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AN IMPERIAL RUSSIAN NAVAL FUSE CONTAINER
constructed in brass and shaped with belt loops behind, hinged lid, stamped on the reverse with '1844' and Cyrillic script - 9in. (23cm.) wide
£150-250
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LOG OF H.M.S. MINOTAUR COMMANDED BY LORD W.T. KERR, FLAG-SHIP OF REAR ADMIRAL F. SEYMOUR
2 calligraphic titles within lithographed border, 79 ff., 6 pen and 2 parts, ink plans and maps, 2 folding, and 6 illustrations, 2 folding, including a large folding and coloured illustrations of the Minotaur and other ships of the Channel Squadron, 1875-76, stopping at Portsmouth, Vigo, Lisbon, Gibraltar, Madeira and Lagos (Algarve); together with a log of H.M.S. Express commanded by Lieut Hon. A.C. Littleton (one entry) and H.M.S. Tamar commanded by Captain W.A. Liddell, 14ff., calligraphic title within a lithographed border, 1877, stopping at Gibraltar, Malta, Port Said, Aden, Trincomalee and Hong Kong; log of H.M.S. Charybdis commanded by Captain Charles F. Hotham, 137 ff., calligraphic title, 8 pen and ink plans and maps, 5 folding and one large and folding, 2 pen and ink drawings, 1877-79, stopping at Singapore, Manila, Balabac, Ambong, Labuan, Dinding, Penang, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Kobe, Yokohama, Simonoseki, Chinkiang; log of H.M.S. Juno commanded by Captain James A. Poland, 44ff., calligraphic title within a lithographic border, 3 maps, one coloured, 1879, stopping at Hong Kong, Singapore, Port Natal, Simon's Bay, Ascension Island, St Helena, Spithead; together with four logs in one volume, all kept by Richard H. Peirse
£400-600
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EDOARDO DE MARTINO (ITALIAN, 1838-1912)
The Royal Yachts 'Victoria & Albert III' and 'Alexandra' with King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra aboard, passing a Solent fort in passage to meet the Tsar at Revel, June 1908
Oil on canvas
Signed 'E. De Martino' (lower right)
12 x 19in. (30.5 x 48.5cm.)
£2500-3500
The R.Y. Alexandra (about a third smaller than the Victoria & Albert) entered service in May 1908 and was used almost immediately for the King's visit to Russia, departing Portsmouth on the 5th June. This was the first time a British monarch had visited Russia and the vast suite accompanying the King needed the additional yacht to accommodate it all. Such an important meeting required pictures to record the event and this must have been one of De Martino's last commissions before suffering a stroke in 1909. The meeting at Revel (modern Tallinn) was considered a great success and Nicholas paid a more discreet visit to Royal Cowes the next year. It seems highly likely this is a preparatory oil sketch for a larger work that, if completed, has yet to be located.
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HERBERT C. AHIER (19/20TH CENTURY)
R.Y. 'Alberta' with the King aboard reviewing Dreadnoughts with escorting torpedo boats; An 18th Century Anglo-Spanish action
Each signed and inscribed 'Herbert C. Ahier, Feby 1911' (lower left), inscribed to reverse 'The Gentlewoman Ltd' with printing instructions in mss.
Watercolour and gouache
12¾ x 19in. (32.5 x 48cm.)
(2)
£300-500
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δ FRANK WATSON WOOD (BRITISH, 1862-1953)
Training Ships at Gosport
Signed 'Frank Wood 1912' (lower right); original gallery label for Harris & Sons, Plymouth no. 8224 and dated 23rd August 1912
Watercolour heightened with white
9 x 21½in. (23 x 55cm.)
£500-800
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A NAVAL PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM
including six photographs of the interior of the R.Y. Victoria & Albert III; together with an associated silver-plated cigarette box with the names and dates of 21 ships served on engraved on the sides
(2)
£150-250
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ANTARCTICA
a photograph album with 176 actual photographs mounted, various sizes, including eleven depicting the Nimrod, one with Shackleton in the foreground, the others of various subjects in England and New Zealand, contemporary buckram, pieces missing from front cover
£1500-2500
The interesting and unpublished photographs of Nimrod show dignitaries aboard (3), being loaded in Lyttelton, New Zealand, one showing nine Shetland ponies aboard and another showing a large crate being manhandled by four men (4), Nimrod being towed (3) and another, 1907-1908
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WILLIAM MINSHALL BIRCHALL (AMERICAN, 1884-1941)
With the Kaiser's fleet
Signed 'WM Birchall, 1913' and inscribed as per title (lower left)
Watercolour heightened with white
9 x 19¼in. (23 x 49cm.)
£400-600
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WILLIAM MINSHALL BIRCHALL (AMERICAN, 1884-1941)
H.M.S. 'Mars'
Signed 'WM Birchall' (lower left), inscribed with title and dated 1915
Watercolour heightened with white
8½ x 12½in. (21.5 x 32cm.)
£250-350
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WILLIAM MINSHALL BIRCHALL (AMERICAN, 1884-1941)
With Tyrwhitt's Scouts; The Watchdogs of Britain
Each signed 'WM Birchall' (lower corners), inscribed with titles and dated 1919
Watercolour heightened with white
8½ x 12in. (21.5 x 30.5cm.); 8½ x 12in. (21.5 x 30.5cm.) respectively
(2)
£150-250
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WILLIAM MINSHALL BIRCHALL (AMERICAN, 1884-1941)
Britain's watchdogs
Signed 'WM Birchall' (lower left), inscribed with title and dated 1914
Watercolour heightened with white
9¼ x 13½in. (23.5 x 34cm.)
£300-500
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WILLIAM MINSHALL BIRCHALL (AMERICAN, 1884-1941)
Dreadnoughts all; A fleet in being
Each signed 'WM Birchall' (lower left), inscribed with titles, the first dated 1919
Watercolour heightened with white
7¾ x 12in. (19.5 x 30.5cm.); 10 x 16¼in. (25.5 x 41.2cm.)
(2)
£400-600
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WILLIAM MINSHALL BIRCHALL (AMERICAN, 1884-1941)
"War & Commerce"- Mouth of the Thames; Between lights on the Medway
Each signed 'WM Birchall' (lower corners), inscribed with titles, the latter dated 1919
Watercolour heightened with white
7¾ x 12in. (19.5 x 30.5cm.); 10 x 16¼in. (25.5 x 41.2cm.)
(2)
£300-500
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AFTER WILLIAM LIONEL WYLLIE (BRITISH, 1851-1931)
Our Fathers: To the memory of the nameless killed and wounded, an illustrated poem by Captain Ronald A. Hopwood RN
Etching, set in four numbered plates
Each signed W.L. Wyllie (lower left)
Pl. 12 x 8½in. ( 32 x 21.5cm.)
(4, mounted in two pairs)
£80-120
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A SET OF COLOURED NAVAL HISTORY MAGIC LANTERN LECTURE SLIDES
comprising 49 numbered and labelled or annotated 3¼in. square slides contained within four loose compartments within wooden box with address label inscribed S.H. Benson Lantern Lectures Bureau, London (old wear), the box - 8½in. (21.5cm.) wide
£200-300
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AN INTERESTING SIGNAL GROUP FROM THE GRAND FLEET, SCAPA FLOW, AND PERTAINING TO THE SURRENDER OF THE GERMAN HIGH SEAS FLEET, NOVEMBER, 1918
mss carbons on official RN signal paper transmitted to Portsmouth between 12th-30th November with lengthy timed signals written in a clear hand for subjects including disarmament, surrender of the submarine fleet, treatment of British prisoners of war following the Armistice, etc., each numbered in Roman numerals top left and contained plastic files, each - 9½ x 8in. (24 x 20cm.)
£300-500
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HOSKING, R.B. REAR ADMIRAL, PRIVATE LOG ON THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH, BRITANNIA AND VICTORY
47 leaves, all but a few on card, calligraphic title, Hosking's watercolour and gilt arms as frontispiece, 31 watercolour drawings, many of a humorous nature, 147 actual photographs mounted, the photographs and drawings of varying sizes, original wrappers, 4to, 1 January 1909-25 September 1924
A lively account of Hosking's ships in peace and war and describing voyages to New York, Malta and Gibraltar.
£150-250
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A 13½IN. TAMPION FROM THE BATTLESHIP H.M.S. KING GEORGE V, 1911
with left-facing profile of the King, inscribed to outer edge GEORGES V DG BRITT:OMN:REX F. IND: IMP:, with crinkle rim - 17in. (43cm.) diameter
£1000-1500
The first H.M.S. King George V was nameship to a class of four 25,420 ton 'Super Dreadnought' battleships of 1911, built at a cost of nearly £2 million each, the were armed with five pairs of 13½in. main guns, with 16 4in. secondary guns and 3 21in. torpedo tubes; Commissioned in November 1912 King George V was first assigned to the Home, then Grand Fleets. She served with Jellicoe at the Battle of Jutland and was broken in 1926 with a replacement launched in 1939 which, being part of the 'official' era of approved badges, used one of a different design to the 'unofficial' example offered in this lot
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THE SHIP'S BELL FROM H.M.S. HURST, 1916
cast in brass with name inscribed in an arc to front, crown top with later threaded suspension loop added, clapper. Overall height - 14in. (36cm.)
£600-800
The success of chartered pleasure steamers as mine sweepers and submarine hunters inspired the Admiralty to design and build their own and Hurst was a 'Racecourse' Class paddle minesweeper built under the Emergency War Programme by Dunlop, Bremner & Co. Also known as the 'Ascot' Class, thirty-two were built, displacing some 810 tons and just under 246ft long, they were lightly armed with two 6pdrs with two 2pdr pom-poms and manned by a crew of fifty. Their speed of 14½knots was compromised as water choked in the paddle boxes, but the class performed well overall with most surviving the War to be either broken up in 1922 as Hurst was, or converted to pleasure / passenger use. Ascot however was torpedoed by U-67 on the 10th November 1918, just a day before peace was declared.
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A REGULATION ROYAL NAVY BICORN SET BY GIEVES, CIRCA 1930
for the rank of Sub-Lieutenant, comprising bicorn, epaulettes and belt, contained in tôlewear case with maker's plate, top handle and inscribed E.D. Symes, R.N. - 18½in. (47cm.) diameter
£200-300
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A REVERSIBLE SILVER COMMEMORATIVE BROOCH FOR H.M.S. VENERABLE (1899)
with profile depiction of the vessel, the reverse with naval crown and banner title, marked for W.M. & Co Birmingham 1910 - 1¾in. (4.5cm.) diameter
£80-120
Venerable was a 15,000 ton battleship built at Chatham and served as Flagship to Rear Admiral Mediterranean, then the Channel and Atlantic Fleets. From 1912 she was placed in reserve with the Second Home Fleet at the Nore. Initially serving with the Dover Patrol in the Great War, she was sent to replace the Queen Elizabeth in the Dardanelles Campaign. Refitted at Gibraltar, she was used as a depot ship from 1916 and sold in 1920.
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THE BRIDGE BELL FROM THE 'ANCHUSA' CLASS CONVOY SLOOP AND PATROL FRIGATE H.M.S. PELARGONIUM, 1918
cast in brass with black filled lettering and T-bar suspension, complete with clapper - 7 x 7in. (18 x 18cm.)
£400-600
Built by William Hamilton & Co. at their Glen Yard, Pelargonium displaced 1290 tons and, dazzle camouflaged, was delivered in May 1918 for the last few months of the War. Sold to the Clan Line in 1921 and renamed Oaxaca, by 1939 she was part of the Greek-owned John Toyias & Co. and called Sofia. She was bombed and sunk by German aircraft on 25th April, 1941, at San Giorgio during the invasion of Greece
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THE "NAVY" CLOCK, CIRCA 1916
the carved former with white metal repoussé plate over depicting a British Tar holding a cutlass with bulldog beside him, pointing to a line of Dreadnoughts on the horizon, the clock movement inset in a gun emplacement, the lower edge with Reg Design No: 641728 [1914], contained within leather case with hinged doors, inset easel stand and plush fitted interior inscribed THE "NAVY" CLOCK / British Made Throughout , and card of issue dedicated to Jellicoe, the case - 10 x 6½in. (25.5 x 16.5cm.)
£600-800
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AN INTERESTING ALBUM OF PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THE DOVER/DUNKIRK COASTAL MOTOR BOAT DIVISION NO.7, 1914-18
comprising 48 photographs mounted in later album with repeated captions in pencil under with assorted views of the boats moored, in line abreast at speed, returning from the Dunkirk Raid, from the air, close ups of shot damage, scenes of dockyard activity, etc.; together with two photo post-cards; a presentation silver cigarette case with London marks for 1918 from Thornycroft & Co. engraved to A.E.P. Welman... as a reminder of mutual co-operation during the War Mar 1916 to Nov 1918 C.M.B. No.7 Dunkirk Advance base / Dover Dunkirk Base, the front engraved with a depiction of a launch at speed; an associated wooden, probably toy, model of a fast boat; and a double-ended whistle
(4)
£600-800
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AN HISTORICALLY INTERESTING AND RARE COLOMB-TYPE NAVAL SIGNAL LAMP, ADAPTED AND OWNED BY ADMIRAL SIR PERCY SCOTT, CIRCA 1900
constructed in copper and brass with clear bulls eye lens etched HARVIE GLASGOW 1900, shutter handle and rigid wooden handle to top with inset lanyard pulley, the chimney stamped Wm Harvie and brass plaque to front reading CAPT. PERCY SCOTT'S / HAND FLASHING LAMP / A. LÉGÉ & Co. / LONDON, and to rear inscribed SUSPEND LANTERN WHEN IN USE IF VESSEL IS ROLLING THROUGH AN ARC OF MORE THAN 20º, internal sliding burner and reflector with reservoir, sliding back with glazed inspection panel and air slide (lacking shutters) - 25in. (64cm.) high
£400-600
Admiral Sir Percy Scott (1853-1924) is principally known as a gunnery pioneer whose career culminated with command of the naval gunnery school Excellent. He was also something of an engineer and problem solver turning his genius to whatever issue was presented - his improvised gun carriages are accredited with the salvation of Ladysmith during the Boer war. In 1899 a report by the Mediterranean fleet's flag lieutenant was critical of the old systems in place and advocated Scott's ideas. Scott had not only invented the 'Truck' signal lamp, but come up with a cheap conversion to the Colomb signal lamp which, despite being standard issue, had handles which burned hot, and a shutter with too great a length of travel. Few seem to have survived and the example offered here appears to have been Scott's own, now sadly lacking its shutters
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A STUDENT ENGINEER'S ILLUSTRATED NOTEBOOK, CIRCA 1901
kept by F.J. Blake (Grave) over 113 pages with numerous coloured illustrations for steam machinery and torpedoes, inspection stamps for 20th December 1901, bound quarter calf marbled boards with mss owner's label to front inscribed F.J. Blake, R.N.R. - 5¾ x 9¾in. (15 x 25cm.)
£300-500
Frederick John Blake Grave (1866-1930) was a White Star Line engineer and close friend of many engineers aboard the Titanic, including Joseph Bell, the Chief Engineer.
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CHARLES ERNEST CUNDALL, RA, RWS (BRITISH, 1890-1971)
H.M.S. 'Cyclops', Portsmouth Harbour 1943
Inscribed to reverse 'I confirm this to be the work of my husband Charles Cundall RA, RWS, Jacqueline Cundall'
Watercolour
14 x 21in. (35.5 x 53.5cm.)
£350-450
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A RARE VICHY FRANCE PROPAGANDA POSTER, CIRCA 1942
Confiance ... ses Amputations se Poursuivent Méthodiquement, showing a grotesque character of Churchill as an octopus with his 'tentacles' cut off indicating the locations of British defeat, with artist's monogram SPK top right - 45½ x 30½in. (116 x 77.5cm.)
£500-700
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C.R.O. BENTTLEY (BRITISH, 20TH CENTURY)
Caricature: What we see from the Control Room
Signed and dated 'C.R.O. Benttley / 1939' (lower right); framer's label to reverse dated 26 August 1939
Watercolour heightened with white
12 x 19½in. (30.5 x 49.5cm.)
£150-250
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AN HISTORICALLY INTERESTING DESK LIGHTER, PRESENTED TO SUB-LT FRANCIS DAWSON-PAUL, FLEET AIR ARM, 3RD SEPTEMBER, 1939
plated metal in the form of a fighter pilot holding a propeller, the head hinged to reveal mechanism, attached to plinth base inscribed Presented to F. Dawson-Paul on completion of 1000 hours Instruction from his first 19 "A Licence" Pupils, 3.9.1939 - 11in. (28cm.) high
£400-600
Born in 1916, Dawson-Paul initially served with the R.A.F. (1934-37); with War imminent, he join the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm but was seconded back to the R.A.F. during the Battle of Britain, serving with No.64 Squadron at Kenley. Between the 1st and 25th July 1940 he was accredited with 7½ kills over the English Channel. He was shot down himself and taken prisoner by an E Boat dying of his wounds five days later, but not before he was recognised as the first Naval Air Ace of the Battle, and the highest scoring Naval Spitfire Ace of the War which remained unbeaten. It is an interesting coincidence that this lighter is dated for the day Britain declared War.
H.M.S. Rodney was the second of the two 'Nelson' class battleships ordered under the 1922 Building Programme, both of which were laid down on 28th December that year. Whilst the order for the nameship (H.M.S. Nelson) went to Armstrong's on the Tyne, that for Rodney went to Cammell Laird at Birkenhead and she was launched there on 17th December 1925. Displacing 33,950 tons (38,000 fully loaded), she measured 710 feet in length with a 106 foot beam and had impressive armour protection ranging up to 16in. in thickness. She and her sister were the only British battleships to mount 16in. guns and, in addition to nine of these grouped in threes on her main turrets, she also mounted 12-6in. guns, an array of anti-aircraft weapons and 2-24in. torpedo tubes submerged forward. Completed in August 1927 at a final cost of 7.6 million, she served first in the Atlantic Fleet (1928-32) and thereafter in the Home Fleet from 1932-41. In April 1940, whilst acting as flagship to Admiral Forbes, she suffered bomb damage during the operations off Norway but was soon repaired and back in service in time to take part in the hunt for the Bismarck in May 1941. Ordered to leave the convoy she was escorting and join the chase for the German raider, her engineers achieved speeds thought to be impossible given some earlier problems with both her engines and boilers, and it was Rodney which scored the first hit on Bismarck with her third salvo. After Bismarck had been sunk, Rodney then returned to convoy escort work until laid up for a major refit (December 1941 - May 1942) after which she was in action supporting the North African landings in November 1942. In June 1944 she participated in Operation Neptune, the naval contribution to the D-Day landings and later, on 12th August, she knocked out an unseen German battery on Alderney with a celebrated 16in. salvo fired over a hill. By the end of the War she had steamed 156,000 miles since her 1942 refit and was long overdue for another; post-War financial stringency dictated economy however and it was eventually decided to scrap her in February 1948
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A RARE 16IN. TAMPION FROM THE BATTLESHIP H.M.S. RODNEY, CIRCA 1927
heavily cast in brass with central device surrounded by rope grommet border and suspension hooks behind - 19in. (48cm.) diameter
£1500-2000
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A RARE 16IN. TAMPION FROM THE BATTLESHIP H.M.S. RODNEY, CIRCA 1927
heavily cast in brass with central device surrounded by rope grommet border and suspension brackets behind - 19in. (48cm.) diameter
£1500-2000
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A COMPLETE SET OF EIGHT ADMIRALTY PATTERN GROG MEASURES
stamped for GRVI and ERII, with maker's mark PS and appropriate vocabulary numbers to bases, the sizes ranging from half-gill to one gallon measures, largest - 7½in. (19cm.) high (including handle)
£400-600
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THE SHIP'S BELL FOR THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER H.M.S. POWERFUL, 1945
cast in bell metal and nickel-plated inscribed H.M.S. Powerful 1945 to front in black-filled lettering, painted crown top with suspension plate and painted iron clapper of issue with knotwork lanyard - 13 x 13in. (33 x 33cm.)
£1000-1500
A 'Majestic' Class aircraft carrier of 20,000 tons, Powerful was laid down at Harland & Wolff in November 1943 and launched in February 1945. With the end of the War and the programme of austerity that followed, work was suspended from May 1946 and the ship mothballed at Belfast. In 1952 the Canadian Government, looking to replace their ageing carrier Magnificent, bought her for $21 million and renamed her H.M.C.S. Bonaventure with whom she served until 1970.
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A COMMEMORATIVE 'JOLLY ROGER' FROM H.M. SUBMARINE TRIDENT, CIRCA 1945
the backed black cotton field with stitched white calico patches over one side recording fifteen kills; one sinking by gunfire; seven commando operations; and one airman rescued, the reverse with partial white patch inscribed in red cotton H.M.S. Tri.., and calico lanyard sleeve - 39 x 52in. (99 x 132cm.)
£800-1000
Although the name to the reverse now has only the first three letters surviving, there are only five submarines in the Triton class than begin thus, of these, three (Triton; Triumph and Triad) had been sunk by January 1942, leaving Triumph which had a relatively quiet war with no completed kills. By contrast Trident not only made many successful kills over the three areas of operation to which she was sent, but included is one sinking by gunfire of a Japanese landing craft on the 19th June 1945 which suggests this Jolly Roger records all of Trident's wartime activity. She was broken up in 1946.
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A PAIR OF ADMIRALTY ISSUED 'POWER 10' BRIDGE BINOCULARS BY ROSS, CIRCA 1940
the back-plates stamped with maker's marks, dated 1940 and inscribed Power 10 Field 5 and numbered 118679 with later retailer's plaque for Charles Frank Ltd, Glasgow, tapering tubes with crackle finish and admiralty broad arrow marks in yellow, rotating filters to each tube - 13½in. (34cm.) high
£500-800
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A RARE WWII ELECTRO-MECHANICAL TORPEDO TIMER BY ROBERT NORTH & SONS, BUSHEY, CIRCA 1940
the 11in. black painted brass dial signed as per title and numbered W-2575 with second hand and minute dial divided to 10th of a second, on bed plate with electrical contacts and winding and resetting knobs and melamine operating instructions inside lid, contained within a counter-numbered oak case 6½ x 16½ x 16½in. (16.5 x 42 x 42cm.)
£300-500
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'FUEHRER CONFERENCES ON NAVAL AFFAIRS'
for 1941 and 1944, typed Allied translations of captured intelligence comprising the minutes of meetings between Hitler and various commanders of the German forces, edited and with additional context notes issued by the Admiralty October 1947 bound with buff card covers with stencilled titles and taped spine - 12½ x 8in. (32 x 20cm.)
(2)
£250-350
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A SMALL MODEL OF THE U-250 [1943]
modelled by G. Cheikhet with carved and painted hull, mounted on ebonised block to display base with plate and Plexiglass cover - 4¼ x 10¼in. (11 x 26cm.)
£150-250
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J**A** COCH (GERMAN, 18TH CENTURY)
A Hamburg whaler 'D. Jonge Jacob' with the whaling fleet in the Arctic
Signed 'J.A. Coch' and dated '1775'
Oil on canvas
20½ x 27in. (52 x 68.5cm.)
£5000-8000
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δ ROGER CHAPELET (FRENCH, 1903-1995)
'De Junge Gustave' whaling
Signed and inscribed 'Roger Chapelet' with title (lower left)
Oil on canvas
19 x 25in. (48 x 63.5cm.)
£800-1200
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δ ROGER CHAPELET (FRENCH, 1903-1995)
the three-masted barque 'Flora' in the Arctic
Signed and inscribed 'Roger Chapelet/Flora' (lower left)
Oil on canvas
19 x 25in. (48 x 63.5cm.)
£800-1200
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THREE 19TH CENTURY SAILOR'S WOOLWORKS
comprising a near pair of Royal Navy frigates sailing in opposition, circa 1850 - 11 x 16in. (28 x 40.5cm.); together with a top-sail schooner circa 1900
(3)
£500-700
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Ø AN HISTORICALLY INTERESTING 10½IN. RADIUS WHALING OCTANT, PROBABLY BY D.W. LAIRD, LEITH, CIRCA 1847
unsigned, the ivory scale divided to 100º and stamped 'WH' by 50º, brass index arm inscribed James Clark / First Mate Whaling Barque "North of Scotland" / of Peterhead; died at NORTH GREENLAND, / 26th July, 1847., pinhole sights, three shades, mirrors and feet (lacking some minor components) - 13in. (33cm.) high
£800-1200
The North of Scotland was a 297 ton whaling barque built at Sunderland in 1845. After a modest season where 4 whales and 36 seals produced 53 tuns of oil, 1847 yielded 2 whales and 5635 seals, producing 80 tuns. It seems James Clark died en route from Iceland on the 26th July 1847 aged 46 and was buried in Scotland - his widow erecting a headstone. She was buried with him in 1909 aged 90 with their three sons and wives also joining them in due course. It seems likely this octant, which has little sign of use, was presented to the widow by the owners, at present it is unknown who the scale divider 'WH' is, and to date only one other (similar) example has been recorded and is held by the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, ref. T.1980.182 the maker's label for David White Laird of Leith (w.1834-51)
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AN HISTORICALLY INTERESTING NANTUCKET WHALING CAPTAIN'S HUNTING KNIFE, CIRCA 1851
the 12½in. steel blade signed Arnachellum Salem with antler handle inscribed "WILLIAM PENN" / of NANTUCKET. / Capt. ISAAC B. HUSSEY, terminating with a decorative white metal pommel dated '1851' - 18in. (46cm.) overall
£4000-6000
Isaac Hussey (1807-1852) seems to have been one of the more colourful American whaling captains. Born to a whaling family in Nantucket, he learnt quickly and was an experienced whaler himself by a young age - his first command at the age of 27 was the Phoenix, which left Nantucket July 1834 and returned February 1837 with an impressive 2345 tuns of sperm oil. From 1841-45 he commanded the Potomac during which voyage he visited Pitcairn Island; and the Planter 1847-1851 when he was mentioned in Herman Melville's diaries when they were both on Nukahiva Island in the Marquesas. In 1850, Hussey shot and killed a crew member during a mutiny at Kosrae. The crew of the Planter left Hussey in Micronesia and the first mate, Joseph Fisher, sailed her home where Hussey was tried and acquitted in absentia of murder. Hussey meanwhile set sail for home in command of the San Francisco brig William Penn, but on November 4th off the Gilbert Islands, the crew mutinied, killing Hussey and the ship's cook.
The knife blade is made by the famous Indian cutler Arnachellum Salem, Hussey presumably acquiring it in the east in that year. Hussey's portrait is in the collection of the Nantucket Historical Association
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Ø AN UNUSUAL 19TH CENTURY 'SWEETHEART' KEEPSAKE FID
carved from lignum vitæ of typical tapering form with barleytwist and ropework decoration with inlaid mother-of-pearl and terminating in a 'turk's head knot' - 19in. (48cm.) long
£150-250
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Ø A LARGE SAILOR WORK SCRIMSHAW DECORATED PAN BONE PANEL, CIRCA 1840
depicting a busy whaling scene with four British whalers and their whale boats in the middle of a hunt, off a headland, with a large depiction of the sun with a cross of St George through it, within a carved frame border (warped, old shrinkage split) - 10¾ x 20¾in. (27.5 x 52.5cm.)
£3000-5000
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Ø A SCRIMSHAW DECORATED WHALEBONE PLAQUE, CIRCA 1840
worked over one side and depicting a ship at anchor with furled sails and foliate trellising either side, the top carved with suspension loops - 4.5in. (11.5cm.) high
£150-250
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Ø AN ATTRACTIVE SAILOR WORK SCRIMSHAW DECORATED WHALE'S TOOTH, CIRCA 1840
worked over one side and depicting a 20-gun ship with carved hull and gun ports, delicately shaded sails and red ensign - 5½in. (14cm.); 396g
£400-600
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Ø AN HISTORICALLY INTERESTING SILVER-MOUNTED SCRIMSHAW DECORATED SWEETHEART PRESENTATION WHALE'S TOOTH, CIRCA 1837
the obverse incised with profile of a sailing ship, the reverse with inscription reading This tooth taken from the jaw of a Sperm Whale captured by the bow boat of the ship Foxhound presented by Alexander Munro to Sophia Knight Septr. 30th 1837 with scalloped silver base and rim mounts hallmarked for Benjamin Smith III London, 1837 - 5¼in. (13.5cm.) high; 435g
£2000-3000
Originally built as the corvette Le Basque at Bayonne, and launched in February 1809 she displaced 347 tons, measured 95½ft was armed with 14 x 24pdr carronades with an additional 2 x 9pdr cannon and crewed by 106 men. She was captured by H.M.S. Druid on her maiden voyage to Guadeloupe and renamed Foxhound. Serving in the Channel, she was kept very busy and, under Cmdr. John Parrish, captured or recaptured several French, and after 1812, American naval and mercantile vessels, rescued a dismasted whaler from the coast of France and even transported half the 14th Regiment of Foot to Ostend to fight at Waterloo. She was employed in 'secret services' off Calais after the battle and sold from the service in early 1816 for £800. Refitted as a whaler, she conducted eleven successful voyages for Birnie & Co. and later Wilson & Co. and disappears from the lists from 1849.
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