Revolver

The Stroud engineer Edwin Beard Budding (1796-1846) is considered the inventor of the lawnmower (1830) and the adjustable spanner (1842).

A pair of revolvers presented to American Civil War general and later US president Ulysses S Grant soldfor $4.4m (£3.61m) or $5.17m with premium.

The government has reminded owners of certain old firearms that they will need to obtain a licence following a change in the law from September 22.

Nearly 200 items of Al Capone memorabilia are coming to the market for the first time after being consigned to a California auction by his granddaughters.

Two lots from the March 30 live online auction held by Antony Cribb (22% buyer’s premium) of Newbury are shown here.

The National Ballistics and Intelligence Service (NABIS) has warned of a rise in defectively deactivated firearms offered at auction since the law changed this summer.

Trade associations have defended the current firearms laws in the UK amid accusations on a BBC Panorama programme of a ‘loophole’ in gun control.

The American Civil War was fought during a period of rapid technical development in weaponry. While the conventional and reliable Springfield percussion rifle remained the mainstay of the infantry, many innovative firearms saw service for the first (and sometimes the last) time.