Latest News Articles by Mark Bridge

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Arms and armour: Worldwide call to arms

24 January 2022

Munich auction house Hermann Historica (25% buyer’s premium) regularly turns up showstopping lots of arms and armour and the star of the latest sales series was a weapon that was always designed to impress on every level.

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Three pieces of eye-catching armour sold this season

24 January 2022

The most unusual armour lot to emerge in recent sales was the late 16th century German brass parade cuirass which made £86,000 at Thomas Del Mar (20% buyer’s premium) in London on December 8.

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Buyer chases down Russian dagger

24 January 2022

The surprise lot at the sale held on December 11 by Ripon auction house Elstob & Elstob (22% buyer’s premium) was this 19th century Russian hunting dagger.

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How to accessorise in the arms and armour market

24 January 2022

Arms and armour sales often throw out interesting talking points in the way of accessories.

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Swords of honour: a presentation trio

24 January 2022

A Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund sword of £100 value took the honours at a Bonhams’ (27.5/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) sale of arms and armour.

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Guns belonging to American statesman Alexander Hamilton make $1m

19 July 2021

London-made flintlocks with a solid provenance to Alexander Hamilton took to the stage at US sale

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Repeat performance: early examples in the quest for workable rapid-fire weapons

19 July 2021

Very soon after the gun was invented men were trying to find ways of speeding up the process of reloading powder and shot to obtain a superior rate of fire.

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Ottoman sword is swell buy in Munich

19 July 2021

The prize lot sold at a recent Hermann Historica (25% buyer’s premium) sale in Munich was this 19th century Ottoman kilij of characteristic form with a curved blade swelling towards the tip.

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Pistol trio pack the punch of Keith Neal provenance

19 July 2021

Three pistol lots came to the fore at a recent sale at Bonhams (27.5/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) in London.

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Peg selector fits into place

01 February 2021

The random selection of a place in the line is one of the long-established rituals of English driven game shooting and novel methods continue to emerge.

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Classic British Baker rifle sold in Kent auction

01 February 2021

Baker rifle stands out in Kent saleroom.

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Colt icons become big money-earners

01 February 2021

Two iconic Colt pistols were the big money-earners from both sides of the Atlantic in the pre-Christmas arms and armour sales.

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Why armour still shone well after its use had faded

01 February 2021

Such was the demand for suits of armour from late 19th and early 20th century collectors that European master armourers were kept hard at work long after the practical need for such protective wear had passed.

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Golden age Boss gun at Gavin Gardiner

01 February 2021

Boss over-and-under guns from the golden age of London gunmaking have long ranked among the most sought by game shots.

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Purdey used by the hot-shot Singhs

01 February 2021

At Bonhams in London this single-barrelled 28-bore made in 1877 for one of the sons of Prince Duleep Singh reached £20,000.

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Firearms collectors take aim at name recognition

01 February 2021

Provenance can count for a lot when it comes to gun collecting and two names with quite different connotations came up at Holts (25/20% buyer’s premium).

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Gunsmiths who produced the highest quality

01 February 2021

Nicolas-Noel Boutet and Anton Vincent Lebeda pistols star at two London auctions.

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Krupp guns made in China reveal modern thinking

01 February 2021

Krupp mountain guns made in Nanjing as China modernised come up at Thomas Del Mar auction.

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Parts add up to high value

01 February 2021

Even the composite parts of weapons now long lost have a value at auction.

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Belter of a blunderbuss sells at Antony Cribb

01 February 2021

The name Boutet appears on many fine presentation guns.