorated condition) 85.7 cm; 33¾ in blade

A RARE SEVEN YEARS` WAR FRENCH REGULATION HUSSARS` SABRE, À LA HONGROISE, OF THE REGIMENT DE BERCHINŸ, CIRCA 1752-67 with long slender curved blade double-edged towards the point, cut with a pair of narrow fullers bordering the greater central portion of the back-edge, etched with the royal arms of France below the figure of a hussar on both sides towards the base, with cartouches enclosing the inscriptions "Regiment de Berchinÿ" on one face and "Vive le Roÿ" on the other, and the back-edge etched with the signature of the fourbisseur "Berger Marchand Fourbisseur a Strasborg"(sic), brass hilt of flat bars with bevelled edges, including rounded double langets on both sides, cap pommel with a brass drop-shaped washer under the tang button, original grip bound with leather over cords, with a single brass-capped rivet on either side, fitted with back-piece, and in un-restored condition throughout 92.5 cm; 36 3/8 in blade This sabre conforms to the pattern set out in the French regulations for Hussars on 15th May 1752. The Berchiny Hussar regiment was raised in 1719 by a Hungarian Lieutenant, Count Ladislas Ignace de Berchenÿ (1689-1778). Three squadrons of the regiment, comprising 65 officers and 470 men, fought in the German campaign of 1743. During the Seven Years` War four squadrons of the regiment formed a part of the Light Troops of the Right Reserve of the French army of the Lower Rhine, June 1758-May 1760, and fought with distinction. See Pétard 1999, Vol. I, no.57a, pp. 76-7. For a variant de Berchinÿ sabre, its blade etched in a near-identical manner, see Blondieau 2002, p.91.

A LIGHT CAVALRY OFFICER`S SABRE AFTER THE HUNGARIAN FASHION, FRENCH OR GERMAN, LATE 18TH CENTURY with curved slender blade double-edged towards a clipped point and cut with a broad long fuller on both sides, gilt-brass stirrup-hilt with milled linear borders, including double langets, quillon with down-curved globular terminal, the pommel with raised fluted drop-shaped top with prominent button, and original grip bound with leather over cords and studded with pairs of domed brass rivets, in its leather-covered wooden scabbard (possibly an early association), with gilt-brass mounts, the chape lengthened in the French style and fitted with iron drag, and the locket and the chape each with a faceted tubular mount for suspension 87.2 cm; 34¼ in blade

A 19th century Palais Royal style satinwood sewing companion of rectangular form, domed top, central steel carrying handle and mother of pearl oval inset, decorated with clusters of steel faceted pins ,the velvet lined interior with silver thimble, replacement mother of pearl needlecase, steel scissors and button hook, blued steel ball feet, 13cm x 7.5cm x 4cm.

A good 19th century tortoiseshell ""Lady`s Companion"" of rectangular section, with hinged sloping lid centred by a white metal tablet, the interior in crimson silk and velvet, with tortoiseshell backed notelet, silk skein holder with three mother of pearl tools, engraved border silver thimble (misshapen), folding blade knife, silver handled button hook and faceted glass tapering scent bottle, 6.8cm x 5.5cm x 10.5cm.

Eight pairs of steel button-holing scissors, including examples by G. Buteft & Co., H.S.B. & Co., Germany, Wingfield & Co., and two `Buttericks Magic Cutter` examples. (8)

Eleven pairs of scissors, all steel, medium sizes, comprising; a pair with bird form arms, 13.5cm, a pair with cornucopia arms, 14cm, a button holing pair, a Persian style pair, 15cm, two novice pairs and others. (11) (Betty Wolf Collection)

A mixed lot, comprising; four small button hooks, two pairs of steel tweezers in the form of lady`s legs, two tweezer/earspoons, a seam knife, and a pair of opium pipe tweezers, largest 13.5cm. (qty) (Diane Pelham Burn Collection)

A 19th century Palais Royal style satinwood sewing companion of rectangular form, domed top, central steel carrying handle and mother of pearl oval inset, decorated with clusters of steel faceted pins ,the velvet lined interior with silver thimble, replacement mother of pearl needlecase, steel scissors and button hook, blued steel ball feet, 13cm x 7.5cm x 4cm.