BOOKS FOR COLLECTORS
_With Frontispieces and many Illustrations_
_Large Crown 8vo, cloth._
CHATS ON ENGLISH CHINA.
By ARTHUR HAYDEN.
CHATS ON OLD FURNITURE.
By ARTHUR HAYDEN.
CHATS ON OLD PRINTS.
(How to collect and value Old Engravings.)
By ARTHUR HAYDEN.
CHATS ON COSTUME.
By G. WOOLLISCROFT RHEAD.
CHATS ON OLD LACE AND NEEDLEWORK.
By E. L. LOWES.
CHATS ON ORIENTAL CHINA.
By J. F. BLACKER.
CHATS ON OLD MINIATURES.
By J. J. FOSTER, F.S.A.
CHATS ON ENGLISH EARTHENWARE.
By ARTHUR HAYDEN.
CHATS ON AUTOGRAPHS.
By A. M. BROADLEY.
CHATS ON PEWTER.
By H. J. L. J. MASSÉ, M.A.
CHATS ON POSTAGE STAMPS.
By FRED. J. MELVILLE.
CHATS ON OLD JEWELLERY AND TRINKETS.
By MACIVER PERCIVAL.
CHATS ON COTTAGE AND FARMHOUSE FURNITURE.
By ARTHUR HAYDEN.
CHATS ON OLD COINS.
By FRED. W. BURGESS.
CHATS ON OLD COPPER AND BRASS.
By FRED. W. BURGESS.
CHATS ON HOUSEHOLD CURIOS.
By FRED. W. BURGESS.
CHATS ON OLD SILVER.
By ARTHUR HAYDEN.
CHATS ON JAPANESE PRINTS.
By ARTHUR DAVISON FICKE.
CHATS ON MILITARY CURIOS.
By STANLEY C. JOHNSON.
_In Preparation._
CHATS ON BARGAINS.
By CHARLES E. JERNINGHAM.
CHATS ON OLD CLOCKS AND WATCHES.
By ARTHUR HAYDEN.
LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN, LTD.
NEW YORK: F. A. STOKES COMPANY.
CHATS ON
MILITARY CURIOS
[Illustration: BRONZE MEDALLION OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.]
_Frontispiece._
CHATS ON
MILITARY CURIOS
BY
STANLEY C. JOHNSON
M.A., D.Sc., F.R.E.S.
WITH EIGHTY ILLUSTRATIONS
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
TO
G. M. J.
THIS BOOK IS GRATEFULLY
DEDICATED
(_All rights reserved_)
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
CONTENTS
PAGE
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 13
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION 17
Preliminary considerations--Where to search for curios--What
to search for--Specializing--Undesirable curios--The
catalogue of the Royal United Service Museum--Public
collections of military curios
CHAPTER II
REGIMENTAL NOMENCLATURE 27
Household Cavalry--Dragoon Guards--Cavalry--Artillery
--Engineers--Guards--Infantry, both past and present
nomenclature--Other units
CHAPTER III
REGIMENTAL CRESTS 39
The fascination of regimental crests--How to plan a collection
of crests--The changes which crests undergo--The
meaning of crests--Mottoes on crests, and their meanings
CHAPTER IV
MILITARY UNIFORMS 53
The growth of uniforms--The effect of the decline in armour
on uniforms--The part played by Elizabeth--Uniforms in
the time of the Civil War--In Charles II's reign--James II--The
first two Georges--Uniforms in the Peninsular War--The
close-fitting uniforms of George IV--The changes which
were brought about in William IV's time--Later changes--
Peculiarities of the military dress of to-day
CHAPTER V
ARMOUR 69
The scarcity of good armour--Considerations for the
collector--Counterfeit armour--The twelve periods in
armour--The characteristics of each period--Glossary
CHAPTER VI
WEAPONS 89
Buying specimens--Storing them--Hand culverins--The
serpentin--The wheel-lock--The flint-lock--The rifle--Swords--The
effect of armour on swords--Swords with
historical associations--Other weapons
CHAPTER VII
EARLY BRITISH WAR MEDALS 105
How to arrange a collection of medals--Factors which
influence the value of a medal--The earliest medals--The
first English medal--The first English military medal--The
Forlorn Hope medal--The Dunbar medal--The Culloden
medal--Medals granted by the Honourable East India Company--The
Pope's medal, 1793--The Emperor Francis II
of Germany's medal, 1794--The Seringapatam medal--The
Egyptian medal, 1801--The Rodriguez medal--The Nepaul
medal--The Maida medal--The Peninsular Officers' medal
CHAPTER VIII
MILITARY MEDALS STRUCK BY THE MINT 135
Campaign medals considered--Waterloo--Burmah--China--
Cabul--Jellalabad--Scinde--Meanee--Sobroan--The
men's Peninsular medal--Punjab--Indian General Service medals--
South Africa, 1850-3; also 1877-9--Baltic--Crimea--Indian
Mutiny--Abyssinia--New Zealand--Later awards
CHAPTER IX
MILITARY DECORATIONS AWARDED FOR SPECIAL SERVICES 163
The necessity for special awards--The Victoria Cross--The
Order of Merit--The "Distinguished Conduct in the Field"
award--The Distinguished Service Order--The Meritorious
Service award--The Long Service and Good Conduct
award--The "Best Shot" medal--Volunteer decorations--Other
decorations
CHAPTER X
MILITARY MEDALLIONS 181
General considerations--The "lost wax" process--Hadrian's
medallions--Renaissance examples--Simon, the
medallist--Wyon's work--Public collections--Some noted
medallions described
CHAPTER XI
MILITARY PRINTS 195
The period 1750-1860--Works including military prints--Where
to search for bargains--The kind of print most
sought after--Works including fine military prints--Bunbury--
Gillray
CHAPTER XII
MEMORIAL BRASSES OF MILITARY INTEREST 209
Classes of military brasses--Rubbings and how to make
them--Floor brasses, their characteristics--Palimpsest
brasses--What may be learnt from brasses--Mural tablets
CHAPTER XIII
AUTOGRAPHS OF GREAT SOLDIERS 221
The fascination of autograph collecting--Points which
influence the value of an autograph--Autographs classified--A
"Schomberg" letter--The notes scribbled by Airey at
Balaclava--General hints--Prices of autographs
CHAPTER XIV
WAR POSTAGE STAMPS 241
The earliest war stamps--Stamps used in the Crimean War--The
British Army Post Office Corps--The Sudan Expedition--The
South African campaign--The Great War--Recent
war stamps and post-marks--Indian war stamps--Other
war stamps
CHAPTER XV
WAR MONEY 261
French obsidional notes--Mafeking notes--The Napoleonic
assignats--Charles II and University plate--Mints at
Carlisle, Beeston, Scarborough, Newark, Colchester, and
Pontefract--Irish gun money
CHAPTER XVI
CURIOS MADE BY PRISONERS OF WAR 287
Objects recently made in Holland--The Napoleonic
prisoners at Norman Cross, Perth, Dartmoor, Stapleton,
Liverpool, and Greenland Valleyfield
CHAPTER XVII
MISCELLANEOUS MILITARY CURIOS 299
Considerations respecting miscellaneous curios--Battlefield
souvenirs--Regimental colours--Odds and ends of dress
equipment--Books and newspapers of military interest--Royal
souvenirs--Official military documents--Gruesome
relics--Relics of the Great War
CHAPTER XVIII
A HISTORY OF ONE'S COLLECTION 317
Reasons for compiling a history of one's collection--The
part played by photographs--Armour suggested as an
example--Material for grangerizing
BIBLIOGRAPHY 323
INDEX 337
ILLUSTRATIONS
LIST OF PLATES
A BRONZE MEDALLION OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON _Frontispiece_
PAGE
QUEEN VICTORIA'S CHOCOLATE BOX SENT TO THE SOLDIERS
FIGHTING IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1900 23
PRINCESS MARY'S CHRISTMAS BOX SENT TO THE SOLDIERS
FIGHTING IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM, 1914 23
BADGE OF THE QUEEN'S (ROYAL WEST SURREY REGIMENT)
2ND FOOT 33
BADGE OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S (WILTSHIRE REGIMENT) 33
BADGE OF THE KING'S (LIVERPOOL REGIMENT) 33
BADGE OF THE ROYAL WARWICKSHIRE REGIMENT 33
BADGE OF THE ROYAL DUBLIN FUSILIERS 43
BADGE OF THE ROYAL FUSILIERS (CITY OF LONDON REGIMENT) 43
BADGE OF THE SEAFORTH HIGHLANDERS (5TH BATTALION) 43
BADGE OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY 43
SOME REGIMENTAL BUTTONS 49
A HORSE AMULET BEARING THE DEVICE OF THE ROYAL
FUSILIERS 57
HELMET PLATE OF THE ROYAL MARINE LIGHT INFANTRY 57
A SLEEVE FROM A COAT OF THE OLD 2ND (SOUTH MIDDLESEX)
VOLUNTEER REGIMENT 67
A BELT BUCKLE FROM THE SAME REGIMENT 67
A FLINT-LOCK PISTOL 77
THE ACTION PART OF THE ABOVE 77
THE BARREL OF A GUN ORNAMENTED WITH A TWIN HEAD
OF MINERVA 85
AN OLD POWDER-FLASK 85
A SOUTH AFRICAN POM-POM SHELL AND A MARTINI-HENRI
CARTRIDGE 93
CARTRIDGES AS USED IN THE GREAT WAR. FROM LEFT TO
RIGHT: GERMAN, FRENCH, BELGIAN, AND BRITISH 93
AN OLD SWORD WITH STRAIGHT CROSS-GUARDS 101
AN ITALIAN DAGGER HAVING A REPLICA OF THE FAMOUS
COLUMN OF ST. MARK FOR GRIP 101
ROYALIST BADGE WORN BY THE PARTISANS OF CHARLES I 109
THE CRIMEAN MEDAL 117
THE GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL, 1793-1814 123
THE AFGHAN MEDAL 123
SOUTH AFRICAN MEDAL, 1877-9 123
THE INDIAN MUTINY MEDAL 133
THE CHINA MEDAL, 1842-60 145
THE EGYPTIAN MEDAL, 1882-9 145
THE SUTLEJ MEDAL 157
THE PUNJAB MEDAL 157
THE THIRD INDIAN GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL 157
THE QUEEN AND KING'S SOUTH AFRICAN MEDALS, 1899-1902 171
(The same reverse was used for both pieces)
A CHECK TO CORSICAN ASSURANCE 191
By Cruikshank
NAPOLEON'S CARRIAGE ARRIVING AT THE LONDON MUSEUM 199
By Cruikshank
A SINGULAR TRAIT OF BUONAPARTE'S FAVOURITE MAMELUKE 207
By Cruikshank
A BATTLEFIELD SOUVENIR PICKED UP ON THE PLAINS OF
FLANDERS 217
(The same helmet is shown with and without the cloth covering)
A BATTLEFIELD SOUVENIR BEARING VERSES SHOWING THE
BLOODTHIRSTY NATURE OF THE TYROLESE PEASANT AND
SOLDIER 227
AN OLD MUG BEARING THE FAMOUS PICTURE DEPICTING
"THE DEATH OF WOLFE" 237
A SOLDIER'S COMMUNICATION POSTED DURING THE SOUTH
AFRICAN WAR 245
A SIMILAR COMMUNICATION FROM "SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE" 245
A POST-CARD RECEIVED FROM A SOLDIER IN FRANCE BEARING
STEREOTYPED GREETINGS 257
MONEY OF THE GREAT REBELLION, 1642-9 265
(1. Newark sixpence--2. Colchester gold half unite--3. Pontefract
two-shilling piece--4. Ormond half-crown--5. Dublin crown of
Charles II)
GUN MONEY OF JAMES II 271
(1. Sixpence--2. Sixpence--3. Shilling--4. Shilling--5.
Half-crown--6. Half-crown--7. Half-crown--8. Half-crown)
GUN MONEY OF JAMES II 277
(9. Shilling--10. Shilling--11. Half-crown--12. Half-crown--13.
Half-crown--14. Crown--15. Crown--16. Limerick farthing)
PAPER MONEY OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, 1793 283
OBSIDIONAL HALF-FRANC NOTE OF EPERNAY 291
OBSIDIONAL FRANC NOTE OF EPERNAY 291
A NEWSPAPER POSTER WHICH TOLD OF WELCOME NEWS 297
A SET OF BONE DOMINOES CARVED BY PRISONERS TAKEN IN
THE NAPOLEONIC WARS, AND INTERNED IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
OF PETERBOROUGH 297
AN INTERESTING BROADSIDE PRINTED AT THE FAMOUS
CATNACH PRESS, BEING ONE OF A SERIES DESCRIBING
INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SOLDIER 313
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
ARMOUR HEADGEAR 75
WEAPONS 99
A MEDALLION STRUCK IN HONOUR OF JULIUS CÆSAR 186
MEDALLION COMMEMORATING THE VICTORY OF THE BATTLE
OF THE BOYNE 187
MEDALLION COMMEMORATING THE FALL OF JAMES II 187
TWO MARLBOROUGH MEDALLIONS 188
MEDALLION COMMEMORATING THE BATTLE OF OUDENARDE 189
MEDALLION COMMEMORATING THE SURRENDER OF LILLE 189
MEDALLION COMMEMORATING THE BATTLE OF DUNBLANE 190
MEDALLION COMMEMORATING THE BATTLE OF DETTINGEN 190
MEDALLION COMMEMORATING THE BATTLE OF MINDEN 193
THE OLDEST ENGLISH BRASS 215
FACSIMILE OF A PORTION OF A LETTER WRITTEN BY
CROMWELL TO LENTHALL, ANNOUNCING THE VICTORY
OF NASEBY 225
AUTOGRAPH LETTER WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON III TO WILLIAM I
OF GERMANY AFTER THE BATTLE OF SEDAN 231
SOME AUTOGRAPHS OF NOTED SOLDIERS 235
SOME HISTORIC POST-MARKS USED ON MILITARY CORRESPONDENCE 252
A CUTTING FROM "THE TIMES" OF NOVEMBER 9, 1796 308
_ACKNOWLEDGMENT_
_The Author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Dr. Philip Nelson
for the loan of the valuable coins which figure in the illustrations
on pages 265, 271, and 277; to Mr. Tom Satterthwaite for the loan of
many of the medals depicted in these pages; to Mr. Leonard Baggott for
the loan of arms; to Messrs. Henry Sotheran for permission to reproduce
three Cruikshank prints; to Messrs. Spink & Son for permission to
reproduce the Royalist Badge; also to Mr. Edwin Johnson, B.Sc., and Mr.
James Pryor for the loan of various curios included in the following
pages._
_The Author also wishes to state that in forming his own collection
of military curios he has gained much helpful assistance from "The
Connoisseur"; from C. H. Ashdown's "British and Foreign Arms and
Armour"; from J. H. Mayo's "Medals and Decorations of the British
Army and Navy"; from D. H. Irwin's "War Medals and Decorations"; from
Ralph Nevill's "British Military Prints"; from Edward Beaumont's works
dealing with Brasses; and from the authorities of the Royal United
Service Museum._
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Preliminary considerations--Where to search for curios--What to search
for--Specializing--Undesirable curios--The catalogue of the Royal
United Service Museum--Public collections of military curios
For centuries past the collection of military curios has been the
select pastime of men of title and soldiers of rank. Lately, however,
owing to the War and the great spread of interest in all things
pertaining to it, the circle of collectors has considerably widened,
until to-day few things are more treasured by connoisseurs than the
thousand and one souvenirs and emblems which emanate from our Army.
Most forms of collecting require the expenditure of much capital,
but this is not one of the drawbacks which confront the seeker after
military curios. For a few pence an old-fashioned bayonet can be picked
up; a rifle bearing a date in last century will cost but a trifle more,
whilst such odds and ends as badges and tunic buttons may be had for
almost nothing.
Of course, a good deal depends on knowing where to search for
treasures. The old curiosity shops are capital hunting-grounds, but
second-hand dealers who make a practice of buying up the contents of
whole houses are even better. These people seem to get an accumulation
of odd material which is difficult to classify, and therefore hard to
sell. It is hidden away among these effects that the collector will
probably alight upon his finest discoveries.
Some of our own experiences in the matter of bargain finding may be
worth detailing. At Rag Fair, last Christmas, we were asked half a
guinea for six perfect but very much begrimed medals, one of which
was for the Defence of Lucknow. Needless to add, the set was worth
many pounds when cleaned and fitted with fresh ribbons. On a stall in
Farringdon Road we recently picked up a few helmet badges, some of
which bore the old regimental numbers used prior to 1881, at twopence
apiece. And elsewhere a few weeks back we chanced upon a bag full of
military buttons, for which the dealer asked a shilling.
If we wish to form our collections quickly the best plan will be to
get in touch with one of the first-class firms who regularly keep an
exhaustive stock of military curios, and who can supply almost anything
we need; but for our part we prefer to enter upon the work slowly and
pick up treasures here and there at tempting prices. Doubtless there
are capital hunting-grounds where bargains may be found in almost
every town, but in London our favourite haunts are Rag Fair, held on
Fridays in the Caledonian Meat Market; the stalls in Farringdon Road,
Hounsditch, and Middlesex Street; the shops in Praed Street; and,
lastly, Charing Cross Road--the latter only for books and prints. Of
course a good deal of material may be obtained cheaply by keeping an
eye on the bargain advertisements found in certain newspapers. _The
Bazaar, Exchange and Mart_, for instance, regularly contains notices
of guns, medals, autographs, and such-like objects for sale, often at
prices ridiculously low. It is thus clear that there is no lack in the
sources of supply if only we can get in touch with them.
With many forms of collecting there is a certain sameness about the
things collected which is apt to produce monotony: with military
curios, however, the treasures cover so wide a field that no such
drawback can exist. The following list will give a fair idea of the
different objects which come within our present range:--
Medals, helmet and cap-badges, tunic buttons, armour pieces, firearms,
weapons of all kinds as long as they have a military connection,
medallions struck to celebrate military events, autographs of famous
soldiers, original documents relating to army work, military pictures
and prints, newspaper cuttings referring to military matters, obsolete
uniforms including such fragments as sabre-taches, gorgets, epaulettes,
etc., and, lastly, stamps and post-marks which have franked the
correspondence of soldiers on active service.
The list is a somewhat lengthy one, and to endeavour to amass a
representative collection of all the things enumerated would be a
formidable task. It is, therefore, much the wisest plan either to
collect the above objects in a general way, specializing at the same
time in two or three definite directions, or else to collect everything
possible pertaining to one definite regiment. The latter method is,
of course, the one which appeals most to army men and their immediate
friends.
Those of us who elect to confine our attentions to regimental
collecting should first procure a history of the regiment selected.
From this work we shall then be able to find out what battles our
chosen unit has fought in; what particular history it possesses; what
noted soldiers have brought it fame; where it has been quartered from
time to time; what customs specially belong to it; what changes have
been made in its dress, and so forth. Such knowledge will afford us
much help; it will teach us what objects to seek for and what to pass
over. We shall not be led to search, say, for a Ghuznee medal if our
chosen regiment was formed later than 1842, nor shall we hunt through
the files of _The Times_ for Wellington's dispatches concerning the
Battle of Waterloo if our regiment took no part in the campaign.
* * * * *
There are one or two kinds of military curios which we should not
attempt to collect. First, we should avoid all such large objects as
take up more house-room than we can afford to spare them, and secondly,
we should refrain from accepting objects the genuineness of which
it is impossible to verify. Concerning this latter class, it may be
appropriate to mention that we have never visited the battlefield
of Waterloo without meeting a particularly eloquent man who always
tells us that he has just had the good fortune to dig up some trophy
or other of the famous fight. Naturally he is prepared to let us share
in his good fortune, and consequently names a price for the article.
Needless to say, the country of origin of the trophy is Germany,
and the date of construction some time in the twentieth century.
Probably, other battlefields besides the one at Waterloo are infested
with unscrupulous curio vendors, so that the collector will be well
advised if he refrains from purchasing any article unless properly
authenticated--especially on battlefields.
[Illustration: QUEEN VICTORIA'S CHOCOLATE BOX SENT TO THE SOLDIERS
FIGHTING IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1900.]
[Illustration: PRINCESS MARY'S CHRISTMAS BOX SENT TO THE SOLDIERS
FIGHTING IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM, 1914.]
In many branches of collecting comprehensive catalogues have been
published which enable the student to classify, arrange, and price
every piece among his treasures. With military curios, however, no such
publications exist, but a very useful guide is the official catalogue
issued by the Royal United Service Museum in Whitehall. The Museum
itself is well worth frequent visits, for it is only by constant
inspection of such exhibits as those displayed in this gallery that we
can get to know of the existence of certain curios and of the shape,
texture, and pattern of others. The Museum possesses particularly fine
exhibits of medals, even of the earlier types; of uniforms, especially
head-pieces; of regimental banners, and such weapons as swords and
rifles.
The United Service Museum is by no means the only treasure-house of
interest to collectors of military curios. The Tower of London, the
Wallace Collection, and the Rotunda at Woolwich, each possess much
that is worth inspecting in the way of armour and weapons, whilst the
British Museum has a collection of medals which is almost unique. The
traveller on the Continent will find many instructive exhibits in the
Musée d'Artillerie at Paris, the Rijks Museum at Amsterdam, and the
National Museum at Copenhagen.