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Lot 502
WW2 RAF Lancaster 5C/366 Early Mk 2 Aircraft Interior Cockpit Light Lamp. It is in reasonable used condition Length is 5inches. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £4.99, EU from £6.99, Rest of World from £8.99
Lot 509
WW2 RAF (Spitfire/Lancaster etc) Cockpit Lamp Dimmer. 5c 724 Dimmer Switch. Good clean condition. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £4.99, EU from £6.99, Rest of World from £8.99
Lot 105
A Drum Microscope and Bench Illuminant, English, Late 19th century,the microscope with six objectives in mahogany case, the lamp with glass reservoir, bullseye condenser, and ceramic shade, in case, the largest 13in (33cm) high, (2)Footnotes:Provenance:From the collection of Dr MacKinnon.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 64
A J. Short 1 1/4-inch Brass Transit Telescope, English, Late 19th century,Signed J. SHORT, 2 GLADSTONE ST, SOUTHWARK, LONDON, Pivoted on stand for single-plane movement, with accompanying spirit level, supported on painted brass base, in a fitted pine box with two objectives, prism lens, with lamp on stand, the microscope 12in (30cm) high; the case 13 3/4in (35cm) wide Footnotes:The transit telescope was used in order to create star charts, by combining the time at which a star crosses the meridian with the angle of the telescope.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 115
TURING (ALAN)Autograph letter signed ('Yours Alan') to Alfred William Beuttell ('Dear Mr Beuttell'), returning his notes on the Monte-Carlo system '...with a few notes on what I imagine is the explanation of its success...', going on to say '...I remember your telling me a few months ago that a method for calculating the illumination level on the working plane in a room was rather badly needed. Of course one could not expect to get a simple & accurate formula for anything so complicated...', followed by detailed explanations illustrated by an equation ('...It is illuminated by a uniform point source of candle power I placed at the centre... I am sure there is no need for me to say how one would apply it in practice... I just thought this one might be of use to you...'), sending '...Regards to everyone, and please don't feel there is any need to answer these ravings of mine...'; together with the above-mentioned four-page analysis of the Monte-Carlo system headed 'Gambling System', concluding '...The general effect is when that for short runs one most probably wins or else once loses an unexpectedly large sum. As the length of the run is increased the chances of winning becomes more remote & is negligible for 100,000 spins...', 7 pages in all on King's College headed paper, light dust staining, creased at folds, rust stain from old paperclip, 8vo (178 x 134mm.), Cambridge, 2 February [19]33Footnotes:'PLEASE DON'T FEEL THERE IS ANY NEED TO ANSWER THESE RAVINGS OF MINE': ALAN TURING'S ANALYSIS OF THE MONTE-CARLO GAMBLING SYSTEM & WORK ON A NEW METHOD OF LIGHTING.Turing's analysis of the Monte-Carlo Gambling System is couched in the language of mathematics and equations but put simply, by working out the probability of winning at increasing increments of 150, 1,520, 4,560 and 30,400 spins he proved mathematically that the longer you play, the probability of losing money increases – '...for short runs one most probably wins or else one loses an unexpectedly large sum. As the length of run is increased the chances of winning becomes more remote...', he confirms.The recipient of our letter, Alfred William Beuttell (1880-1965) was the father of Turing's schoolfriend Victor Beuttell (see the following lot). After leaving Sherborne, the boys remained close and Turing spent much time with the Beuttell family. Alfred had made his fortune by inventing and patenting the Linolite electric strip reflector lamp (better known now as the striplight) in 1901, his first important contract being a system of continuous lighting for the Coronation of Edward VII, manufactured by the Edison and Swan Electric Company with whom he had a long association. Buoyed by his company's success pre-war he enjoyed the life of a wealthy bachelor – flying (he met Bleriot and watched the Wright brothers), motor racing and sailing. He spent several months at Monte Carlo operating with some success his own gambling system. Stories of having lived for a month on his winnings piqued the young Turing's interest whilst staying with the family over Christmas 1932 after the death of Victor's mother in November: '...He showed Alan his gambling system, which Alan took back to Cambridge and studied. On 2 February 1933 he wrote back with the result of his analysis, which was that the system yielded an expected gain of exactly zero, and that accordingly Mr Beuttell's winning had been entirely due to luck and not to skill...' (Hodges, A., Alan Turing: The Enigma, 2014, p.89). Our letter is hitherto unpublished, but his biographer Andrew Hodges mentions it with reference to a letter Turing wrote to his friend Norman Routledge in 1953 mentioning the odds of being arrested for homosexuality: '...Alan Turing used logarithms of betting odds as the key to the work he had done for the 'racket' of cryptography, and his sustained fascination with probability is illustrated by that reference [in Routledge's letter] to a one-in-ten chance of being caught. In his 1953 stoic humour there is a link with innocent Anti-War undergraduate days of twenty years earlier when he analysed Alfred Beuttell's Monte Carlo gambling system...' (Hodges, p.xxxi). Whilst his analysis here was a light-hearted exercise, Turing's work on probability had wider implications, and his research paper, The Applications of Probability to Cryptology, in which he applied vigorous probability analysis to a wide range of cryptoanalytic problems, was key to the decryption work undertaken at Bletchley Park.Turing also helped Beuttell in his pioneering work in the scientific measurement of illumination. In 1927 Beuttell had taken out patents on a new invention, the 'K-ray Lighting System', designed to allow uniform illumination of pictures of posters within a glass box and in Turing he found the perfect person to find the right formula for the curvature of the glass. Turing '...suddenly produced the formula, without being able to explain it, which agreed with Alfred Beuttell's calculation. But Alan went further, and pointed out the complication which arose through the thickness of the glass, which would cause a second reflection on the front surface. This made necessary a change in the curve of the K-ray System which was soon put into application for exterior hanging signs, the first contract being with J. Lyons and Co., Ltd, the catering chain... it always delighted Alan that a mathematical formula could actually work in the physical world. He had always liked practical demonstrations, even though he was not good at them...' (Hodges, p.73-4). By the early 1930's Beuttell's work as a specialist lighting consultant brought him large projects such as the illumination of the Freemason's new headquarters in London, which Turing also advised on. Our letter provides a formula for the illumination of the floor of a hemispheric room lit from its centre, a problem which they had previously discussed ('...I just thought this one might be of use to you...'). During the Second World War, the Linolite company became the main supplier of hose clips for the de-icing systems of bomber aircraft but reverted back their main activity in 1945. The company remained in Malmesbury until its closure in 1993.A photograph of Alfred Beuttell at the time this letter was written and a copy of his biography The Man Who Made Linolite is included in the lot.Provenance: Alfred Beuttell (1880-1965); Victor Beuttell (1915-1993); and thence by descent.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 134
A Quantity of Vintage Original Action Man Uniforms Accessories From 1960’s Artic Explorer, including: Polar Explorer, Anorak, over-trousers, gloves, boots, rucksack, goggles, skis, ski sticks, sextant, snow shoes, helmet, ice axe, goggles, pitons, karabiners, map, radio transmitter, storm lamp lens only, compass, hat, Mountaineer: anorak, knee breaches, boots, rucksack, ice axe, crampons, suckers, Base camp: flag, tent & wire fittings, billycan and wire ladder, all in good to excellent condition. (A.Lot)
Lot 74
Mamod Boxed T.E.1 Traction Engine, complete with vaporising spirit lamp, filler funnel. detachable steering extension, plus boxed line shaft, model power hammer and miniature polishing machine, all un-tested, in very good used condition, original boxes are very good, with Gales Barnstaple & Bideford shop labels. (4 items) This item has not been tested.
Lot 133
A selection of mixed British Militaria, WW2 onwards to include: 3 fencing foils, one Spanish made decorative sword: WW2 Respirator Specs: WW2 Eyesheilds Anti gas, WW2 Field Dressings, post war mess tin and private purchase kinfe, fork spoon set (same as WW2 issue but undated) WW2 West Yorkshire Regt Officers bamboo swagger stick a/f, WW2 Lamp Electric No1, 37 pattern bayonet frog, two sets of 1980's AFV and Aircraft Recognition cards, British and Warsaw Pact, 1980's ration items with P38 tin opener, ERII marked issue bar of soap, RN Cigarette packet (Empty) ladies undies with RAF Squadron Insignia, Hexy cooker, empty brass fire extinguisher, 3 Puttees, hood, Toy Cannon, etc. (Q)
Lot 65
A Masonic jewel, the top bar marked NYASA 956, with enamel decorated shield of two figures, marked to reverse Chancellor Dublin, and stamped 15ct, with a lower Masonic emblem, inscribed WOR BRO F.A.Usher R.W.M 1921, from the Bretheren of Lodge Nyasa number 956 S.C, 8cm high, together with a W Miller of Birmingham Aladdin's lamp enamel cufflink, 17.6g all in. (2)
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307207 item(s)/page