Shooting the War

CHINA AND GLASS
China restoration is always delicate work, requiring care, accuracy and knowledge of technique. How much knowledge depends entirely on how ambitious you arc. Most people, if they Fail in simple efforts to stick china together, take it to a professional restorer if the piece is of any value. It also depends on what is going to happen to a piece after it is mended. If it is to stand peacefully on a shelf, then the repair need not be so strong as it would have to be for domestic use. Some people try to restore a piece to the state where only a very close scrutiny will reveal the mend. It is technically possible to fool even ultra violet light. Others feel that there is no shame in a few cracks in old china. Like so many skills connected with making and mending things, china restoring can develop from the ability simply to stick broken pieces together, to the most complex dowelling and pinning and moulding and modelling and casting and painting. It can start by being a chore and end by being an art, which like any art develops into pride in craftsmanship, and pleasure in achievement. Maybe the kind of painstaking repair I am thinking of comes outside die scope of a book on restoring junk, but I shall include an outline of some of the methods and materials and tools needed just in case you do decide to venture further than a little bit of glucing.
Some technical colleges run classes on china restoration, but they arc few and far between, although this is one of the best ways to gain expert knowledge and experience. The study of books on die subject and plenty of practice should make you reasonably efficient if you are not totally ham-fisted !
There arc so many objects in so many shapes and sizes made of so in-uiy materials; so many ‘pots’ that it is difficult to detail all the techniques, and each job must be treated on its merits. The first and easiest method is to mend by sticking. Sticking things together used to be more difficult than it is now, because die old adhesives were nothing like so easy to use or so heat-and-water-resistant, so free from shrinkage, or attacks by fungus, so clean, so invisible, or so strong. The invention of cellulose glues and epoxy resin adhesives has completely revolutionised sticking, and made it possible to mend things with adhesive alone where riveting, dowelling, or pinning would once have been essential.
As a general rule, a piece of china, be it a plate, a pot, a Statuette, or a vase, can be mended by sticking alone if the two faces come together properly and neatly and if they can be made to stay in position while the adhesive is setting.
If a part such as a curved handle, or the limb of a figurine, is broken, perhaps in more than one place, and there are pieces missing; or if the surfaces to be joined are chipped and do not fit, or there arc whole sections missing; then more ambitious methods will have to be used. Whole sections can be remade by modelling with epoxy resins just as the sculptor models, or by making plaster moulds and taking castings. Large missing parts can be moulded or modelled incorporating wire supporting frameworks fixed to die whole piece.
Broken parts are refixed together and to the whole, provided they are thick enough to carry drilled holes, either by pinning—which means inserting a metal pin into a hole drilled after the pieces have been stuck—or by dowelling, which is the joining of pieces by drilling matching holes in each and cementing in a single dowel. Any or all of these methods might be necessary at the same time in one single object (see Fig. io).
Lastly, broken pieces can be riveted together. The ugliness of this technique, strong though it is, means that it has largely been superseded by other methods since the discovery of die better adhesives, and is really only used for extreme strength and utility rather than for restoration and beauty.
Cleaning. Before any porcelain or pottery may be mended it must be cleaned. Normally all that is needed is a wash in warm soapy water. If die piece is already clean, then wipe it with a piece of silk dipped in methylated spirits. Keep any old pieces of real silk for china restoration work, as silk does not leave little bits of lint or fluff caught on jagged edges.
Remove stains from china with very dilute hydrochloric acid, but test first in case the acid etches the glaze. A cloth dipped in either bicarbonate of soda or common salt will remove coffee stains.
To remove dirt along cracks which are not going to be repaired—cracks which are, and look dirty—make a pad of cotton wool and saturate it in a mild bleaching solution such as hydrogen peroxide and lay it along the crack for some days, renewing the solution as die pads dry out. When the treatment is completed, scrub the piece gently with a soft brush, and even more dirt may conic away. This method is useless on earthenware, but for this and for English porcelain, which is usually so porous that the dirt is well ingrained, soak the piece for up to a week in a solution of domestic bleach. This will remove most stubborn stains and won’t etch the glaze.
If china has been previously mended, the edges of the breaks may be very dirty, and sometimes glue remains which is invisible except under a magnifying glass. All edges must be cleaned, and you must be sure they fit together before going ahead with the next stages of the job. First of all soak the pieces in boiling water with pure detergent added. Remember, if there is another part of the object which has been mended and which you do not wish to do again, to keep it out of the water or it may melt apart. Glue, Seccotine, shellac and Durofix will come off in boiling water, and joins made with these adhesives will soften sufficiently to be parted. If this treatment does not tackle the old glue then you will have to get to work with the appropriate solvents (see Solvents). Methylated spirits will shift shellac that has resisted boiling water. Swabbing with cotton wool dipped in amyl acetate removes cellulose adhesives such as Durofix. Acetone removes cements, but may take some time about it. Dissolver is a new solvent which will shift many kinds of glues including Araldite, especially some of those used for glass repairs.
Literally to boil a piece in detergent and water is a last resort to remove stubborn adhesive without abrasion. Finally it may be necessary to pick away at the old adhesive with a scraper or even a needle. Obviously this has to be done with care.
If old rivets have to be removed, cut them in half with a needle file and pick out the bits using acetone to remove the cement if necessary.
The first two methods are done with just a few tools, but the moment you have to drill, more complex tools will be necessary, and this means more expense, and also more time spent on learning to handle the tools. China drilling is not difficult, but it takes a light hand and a steady one, and infinite care and patience.
A power drill, which is normal workshop equipment nowadays, can be used with the rightbits for a lot of drilling work provided it has both vertical and horizontal bench stands and operates at the right r.p.m. The ideal tool for most drilling is a dentist’s drill—in fact an electric motor with a. flexible drive and a hand-held drill at the end. But this is an expensive piece of equipment not justified unless a lot of work is to be done, so its use is not described here. A hand drill and appropriate bits will needed for starting holes, and for the awkward holes. A special twist drill with high gearing can be bought for work on china, and some people prefer this to the other types. It is good for dowelling and for work in substantial pieces, but is a little difficult to control on really delicate work.
Brass wire is used for pins and dowels, and unless you arc doing very complex work only one or two sizes will be needed. Other standard tools such as the hacksaw, and calipers you may already have. Small cramps and a pin vice are useful, and all shapes and sizes of small files and rasps, scalpels, and probes. Various materials will be needed for making moulds, supporting pieces while they dry, binding to aid adhesion etc. These I shall mention as they conic into use.
Sticking. There is some general information on adhesives wider that specific heading. Here I shall discuss the various methods used for mending china with adhesives.
Ordinary domestic two-tube Araldite (AV and HV roo) is suitable for all practical purposes for almost any work. It is best used in a well-warmed room, and pieces should always be warm when joined. Keep the tubes of Araldite warm before mixing. All this helps the adhesive to flow readily, and to grip. A cold unheated workshop is not a suitable place. Work in a heated room with a radiator with a flat top or heat conductive shelf above it so that pieces can be kept warm.
The second important point, already stressed several times, is that pieces must be clean and dry. Pieces that have been washed or boiled to clean them may take quite a long time to dry out, especially the unglazed edges of breaks. Damp, dirty surfaces just will not adhere.
Thirdly it is vital to grasp the basic principle of adhesion, whicl, is to bring the original faces as close together as is physically possible, with the thinnest practicable layer of adhesive between. The edges and surfaces of the break then lock together naturally. It is a misapprehension to suppose that thick layers of adhesive will make more successful joints. All the adhesive that is needed is enough to fill all the tiny gaps and crevises between the faces so that the two present smooth surfaces to each other with no air pockets, and they will adhere.
Lastly, stuck joints need to have some pressure exerted upon then, while the adhesive is setting, either by clamping the pieces together, or by putting a weight on top of a flat piece, or more usually by binding the pieces together with gum strip (not Sellotape) in such a way that pressure is exerted on the join.
The methods of applying this binding
g differ slightly
with every mend. Always use gummed strip, and buy a big roll at least il” wide. Cut this down if necessary. Strips are stuck as nearly as possible at right angles across joins such as simple breaks in a plate or vase. When thc join is rather more difficult, such as a broken vase handle or lid, the strip is stuck on so that it will exert pressure at right angles to the join. The wet gummed strip is easy to put into position, and as it dries it shrinks, holds fast to the china and so exerts pressure on the join. When you reach the stage of placing the prepared pieces together, wet the cut strips of paper thoroughly but remove any surplus drips of water with a swab. They should be damp right through but not dripping wet, as moisture will prevent pieces from adhering if any gets on to the broken edges. Sometimes it is best to pre-stick the strip on to one piece of the work (after you have warmed the piece for glucing, or the gunimed strip will dry out completely) and then put the two edges together. Draw tile loose piece of strip down smoothly and tightly across the join. A little bit of practice at binding diffi llcult shapes will teach you how best these paper bandages can be applied. Remember always that as the strip dries and tightens it must pull across at right angles to the join, so bringing the pieces together and holding them there. Use very long strips if necessary. Make a cross of strips, stand a pot in the middle and bring the ends right up over the top to hold it together. Small
small
pieces of strip may be needed across very joins to exert pressure (see Fig. 7). A binding applied like a puttee round and round an object is almost useless except to keep things in place. The same binding techniques will be used when mending by dowelling and pinning, as described later, and a little thought and study will help you to work out the details for each job. Very occasionally it is not possible to bind, to clamp, or to weight pieces together because of a peculiar shape or a break in an odd place. Make supports out of plasticise or wire to push pieces together, or at any rate to hold them in position while the adhesive sets. No tension is applied to the joint so this way isn’t that satisfactory, but it is better than nothing. Don’t let plasticise come into direct contact with Araldite or any epoxy resin, as the two will react together.
Having cleaned your porcelain or china ready for mending, next check whether or not all the pieces arc there, whether or not they fit together perfectly, and then decide upon your method of restoration. Pieces made of thin China ai-c almost impossible to dowel or pill as there is no thickness to take drilled holes. Hollow figures may need to be dowelled in the hollow sections, or by pinning. But if there are sufficient clean, close fitting edges which will contact nicely, sticking alone may be all that is needed. Details of dowelling and pinning follow, but here I deal with sticking on its own. A piece which has been broken into several pieces should be very carefully checked for fit before applying adhesive. If necessary make tip a kind of jig-saw puzzle, using Sellotape and fit the whole thing together. Be careful not to work yourself into an impossible corner by putting the pieces together iii such a way that i lie last piece cannot be got into place. This can happen, for instance, in a bowl where the break consists of two or more pieces which arc wider at the lower end than they are at the rim end. If a piece is in several fragments it is sometimes easier to stick two or three pieces together to make one large piece, and then join this to the main piece. So do take a bit of thought, and be sure that you have solved the puzzle before taking any irrevocable steps (see Fig. io).
If, as well as being in several pieces, the pot has a Chunk missing, it will be necessary to mould a new piece, but first of all any sticking must be done mid finished, and the Moulding is later carried out as a separate operation.
Having cleaned the pieces, dried them and checked for fit, warm them thoroughly. Prepare a small amount of adhesive, no more than you need, and apply it with a knife to one edge of the two pieces to be joined. Usually it is best and easiest to apply the adhesive to the piece rather than to the whole. Put adhesive on both edges only if the fit is not perfect, or if the material of which the pot is made is very heavy thick porous earthenware, which will absorb a lot of adhesive.
Then bring the two edges together as firmly as you possibly can. Obviously you don’t want to break the china again, but exert as much pressure as you dare on the join so that the adhesive comes squeezing out. If you want to remove adhesive in order to get a clear look at the join through a magnifying glass to make sure it is properly aligned, moisten a water colour brush in a little methylated spirit and take off a little adhesive with that. Do not take it right down to the join as this will weaken it. Surplus adhesive should not be removed along the join until after it has all set. Any adhesive which has escaped on to other as yet unmende8 broken edges, or on to gilt or lustre glaze on the pot, must be removed at once with the paint brush. On the broken edges it will prevent proper matching if it dries into a little lump, and it will lift gilt or lustre when it is finally removed.
H.M.G. adhesive can be used in conjunction with Araldite to make a fairly quick setting join, by putting H.M.G. on one surface of the join and Araldite on the other. The quicker drying H.M.G. binds with the Araldite and helps to hold the two pieces together while setting takes place.
Then the joins are bound with gummed strip as described above. The piece is put down and left to set. Epoxy resins, especially when the join has been properly strapped, will hold almost immediately, and the pieces will not move in relation to each other unless the joins are imperfect or unless the balance and weight of die pieces are such that gravity pulls them out of place. Plasticine supports, bowls of fine clean sand, bits of wood and wire, will all make supports and cradles. If the piece to be joined is some kind of figurine and not a plate or a bowl with flat or curved surfaces, parts sometimes have to be stuck on entirely by balance. The heads of small figures frequently get broken off, and ifyou intend to stick a head back without dowelling, the fit along the break will have to be perfect, and the figure itself must be held in a firm grip so that the head will balance in place while the adhesive sets. Bury the figure in a bowl of sand, with the broken edge set horizontally just above the level of the sand, and then balance the part on it. Move the buried section about until the broken-off piece balances perfectly upon it. Make sure all loose sand is brushed away from both edges, and then, using very fluid adhesive, anoint the broken edges. Carefully put the piece back into place, and allow it a few moments to adhere before delicately, and without moving the buried base, setting it perfectly into position.
It really is a matter of trial and error, and with a bit of ingenuity you can find a solution to every problem of sticking and binding and balancing.
The final process of sticking when using epoxy resin glues, is to harden the joins by baking. If an entire piece has to be moulded in, after some sticking has been done, it is still best to bake the first work for a short while before doing the moulding, just to make certain that the work which has been done is really firm. Baking can be omitted entirely if the piece can be left alone for a good long time to set.
Up to a point the heating of Araldite softens it, and if you leave a job for some hours before baking and a piece has slipped a little out of place, warm the join with boiling water swabs to soften the Araldite enough to move the piece back into position. Leave joins made with Araldite for a few hours before baking and then place the piece in the oven of an electric cooker or of a solid fuel cooker. Put an asbestos mat on the middle shelf and place the china carefully on that, and keep the oven at a temperature of Zoo deg. for about an hour. Over 3oo deg. the Araldite will darken and in any case the china may not stand it. If your oven has no thermometer, buy a small one. If it is impossible to keep the temperature of the oven steady,heat the oven, put in the piece, and switch the oven right off, leaving the piece there until the oven is cold.
Mending Cracks ivith Adhesive. So often articles crack without breaking. The cracks get dirty, and the piece when touched vibrates a little and does not ring true. It may, one feels, collapse into pieces at any moment. Cracks can be repaired quite effectively without completely breaking the pieces apart. Most forms of pottery and porcelain are to a small extent flexible, so carefully insert the edge of a razor blade and part the crack a little. Clean the crack as described above and make sure that the whole piece is thoroughly dry by standing it on a radiator until it is pretty warm. Heat the separate tubes of Aralditc to get them runny and make up a mix, with a little white colouring in it if there are any chips along the crack which need to be filled. Mix the Araldite on a warm surface and keep it warm while working. My own nightstore type electric radiators which have flat tops, are absolutely ideal for this work and I work directly on top of one. This is not recommended by the makers of nightstore radiators but who cares about that !
Prise the crack apart with the razor blade as far as is possible without breaking the piece completely. If the crack runs right to the rim or edge of the piece, slide the edges of the crack apart a little, one up and one down to expose some of the broken edge. Run the adhesive right into the crack, work it in with a finger if necessary, then move away from the radiator and press the edges tightly together. Wipe off any surplus adhesive with methylated spirits, but not that exactly along the crack. Put several pieces of gummed strip across the crack at right-angles on both sides of the piece, and leave the whole thing to dry (bake after an hour if you wish to) for half a day on the top of the radiator. This should set the adhesive perfectly.

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ABRASIVES
In order to remove rust, tarnish or corrosion from metal  of all kinds, when soap and water, oil paraffin mixture, rust removers, metal polishes, etc. have failed or are unsuitable, abrasives are used. In order to get a mirror finish on metal the correct use of die right abrasive is essential. To all intents and purposes, as they get finer, abrasives become polishes. Damaged woodwork can be cleaned and tidied with abrasives, stains and blooms on varnish can be removed; and used in conjunction with paints and varnishes, abrasives help to get deep glossy finishes.
As a general rule, work is started with coarse abrasives and finished with fine abrasives.
There are many different kinds of abrasives, and each
user tends to prefer certain ones; it is not necessary to have
aof them in your workshop. Abrasives can be bought in
loose powder form, as cloth or paper, or in bar compositions for use with buffing tools.
For the purposes of this book it should be useful to describe briefly some of the abrasives and abrasive polishes available. In the various sections, abrasives are mentioned constantly iii respect of specific uses. When working with them, trial and error is the best guide, provided that trials are not carried out on such a big scale that the error becomes irrevocable. After a while an invaluable experience of abrasives and their uses will be built up. Abrasives such as sand and glasspaper, either in sheets or discs for power tools, are used for stripping down and smoothing wooden surfaces, and iii conjunction with paint removers or by themselves, to remove stubborn old paint and varnish. When using sheet sandpaper, glass-paper or emery paper, it call be folded round blocks of wood, or made into sticks by wrapping round pieces of dowelling etc. Discs for sanders on power tools are made in a multitude of grades and qualities, some very rough indeed. Spaced grit carbide discs are excellent for tough work, where scoring of underlying wood can be removed at a later date. Metal discs with tungsten spaced grit over them are almost indestructible and will remove practically anything, but are liable to do damage as well, and should be used with great care.
Sheets of sand or glasspaper are used on finishing power sanders which do not revolve, but work with a fast backwards and forwards action.
Wet and dry emery paper in various grades, so called because it can be used dry or soaked in water as a lubricant without dissolving into pulp, will help to impart a mirror finish to any object which is being painted or varnished. The object is rubbed down with wet anddry between coats until the surface feels perfectly smooth to the fingertips. The emery is used very wet and the lubricating effect of the water helps the emery to cut smoothly without scratching.
Steel wool in various grades is a very versatile material. In rough grades, in conjunction with strippers, it will help to shift paint and varnish. Used with metal polishes it will remove stubborn stuns on metals, and will help chemical rust removers to shift rust. Steel wool pads impregnated with soap are excellent for cleaning greasy metal or wood surfaces. Mirror finishes on wood call be rubbed down with fine steel wool, before waxing to achieve smooth shining but not over
glossy finishes. The uses of steel wool iY1 C011-
junction with wood finishing materials are many, and experience is invaluable. Grade oo or 000 is used for fine work. If you have a polishing lathe with interchangeable mops and brushes, or even if you set up a power drill to take small mops and bobs, you may wish to try liquid polishing compositions. These are equivalent to the bar compositions mentioned below and are intended to be sprayed on to the work as polishing is taking place. This requires special spray equipment so this method is usually only used commercially.
Emery powder, tripoli powder, rottenstone (a mineral found in Derbyshire and mixed with oil), jeweller’s rouge (powdered iron oxide), pumice powder (powdered volcanic lava), crocus powder, carboruriduni, and whiting are all abrasives commonly used in metal finishing, and can be bought in composition bars, either greasy or non greasy, for use with polishing mops and brushes. They are used moistened on soft rags, or on swabs made up on sticks, or on small brushes (old toothbrushes come in handy here).
Obviously care must be taken not to use too strong an abrasive for your particular job. Do not risk making deep scratches which will need even deeper abrasion to be removed, and as polishing proceeds, use finer and finer abrasives until a deep glowing finish is achieved.
ACIDS
Some acids make effective cleaners. They should always be handled with care; rubber gloves must be worn, and the bottles or containers must be carefully labelled, well stoppered, and kept out of the way of children. If you do spill acid on to yourself or your clothing, wash with plenty of clean water and then with water and bicarbonate of soda which is an alkali which will neutralise the acid. When diluting acid, alivays add acid to the water and not vice versa.
Hydrochloric acid. Also known as spirits of salt. Don’t let it get near stainless steel or other metals, except under control, for it will etch the metals. Nor should it touch nylon or any man-made fibres.
Acetic acid. Is the acid constituent of vinegar.
Oxalic acid. A poisonous acid which has many uses as a stain remover. In five per cent solution it will remove ink stains. Two teaspoonfuls of crystals in two pints of cold water will remove blood stains. In saturated solution it will remove black water marks on wood.
Citric acid. A ten per cent solution is sometimes used for stain removing.
Nitric acid. This is a strong fuming acid and if you get will
any on your skin it burn severely. Any slightest amount spilt should immediately be flushed and flooded with water. Skin should be held under a running cold tap. Very diluted, it is used for cleaning gilt and gilding. It can be used to darken soft soldering.
Oleic. Acid in an oily base.
Muriatic acid. Another name for hydrochloric acid. Accumulator acid. Diluted sulphuric acid used in the making of chlorine gas for bleaching.
ADHESIVES
The problems of getting one thing to stick to another have always loomed large for the restorer, especially when the two objects are not made of the same material. Luckily, new types of adhesive have been invented which will literally stick anything to anything. The strength of the stuck joints is also very important, and modern adhesives are so efficient that stuck joins can actually be stronger than any other kind of jour, and where, in the old days the glueing of joins of all kinds was used in conjunction with other fixing methods, dowelling etc., sticking alone is nowadays often sufficiently strong. Adhesives have become so strong as well as water and heat resistant, that it is really no longer necessary to rivet ceramics, and almost totally invisible stuck joints can be made in china. Adhesives mixed with colouring matters, pigments and powders, are used as Hers, thus becoming dual purpose materials (see under Cements and Fillers). Most modern adhesives have many uses and will stick a very wide variety of substances, but some are better than others for particular kinds of work.
Why things stick together is quite involved and difficult to explain. Theoretically, if you can bring two stir-faces together so that they touch all over their surfaces, they may stick together without adhesives. Two sheets of glass will sometimes adhere in this way and become extremely difficult to part. Even two sheets of shiny paper will stick together. I know a trick with a penny, which consists of drawing a coin sharply down a varnished wall surface, and snapping it on with a thumb. The coin will stay there indefinitely if the wall surface is all right. I suppose most of the air is expelled from under the coin, and the rim makes a perfect seal with the varnished surface, and die outside air pressure keeps die coin in place. There was a pub in Potter Heighain in Norfolk, called the Falgate, where the whole surface of die bar surround was covered in coins put there in this way. In fact my father put up the first one. Much later they were all varnished in to preserve them, but eventually the bars in die pub were enlarged and down came die panelling and the pennies. Yet few people would believe that no adhesive was used to keep the pennies up and many of the coins were there for years.
It seems that the function of an adhesive is to make the respective surfaces so smooth that they adhere. When using normal adhesives, as little as is consistent with covering the whole surface should be used, as too much just keeps the surfaces apart, and does not john them together. The john should then be put under pressure and left undisturbed.
All surfaces which are to be stuck together must first be thoroughly cleaned of old grease and glue, or rust, and the adliesive makers’ instructions should be followed carefully. Glues made from gelatine or old type animal glues, can be removed by soaking with warm water. Resinous cements are dissolved by alcohol, celluloid cements can be removed with amyl acetate or acetone. Dissolver will shift modern epoxy resin glues. Once the surfaces are cleaned they should have a rub with sand or emery paper, to make sure all glue is gone, and to give a key for the cement.
Scotch glue. Scotch glue has always been the traditional glue to use for woodwork, and it is still the best glue for veneer work especially where the veneer has to be smoothed or `hammered’ into place with the rounded end of a ball-peen hammer. Scotch glue can be bought either in cake, pearl or powder form. The glue is put into a proper glue pot with water, and left to soak overnight, which makes it swell up and soften. The glue pot is in fact two pots, one within the other. The outside one holds water, the inside one the glue, just like a double saucepan. The pot is put on to simmer and the glue stirred frequently as it heats. Don’t ever boil glue, just get it hot enough to run off the brush when you hold it over the pot, without forming tears. Scotch glue is used hot and is brushed well into the surfaces. It helps to warm the wood before applying the glue. All joints made with Scotch glue should be well cramped or weighted, so that any surplus is squeezed out, and the surfaces brought as close together as possible. Scotch glue is useless for joints or mends which will be exposed to damp, as it will not hold, and in time will even grow fungus. Santobrite call be added to Scotch glue to prevent the formation of fungus. Heat also melts Scotch glue and releases joints.
Durofix. Durofix is a celluloid cement, and is extremely useful as it is transparent, so that it can be built up in layers to form a self-supporting film to repair glass etc. (although acrylic resins have supplanted it for large-scale jobs of this kind). Glass repaired with Durofix won’t stand domestic handling, but for ornamental use it is good enough. One big advantage of Durofix is that it is a one tube adhesive and does not have to be mixed with hardeners.
Et,o-stile. Made in several different types, this is a splendid impact adhesive. Evo-stik Impact Household Adhesive is excellent for joins where the two surfaces may be brought directly together and left without movement until set. Where joins have to be slid together (such as a mortice and tenon joint), this adhesive is not suitable. When using Evo-stik, a coat of the stuff is put oil each surface to be joined, and is left for at least a quarter of an hour. The surfaces are then brought together correctly (no sliding about to get things right), and an immediate bond is made which in time is extremely strong. In fact if you try to break the bond, you may break the wood instead.
Cascattdte is a powder glue which is mixed with water, is good for woodwork, as is
Aerolite which is a powder and a liquid hardener, mixed together in the right proportions for a very strong resin adhesive.
This brings me to the modern epoxy resin two-tube adhesives which are fantastically useful and versatile. There are quite a few makes, and it is not possible to list more than one or two of all the adhesives available in this section, but I think I have mentioned enough to cope with most
jobs.
Plastic Padding. This is a two-tube adhesive and filler, which has a silver metallic colour. It has the advantage of drying very quickly—in ten or fifteen minutes—so that it is useful
will
where speed is helpful. It stick pretty well anything to anything, but its silver colour precludes its use where the join will show, or will not be painted over.
Araldite. In the two-tube pack (A.V. too and H.V. 100), Araldite is suitable for joining any of the materials listed below. All objects to be glued should first be cleaned, the surfaces being thoroughly degreased, then abraded, then degreased again before the adhesive is applied. Also it is important to make sure that surfaces are dry before adhesive is applied, so give them a few minutes in front of a fan heater or on a radiator; or put large objects in an airing cupboard for a while. If there is any paint or old glue on a surface to be joined, it must be removed with a solvent. Dissolver will remove Araldite if it has been used before.
Mix your adhesive on a small piece of glass with a palette knife. Keep some methylated spirit handy for cleaning up, as it will dissolve Araldite while it is still soft. It is important that the contents of the tubes never mix except as and when you want them.
When using two-tube Araldite A.V. ioo and H.V. i oo, warm the two tubes a little before measuring out and mixing the adhesive and it will be thinner, and thus easier to use, but may take a little longer to set.
For china repair Araldite A.Y. 103 and Hardener H.Y. 951 are very suitable because the mixture is thinner; it grips very hard and doesn’t need much pressure to get a good join. Because itis thinner it can be got into small cracks, and it fills all the requirements of unobtrusive adhesion. It is not quite so resistant to water and steam as the two-tube Araldite, so should not be used for repairs to china which is going into domestic use.
All adhesives nixed should be used within an hour as it begins to dry after that time and gets tacky. It is sensible to have a sticking session—collecting together and preparing all the mending jobs you have on hand to do at the same time. It is quite difficult to mix the exact small amount you need for one article and only too ofter, the whole family searches the house for things to mend to use up the adhesive. Left over mixed Araldite will keep in the freezing compartment of your refrigerator for several hours, even overnight, but do not try to keep it there indefinitely or you will end up throwing a useless little hard lump into the dustbin together with the container or sheet of glass to Which it has become firmly stuck.
It is quite simple to measure out the two-tube Araldite exactly because you can squeeze an equal length strip from each tube on to the glass. With the thinner types, measurement is by drops, oreven with two hypodermic syringes— although this would seem to be all expensive way of doing the job. Perhaps it is worth the investment if you are specialising in repairing things with Araldite!
Having mixed the adhesive, spread an even thin coat on each surface of the object, using a match or a rust free nail or a glass rod, and fit the two firmly together. Use gum strip to bind together a join while it dries (see section on Chita). Araldite takes twelve hours to set at room temperature, and three days to harden to maximum strength, but drying can be speeded up by heating, even by baking in a cool oven.
Drying time at 149 deg. C. (3oo deg. F.) 3o rains.
121 deg. C. (zso deg. F.)    i hour
79 deg. C. (175 deg. F.)    3 hours
Do not dry at over Soo deg. F. as at that heat the two-tube Araldite resin darkens.
To join the following materials (all must be degreased before and after abrasion):
Brass: Abrade with emery
Ceramics and Porcelain: Abrade with carborundum and water slurry Copper: Abrade with emery
Glass: Abrade with carborundum
Gold: Abrade with fine emery or crocus paper
Lead, Tin and Solder: Abrade with fine emery
Leather: Degrease with great care. Abrade with glass paper Silver: Abrade with fine emery
Steel and Iron: Abrade with emery
Stone: Abrade with a wire brush
Wood: Abrade with glasspaper
Pastes. Special pastes such as Gripfix, and photographic mounting pastes are most useful for paper work as they do not cause cockling or staining. Some photographic mountains have first to be painted on with a soft brush, and then, when the paste has dried for some minutes, the picture or paper is ironed on to its mount with a warm iron over greaseproof paper.
Paste for paper and leather similar to paperhanger’s paste, proprietary brands of which can be bought, are made up as follows: Recipe i.    lb. plain flour
oz. powdered alum
Mix with water to a cream, and then add a pint of cold water and heat in an enamel saucepan stirring all the time.
When using this paste for leather add a little thin Scotch glue. Keep this paste away from metal before use or it may pick up discolouring stains.
Recipe z. i teaspoonful plain flour z teaspoonfuls cornflour J teaspoonful alum
3 oz. water
Mix all ingredients together well so that there arc no lumps, bring to the boil in an enamel saucepan, stirring all the time, and boil for a minute or two till thick.
Copydex is an extremely useful white, rubber-based adhesive for all fabrics.
H.M.G. This heat and waterproof adhesive is good for some jobs because it is clear and quick drying, but it is not over strong. It can be handled for up to an hour, and goes totally hard in twenty-four hours. It does not slip, and is dissolved by acetone.
AMMONIA
Ammonia is a gaseous compound of nitrogen and hydrogen. It has the property in liquid form of turning grease into a soluble soap and so removing it. Used as a ten per cent solution in water it gets rid of dirt and grease, and some kinds of silver tarnish. It also makes glass and porcelain sparkle. It should never be used on bronze, and can lift varnish on wood. It is in fact, in a strong solution, quite a good varnish stripper (see Stripping).
Scrubbs Cloudy Ammonia is a ten per cent solution.
Ammonia solution is used for cleaning Ormolu (see Ormolu) and in a very dilute form, marble. A few drops added to beeswax and turpentine (see Beeswax) makes effective furniture polish.
ANTLERS
Antlers and horns, mounted on shaped boards—relics of our big-ganic—hunting grandfathers—are quite common junk objects. If it so happens that you do wish to restore such an object, clean the horns as suggested under Ivory and Bone. Fill any holes or chips with epoxy resin suitably coloured with kaolin powder and a little yellow ochre or brown dry powder pigment to match. Stick broken pieces back in place with Araldite, and put a wire core or pin in hollow broken horns, packed round with filler as described in the section on China Mending. The clean horns or antlers should be coated with a light wax polish to improve their looks. The backboard may need mending or completely stripping off, and repolishing.
Antlers which come complete with the deer’s head are more difficult to cope with if the head is in bad condition. A good brushing with Fullers Earth should clean the hair, but the repair of rotted or torn leather sections may be very tricky and take careful needlework. It may be necessary to re-stuff parts of the head. A good mothproofing is always advisable, so spray well with an aerosol niodiproofer, and an insecticide as well, if necessary.

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Anyone who has spent much time looking in junk shops will know that sooner or later a particular decision will have to be made. Is one to insist on buying only the perfect piece, the flawless jewel, which has come down to our time unscathed by time—that enemy of both man and his handiwork? Or is one to be content with something less than perfection, that which is flawed—though not irreparably?
If you take the first course and happen to have a taste for the best in furniture, pictures, pottery, glass, silver, or whatever, you will nowadays need a very long purse indeed. The fine things of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries have soared in price to levels which would not have been thought possible even only five years ago. In the meantime collectors have turned their attention to the once despised nineteenth century; and Victorians is now as eagerly accepted for sale by great auctioneers like Sotheby’s and Christie’s as anything of earlier date.
Personally I have never felt especially impressed by ‘condition’ for its own sake. If a piece is what the trade calls ‘right’—that is to say genuine of its own kind, if whatever imperfections it may have do not seriously detract from enjoyment of it, I do not see why it should not take its place in a collection. After all, for a piece of china or furniture to have survived for two hundred, a hundred, or even fifty years without acquiring some sort of blemish, or show some signs of age, is a quite remarkable thing: it has certainly not happened to me. One suspects too, that those who seek perfection of this kind may be interested not so much in the appreciation of a particular objet d’art, as in appreciation of their investment—and I have always thought that there were many pitfalls in that kind of collecting.
A few years ago there came up for sale a famous collection of teapots, representative of the finest work of all the famous English factories. The reverend gentleman who put it together, however, could not possibly have afforded to do so had he not been content to accept the odd chip, crack or restored part. But these imperfections in no way spoilt the beauty and interest of the collection, which, though unique of its kind, had much instructive value for the general collector.
For me, therefore, if a piece has been skilfully and sympathetically repaired, with awareness of period and of the peculiar nuances of the original work, there would always be a place for it on my shelves or walls. And if you tell me that a repair or a repainting can be detected by ultraviolet radiation, I reply that one does not normally look at works of art through apparatus of that kind.
Before they buy, however, I think that collectors should inform themselves as to what can or cannot be done with anything which has been damaged or broken. Some things are really beyond all hope: they could never be restored in such a way as to give one the same kind of xsthetic appeal as the original, and the place for it—if there is a place for it—may well be in a museum. But there are many things which can be rescued, and ought to be before they deteriorate any further.
This, I think, is the value of a book like this. In showing how repairs can be done it tells one what repairs can be done, whether we do them ourselves with loving care or whether we leave them to the expert. There are not so many fine works of art about that we can afford to let them disappear without an effort of some sort.

What is junk? Something which its last owner discarded as worthless? Any old piece of furniture, china, metalwork, any old picture, print or scrap which has no intrinsic value? These definitions have no meaning today when the trade in ‘junk’ has reached international proportions and when some of the prices paid for hideous bits of bric-a-brac put them far beyond the reach of most amateur collectors. Once, a poke around a second-hand shop produced all kinds of unusual and interesting things for shillings and even for pennies. Pounds didn’t enter into it. Once you could go to auction sales and come away with car loads of discarded ‘rubbish’ which no one else at the sale wanted and for which the dealers, least of all the dealers, never bothered to bid.
Not any more. At every sale, in every junkshop, there lurks the man or woman with that indefinable look, that odd searching expression which proclaims that he or she is
‘in the trade’ and wi buy akinds of unlikely things just to turn them into other unlikely things or to restore them
and sell them as totally genuine survivals from the past, and as always, when the dealers get interested the amateurs have to get up very early in the morning!
The reasons why we have come to value these things are strange, but fairly simple. As we invent new designs for furniture, pots and pans, clothes etc. and enjoy new styles and fashions, yesterday’s style and the day before yesterday’s become hideous to us. How ugly now seems the clothes and furniture, the carpets and curtains, the chairs and the pictures of the thirties. And how ugly, in the thirties, seemed the things we designed in the twenties. Yet now, in the sixties, the things of the twenties become attractive again, some of them, and the Victorian excesses which we hated in the thirties, positively delight us now. Why does this happen? Is it because our modem designs get more and more simple and functional, with fewer curves and fussy bits, more and more straight lines and flat surfaces, more and more synthetic finishes, and less and less craftsmanship or hand work of any kind is done. The horrors of photographic wood veneers, which only need a wipe with a damp cloth, the plastic ‘working surfaces which every knife marks, are preferred to beautiful natural veneers which need a bit of polishing to keep them beautiful, and to scrubbed wood which needs a bit of elbow grease to keep it clean. So I believe some of us are coming to value the things which man has made with his hands out of natural materials as an antidote to our machine-turned, moulded, plastic world. And I don’t believe that the plastic rubbish of today will ever become the treasured junk of tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. We have gone right over the top, and many people are determined to salve what is left of the artifacts of our grandfathers. The very ugliness of some of the things has the appeal of individuality at the least. It may be claimed that a lot of Victorian and Edwardian and even Georgian junk was mass produced in the sense that numbers of copies of the same objects were made, and that any casting or turning or moulding techniques that were available were fully used. Nevertheless the materials themselves ensured that hand finishing was almost always necessary, and the machines were worked by men and not by other macliiiies. Designs were made by the minds of men and not by computers.
Ingenious people go to great lengths to make modem objects out of old junk, sometimes by taking things back to an even more original condition than they ever were before, when they were first made. I’m thinking of the vogue for stripping down wooden objects and oiling or waxing so that the grain alone decorates them; objects that were always stained or painted when they were first produced. It is only quite recently that we have realised that natural pine wood call be just as beautiful as natural walnut, or oak or mahogany. Our immediate forefathers thought that pine in its natural state was very ugly and only fit to be covered up. Anyone who had ever visited all alpine country knew differently, but nevertheless we remained very traditional. Taking the subject a stage further, there was a time when natural oak furniture was looked upon as being purely rural and only used by the yokels in the kitchen, and nothing could be elegant but inlaid mahogany or veneer or ormolu. All kinds of objects get turned into lamps nowadays, and old picture frames make fine mirrors and trays. Pianos turn into cocktail cabinets—there is a use for everything and anything. Is this because the hand craftsmanship, or even the time, that it takes to make these things cannot be found these days except at great expense? Labour was cheap when the junk was being made, and now we are taking advantage, years after the makers are dead and gone, of their sweated labour, their underpaid craftsmanship, which are just not available any more.
Lastly, as I discovered when I became involved in the art of restoring old cottages for modern living, you and I, amateurs in the sense that our jobs probably have nothing whatsoever to do with restoring things, get a great kick, an artistic satisfaction, out of mending something that seemed broken beyond repair, out of recreating something useful or decorative or interesting from something old, ugly and dull. The artist, the creator in all of us, can thus find expression even when we lack original talent. It may be in something as elemental as getting a good polish on a piece of filthy old brass.
Most of us are magpies at heart, and the collecting instinct which stimulates toddlers to collect little piles of stones, shells and sticks and string, the child to collect stamps or dolls and the teenager to collect gramophone records, stimulates the adult to collect whatever he or she can afford and finds pleasing. I know a man whose large Edwardian house (and lie needs one) is full of musical boxes, everything from tiny little singing birds to huge great mahogany things which come to coniplicated life and give out fantastic sounds in response to the necessary stimuli. Another man will collect powder flasks, buttons or little boxes, or flatirons, or porcelain. Most collectors begin by acquiring a piece of junk almost accidentally, perhaps by inheritance, or bought in with an odd lot, or just because it caught the eye, and that is the nucleus of a collection.
People can be divided into two groups; those who will take everything to the ‘expert’ to be restored or cleaned, and those who will go to great lengths to do the work themselves. I think that the true junk collector comes into the second category. The greater part of the fun for him is in the restoring—in being able to say, modestly: ‘yes, I mended that chair—it had three broken legs and six coats of paint, but the waxed natural wood does look rather nice, doesn’t it?’
There are limitations, of course, oil what can be done; limitations imposed by the necessity for expensive tools or materials, or processes which need equipment not usually found in even a well-equipped workshop (electro-plating tanks for instance). The one limitation that never seems to apply is that of knowledge, either of techniques or of materials.
Here another distinction has to be made. Properly speaking, restoration implies the recreating of an object so that it is exactly as it was when it was made. In the wider sense great arguments go on between the people and societies interested in the preservation of ancient things, and those who wish to restore them for actual use. To the purist, for instance, it is wrong when restoring a cottage to make structural alterations which are necessary to make it habitable in modern terms. To the purist it is wrong to restore an old piece of furniture by altering its original purpose, terrible to cut a whatnot in half and make two tables from it, even though it was useless as a whatnot. If a thing has intrinsic beauty then surely it is wrong to alter it out of recognition. There is a safeguard here in the sense that if you pay a lot of money for an antique you are unlikely to chop it about. Oil die other hand you might undervalue some inherited piece and destroy it by altering it.
How far is one justified in building up missing pieces of objectswith modern epoxy resins instead of restoring the missing part as nearly as possible with its original material? Museums do it all the time and are prepared to rebuild and remake shamelessly with modern materials to restore objects, although they make no secret of this. It is of course inipossible to lay down rules for these things. In any case the antique and jtuik trades are so full of fakes, composite objects, and reproductions with never any guarantee of authenticity, that it doesn’t matter a great deal, I suppose, how authentic your restoration work on junk is. The only thing that matters, it seems to me, is that the reproduction or reconstruction or restoration produces something which as nearly resembles the original as one’s capacities and the materials available allow. Never try to pass off any kind of restoration as original.
While in this book I have tried to include as many hints and ideas as possible, I have slued away from `tricks of the trade’. There are too many tricksters about
already.
Of course, with many perishable objects such as prints, preservation and protection against the ravages of the future is as important as restoration, and there seems to me to be no harm in using the most modem methods and materials available.
One or two general points must be made. First, that there is no substitute, really, for elbow grease, and this is in many cases the restorer’s most useful material, substance or technique! It may be easy to slosh acids and solvents around, but the damage they do may well outweigh the time they save. Second, many chemicals used are poisonous or corrosive, and the greatest care must be taken when using them to wear protective clothing, gloves etc. Such materials should be confined to the workshop and never used in the kitchen. All bottles and jars must be carefully labelled, and poisons should be kept under lock and key. A fire extinguisher must be part of every workshop’s equipment and a bucket of sand for extra fire protection isn’t out of place. Plenty of fresh water should be available, and a sink is almost essential. Electrical equipment must be used properly and wall plugs etc. should be professionally installed and maintained. Never use electric tools with two-pin plugs. Use three-pin plugs which include an earth. Never unplug electrical equipment without first switching off the main. Never use electrical equipment with wet or even damp hands.
Lastly, I must point out that although all the recipes and suggestions in this book are tried and tested, the success of each and every one depends to some extent upon the user. It is like cooking. Give two people the same recipe book and materials and ask them to cook the same dish and the results will invariably differ.
Because of the enormous variety of materials involved, and because it is not possible for the writer to know exactly what it is that the reader is intending to treat, there can be no absolute certainty that methods and treatments will work exactly as planned. The contents of this book are meant as a guide, to be intelligently used. I have left out some techniques that call for the use of highly toxic chemicals (with the exception of the bleaching box), and I have left out or only briefly described techniques which do require practical instruction, althoughi the borderline between skills which can be self-taught and developed by practice and those which have to be imparted on the spot by an expert, is impossible to define. It depends so much on the capacity and talent of the individual.
But it is junk you will be handling; it won’t be world-shattering if you do make mistakes. ‘There is so much pleasure in doing a good job that it is always worth a try. If you fail, well, that is too bad. If you succeed, that is wonderful, and oh, so satisfying.
Thanks. To write a book of this kind without picking other people’s brains is impossible, for one cannot bc.ui expert on everything; in fact the junk restorer must be a jack of all trades. Thanks are due, therefore, to all those who let me ask them questions about their working methods, and who gave me so much useful information. Thanks also to Ginette Leach whose help with the making and checking of the book was invaluable.
Using the book. The text is not divided into chapters, but set out with subjects in alphabetical order. I suggest that you look first in the indices for references to any specific subject, or material. There are two indices: the first refers specifically to materials and tools, and includes page references and names of suppliers and sources of the materials, so that in effect it replaces appendices; the second refers to the subject headings and methods, and is intended to lead you directly to the subject itself where you can find full details on cleaning and restoration.
Where various things come into the same general category they have been grouped together in that category rather than scattered through the book in alphabetical order. For instance the section headed Stone includes subsections of various kinds of stone. The sections on China, Furniture, and Metal are also comprehensive. This seems to me to be a more convenient way of arranging things than exact alphabetical order would have been.

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SWORDS—WATERLOO TO
THE PRESENT DAY
There was no, change in the pattern of swords used by the British Army during the long second period of the Napoleonic wars, which lasted from the reopening of hostilities, after the abortive Peace of Amibns, until the final departure of Napoleon to St. Helena. When the threat from imperial France had been finally removed, however, there was more time for those who meddle with these things to consider the minutiae of military uniform and equipment.
Round about i82o sundry new regulations were published relating to swords. Even the superb light cavalry sword, which had proved its value in action, was not left alone. The old argument was revived as to whether cutting or thrusting was the more important function of a cavalrysword; and because it was not yet appreciated that no sword can be designed which is really satisfactory for both, the weapon which eventually appeared was a compromise which was good at neither.
The new sword was issued to regiments of Hussars and Light Dragoons in 1826. It had the same type of stirrup hilt as the old sword, but the blade was increased in length to thirty-four inches, and was both narrower and considerably less curved. The balance of the sword was quite altered as compared with its predecessor, and this, together with the straighter blade, resulted in a weapon which was far inferior for cutting. For thrusting it was more effective, though by no means satisfactory.
Units seem to have been in no hurry to acquire this new sword, for the 13th Hussars, at any rate, managed to retain the old one until 1829. In 1829 the hilt was changed from the stirrup pattern to a three-bar steel guard, which gave more protection to the hand.
In 1822 the sword of the heavy cavalry received some much needed attention. In contrast, however, to the ill-advised replacement of the efficient light cavalry sword, the only improvement made to the ineffective weapon of the heavy cavalry was the substitution of a sharp point for the original hatchet termination of the blade.
Also in or about :1822 a new sword was introduced for infantry officers. The hilt was a half-basket type of Gothic design, incorporating the Royal cypher, and the half of the guard worn next to the body was hinged to fall downwards, to avoid rubbing the clothing. The inside of the hilt was lined with black patent,leather, and there was a fishskin grip bound with brass wire. The hilts were made of brass, except those of the Rifle regiments, which were steel. The blade was the same length of thirty-two inches as the previous pattern, but it was slightly curved instead of being straight. In addition it was unfullered and had piping down .the back to strengthen it. In spite of the strengthening, however, the blade was weak; and the piping, in fact, prevented it cutting deep.
In 1834 the Highland regiments, which hitherto had worn the same infantry sword as the rest of the Army, were issued with a sword of their own. This had the traditional ‘Highland Basket’ hilt. The blade was the heavy broadsword type similar to that popular in the heavy cavalry in about 1750, (A sword with this type of.hilt is often wrongly called a claymore. The true claymore is a two-handed sword with no other protection than a pair of straight quillons.) The Highland Basket is, not, in point of fact, a very convenient hilt, in spite of the protection it gives. The hand is too confined for the sword to be used very effectively. for thrusting. On the other hand, it was originally designed for cutting;; the body being protected by either the dirk or the targe. Used thus it was a very fine weapon. In addition it was very decorative, and during the reign of the ‘First Gentleman in Europe’ this was frequently of greater importance than efficiency for battle. The hilt was lined with white buckskin and scarlet cloth edged with blue silk, and a crimson silk tassel was suspended from the pommel. Lowland regiments were still armed with the ordinary pattern of infantry sword.
In about 1848 a new sword was at last brought out for the heavy cavalry. It was a vast improvement on the old one. The blade was thirty-six inches long, slightly curved, and tapered to a sharp point. The hilt was steel, and the guard was the first example of the bowl-shell which is fitted to the latest pattern of cavalry sword. On the inside it was lined with leather, and there was a leather covering to the grip.
The new heavy cavalry sword had a very short life, for in 1853 a sword was approved for issue to all cavalry regiments, whether heavy- or light. This signalized official recognition that there was now no difference in the function of the two branches of the cavalry. It i6 unlikely, however, that many regiments, if any, received this sword before leaving for the Crimea; and the great cavalry actions of that war were probably fought with the older pattern swords.
It had at last been realized that all the qualities required for cutting - and thrusting could not be combined in one weapon. The 1853 pattern was primarily a thrusting weapon, and it was so stated in the regulations. At the same time the design allowed for cutting as a secondary function. The blade was straight and thirty-six inches in length. The guard consisted of three bars, of cast iron, and on the opposite side of the sword was a short quillon. ‘The slit for the sword knot was on top of the guard.
The ordinary infantry officer’s sword was improved in 1845. The hilt was unchanged, but the blade was heavier, fallered and without the piping on the back. It was . still slightly curved. Some ten years later there was another change. The blade became a little straighter, and the inner part of the guard was no longer hinged. The design on the guard incorporated the Royal cypher and, in Light Infantry and Rifle regiments, a bugle as well.
A peculiar type of ornamental sword was introduced into the Band and Drums of the infantry in about 1830- It had a short and very curved blade of the type known as Mameluke. The hilts varied in shape and design in accordance with regimental taste. The pommel nearly always figured an animal’s head. The lion was the most often seen, but sometimes a badge of the regiment was chosen. The 17th Regiment, for instance, had the Royal Tiger which had been granted to them as a badge in 1825. The 56th Regiment, which. had been associated with West Kent for many years, bore the Kentish horse. There was no guard other than quillons, and these were straight, curved or counter-curved; and sometimes with brass chains connecting the quillons and the pommel.
In 1854 a new and completely different sword was introduced for the Band and Drums. It had a blade which was longer but less curved than its predecessor and a brass half-basket hilt, incorporating the Royal cypher. Three years later the sword was changed again. Curved blade and half-basket hilt were alike discarded. The new weapon was short and straight in the blade; and the hilt had no guard other than trefoil-shaped quillons. There was a black leather scabbard with brass mounts. For Rifle regiments the hilt was steel, and for other regiments brass. A similar sword, but slightly lighter, was issued to buglers. The only other difference was the absence of a knob on top of the pommel. In 1895 the hilt was simplified and the bugler’s sword was made slightly the heavier weapon. In i goS these swords were abolished.
In 18 56 the sword replaced the musket as the weapon of the infantry Pioneers. The. blade was 22z inches in length, and the back edge was cut as a double-toothed saw. The hilt had a simple knuckle-bow guard. This was probably not the first time that Pioneers had used saw-backed swords, as some seem to have been armed with them in the I 840’s; but this earlier type was not, apparently, official, and may have been made under regimental arrangements.
In 1864 the bowl-shell guard, which had been fitted to the heavy cavalry sword of 1848, replaced the guard with cast-iron bars of the universal cavalry sword of 1853. It had been found that these bars often broke in action, and in any case gave little protection to the hand. The new guard was made of sheet steel and was pierced by four triangular apertures arranged in the shape of a cross. At the same time the blade was shortened by an inch to thirty-five inches, and was curved slightly, presumably to improve it for cutting.
In 1863 an improved pattern of Highland Basket hilt was approved for Scottish infantry regiments. It made no appreciable. difference, however, to the regimental broadsword as a fighting weapon. In fact, later swords of English manufacture were far inferior weapons. Eventually, in 18 7 8, it was decided that basket hilts would have to be removed on active service. The hilt which was consequently approved for wear with Service dress certainly allows the hand full freedom of movement, but the only protection provided is a pair of straight quillons. The basket and cross hilts are made readily interchangeable. The original scabbards had been of black leather with brass or copper-gilt mounts and a chape with trailer. The 1863 scabbard was steel, but the pattern approved later for wear with Service dress and Sam Browne belt was leather. In 1881 the Lowland regiments adopted the Highland pattern broadsword.
A peculiarity in the swords of Scottish regiments is the use of a separate type of hilt for mounted field officers. This is interchangeable with either the cross or basket hilts for dismounted duties, and is lined with buckskin and crimson cloth. The pattern varies with different regiments. In’ The Royal Scots, The Royal Scots Fusiliers, The King’s Own Scottish Borderers and The Gordon, Highlanders the hilt is covered with a design of thistles, and there is a space for the display of the regimental badge. The field officers of The Black Watch, The Seaforth Highlanders, *The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and The Highland Light Infantry have a differently shaped guard with a scroll design. This hilt was also worn by officers of the heavy cavalry from 1857 to 1896, and by officers of the Royal Engineers from -T-8$7 to -1902- Field officers of The Cameron Highlanders have a separate sword with a three-barred and unlined hilt, which is also worn by officers of the Royal Artillery. The Cameronians have the same sword as other Rifle regiments, though for some years the regimental badge was worn in place of the bugle.
In 188o a new sword was introduced for officers of infantry regiments nts; (other than Scottish). It had a straight blade and a half-basket brass hilt. In 1895 a new hilt was introduced, though the blade remained  the same. The hilt was again the half-basket type, but of steel instead of brass. It incorporated a foliated design and the crowned Royal cypher. The following year there was a slight modification: the inside edge of the guard was turned down to safeguard the uniform from damage. The 1896 sword is the pattern worn by officers to-day, not only in the infantry, but in the Royal Engineers, the Royal Signals and other corps.
In 1882 another cavalry sword was produced which had only slight alterations as compared with its predecessor of 1864. The guard was a little smaller and the inner edge was turned down. The sword knot slit was moved from the front to the top of the guard, and the upper part of the guard was raised a little: above the pommel. There was no alteration in the shape and design of the blade, but there were two different lengths: 35-j and 33 inches.
The Egyptian war, which was in progress at this time, brought to light some unsuspected and unfortunate deficiencies in the swords and bayonets of the British Army. There were many reports of blades being broken or bent in action. The fault -was obviously in the quality of the steel; and there was legitimate criticism of the method of testing and inspection. Eventually a Committee was appointed to investigate the matter. Nothing very positive seems to have resulted from its deliberations; but the very fact of the investigation and the evidence which was called must have caused manufacturers to. improve their standards; for no further failure was apparently reported’. In the meantime Enfield was unable to meet the whole of the demand for swords and bayonets, and part of the order, therefore, was placed with German firms at the famous sword-manufacturing centre of Solingen.
The cavalry sword was again modified in 18 8 5. The curve of the blade was slightly increased and made an inch shorter than the 1882 pattern.. In addition, the top of the guard was made level with the pommel. In 18 go a heavier blade was introduced which, except for being thicker, was of the same shape and pattern.
However, in spite of these numerous minor modifications, the old argument as to the type of sword which should be used by cavalry broke out once more: stimulated probably by criticisms resulting from the recent campaigns. The argument was sufficiently intense for the matter to be brought to the notice of Parliament; and, as a result, a .number of experimental swords were made. The arguments were again reflected in the final solution. As in the case of the light cavalry sword of 182o, the cavalry sword of 1899 was suitable for neither cutting nor thrusting; though optimistically intended for both. The blade was reduced in length to 33 inches. The hilt was of the same design as previously, but a slightly enlarged and more bowl’shaped guard gave better protection to the hand. The cavalry regiments which went out to South Africa at the start of the Boer war were armed with either the 1885 or the 1890 pattern of sword; but the unfortunate units in the later reinforcements were issued with the heartily disliked 1899 model.
The obvious failure of the 1899 sword led, in 1903, to the appointment of a Committee to re-examine the problem and to make recommendations for a suitable type of sword for the cavalry. The Committee early decided that the sword must be primarily a thrusting weapon on the grounds that little injury was inflicted by a cut, and that a thrust was always far the more effective. Whereas experience with the light cavalry sword in the Peninsular campaign certainly did not support this conclusion, it was something that the Committee had made up its mind on the purpose which the sword was to serve. However, although numerous experimental swords .were made, all were rejected as unsuitable, and the proceedings of the Committee apparently came to an end.
In 1906 another Committee was appointed; and with such energy did it act that some months later a new sword was ready for trial. In the design of this new model the Committee drew on a wide field of experience. Swords to meet certain specifications were ordered from private firms, and trials were carried out with numerous existing types, both British and foreign.
The firms who were requested to make swords for experi- , ment were Messrs. Wilkinson and Messrs. Mole. It was stipulated that the blade must be 35 inches in length, and have a narrow chisel edge; that the weight should be 2 pounds 6 ounces; that the balance should be between 21 and 21 inches below the hilt; and that the grip should be shaped to ensure that the sword could only be held in the correct fashion.
The existing swords submitted for test were the pre-Boer war cavalry sword of the 18 go pattern; the unpopular model of 1899; a sword which had been adopted for the Household cavalry in x892, with a slightly curved blade 341 inches long and a guard of sheet steel; the French cavalry sword of 1854, which had a straight 381-inch blade and a four-bar brass guard; the French light cavalry sword of 1822, which was a cutting weapon with a curved blade and a three-bar brass guard; the existing sword of the Dutch cavalry; and the light thrusting sword of a Spanish bull-fighter. Apart from these, experimental blades were tried with existing hilts, and to existing blades were fitted grips of various shapes and materials.
The sword which was the outcome of these trials and experiments was the ‘Pattern i 906 Experimental’. This was issued to several units and proved very popular. It had a straight thrusting blade and the so-called ‘pistol’ grip. As a result of the success of this weapon a slightly modified version was approved by the King in igoS for general issue to the cavalry; and this was the last cavalry sword to be designed for the British Army. It was a worthy finish, for it is one of the finest swords ever to have been designed, and it was outstandingly successful in the field in the “First World War. With its straight narrow 35-inch blade it is essentially a thrusting weapon. The guard is of sheet steel, unpierced, and is shaped into a very large and rather ugly-looking bowl, which gives excellent protection to the hand. The pistol grip has been retained, and is so shaped that the hand naturally grasps it in the correct position. The sword is a delight to handle and is beautifully balanced.

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Ferguson, in the meantime,, had been promoted Major and brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, and put in command of the ‘American Volunteers’, a corps of loyalists from New York and New Jersey and armed with the Ferguson rifle antique slovakia ceramics vase . The unit sailed with the expedition commanded by Sir Henry Clinton and Was present at the siege and capture of Charleston antique pembroke tble . Ferguson was then made a Brigadier-General of the Loyal Carolina Militia, and with his own corps of about ioo men as a nucleus marched into the interior, collecting loyalist recruits on the way square brass dial . On the 7th October 178o, his camp at King’s Mountain, close to the border of North Carolina, was surprised by a large force of mountaineers under the command of General Shelby value of hand painted wales china tea set . The training of Ferguson’s men did not match their enthusiasm, and after a gallant defence the majority of them were either killed or captured john widdicomb china cabinets . Ferguson himself was amongst the former 17th century imported oriental cabinet .
With the death of its inventor, the destruction of his rifle units and the capture of their armament, the Ferguson rifle disappeared from the Army antique paper mache card table . Beautifully made models for sportsmen were, however, made for many years afterwards photos of victorian sofa with zebra pattern fabric .
There is an interesting contemporary account of the manufacture of Ferguson rifles table lamps . A Mr berkey & gay american empire furniture . William Clincher records in his diary of 1776 that he visited Birmingham and waited upon Mr edmund etling glass bird . Baskerville who showed him his gun factory belgian gothic revival cabinet . He described this as follows:
‘ The Gun manufactory is pretty; the forging, scraping, and boreing, pleas’d me much;—The Rifle Guns are handsome pretty pieces, 800 are nearly finish’d on government account, at three pounds three shillings each; A Gentleman, with one of them at a distance of i So yards, shot a Ball six times out of eight within the circumference of the crown of my hat: at 400 yards he shot within half a yard of the mark antique brass table with animal legs .
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY GUNMAKERS
The number of gunmakers in Great Britain during the eighteenth century was very considerable antique drop leaf table with leaf built in . Those of them who made military arms could be roughly divided into selmersheim .
(a) Makers under contract to the Government to supply either complete weapons or component parts arabesque vertical plate racks .
(b) Establishments which made firearms of Government pattern which were subsequently purchased for the Army middle east antique collectors .
(c) Makers of firearms designed for military use, but not of a Government pattern art deco dining table . These were primarily intended for purchase by officers, and might be of the particular gunsmith’s own design, or one in common private use chippendale knife boxes octagon .
Some of them engaged in two, or even all three, of these activities; and, in addition, made sporting arms as well regency ironstone marks blue . To name all the gunsmiths making military arms would entail the compilation of a fairly lengthy catalogue expensive antique furniture chests . It will suffice to give a few typical examples antique gaming table claw feet .
I louis xvi revival sideboard with porcelain inlays . Clarkson, who flourished as a gunsmith from m 1680 to 1730, made flintlock muskets and holster pistols for the Army under Government contract antique early american drop-leaf butterfly table . In addition, he made the box-lock type of pistol which was introduced in the reign of Queen Anne wooton chest . The lock of this pistol, instead of being mounted on one side plate with a counter-plate on the other side of the weapon to support it, had a plate on top- joined to one on each side to form a metal box lacquered furniture . The cock, flash-pan and steel were mounted on the top plate telescopic table pedestal . The barrel was the cannon-shaped screw-on type, with breech-loading gateleg table with drawers and drop leaf . This box-lock was to be popular for over loo years painted silver trays . In later years Clarkson made some breech-loading holster pistols, the mechanism of which was of the screw-plug arrangement from which the Ferguson breech was derived “table george iv” .
John Hawkins conducted a business in London from 168o to 1714, which was carried on by his son to 176o, and his grandson to 1776 epergne antique for sale . His particular speciality was a flintlock holster pistol which had a brass barrel with a bell muzzle robinson and leadbeater figure . ‘It is of interest that George Washington had a pair of these pistols which were made by the second Hawkins 18th century walnut-veneered and oak chest of seven drawers .
Another founder of two further generations of gunsmiths was James Freeman of London, the business lasting from 1705 to 1782 art deco english suburban house . Freeman also made box-lock pistols, and, in addition, muskets and holster pistols under Government contract luxury antique items .
In Scotland for most of the eighteenth century there were a number of gunsmiths of the name of Murdoch engaged in making all-metal flintlock pistols wallendorf candelabras . Two of them, father and son and both christened James, had a shop in Inverness barker brothers coffee table for sale . Some of those made by the father had the lobe-shaped butt, and he differed from his son in chasing the whole of the barrel century hepplewhite walnut card table . The pistols made by the younger James have only the muzzle chased 18 century wooden novelty pipes .
Thomas Murdoch worked at Leith, and made pistols with both lobe and ram’s-horn butts wrought iron church candle sticks . In the museum of the Royal United Service Institution are two pistols with rain’s-horn butts which have ‘To: Murdoch’ engraved on the lock plate german 1940s furniture styles . They were picked up on the battlefield of Culloden british designers dining table . They are a beautiful pair and must have been the pride of some gallant Jacobite of the ‘Forty-five sutherland drop leaf table . One wonders what happened to their owner, and if the pistols were found where he had hurled them empty at the stolid English infantry shagreen knife box .
John Murdoch had a shop at Doune french neoclassical tables . His pistols have ram’s-horn butts, acorn triggers, and are sometimes ornamented with gilt brass stock and butt 4 foot wide walnut drop leaf table . Major John Pitcairn, who commanded the British advanced guard at Lexington on the 19th April 1775, had a pair of these pistols kotahya pottery . It is supposed that with one of them Pitcairn fired the first shot of the American War of Independence mason patent ironstone china . In the struggle which followed he lost his pistols, which were subsequently picked up and given to General Rufus Putnam british antique wardrobes . Putnam carried them for the remainder of the war, and they are now at the Lexington museum nesting tea tables .
One other Murdoch made pistols in Edinburgh with the lobe-shaped butt fall-front chest of drawers .
Joseph Farmer of London was in business from 1718 to 176,2 how to repair veneer table on couch . He had a Government contract to make standard flintlock muskets and also short flintlock muskets fitted with grenade cups for the Grenadiers bureau de coene art deco . One of these latter is in the Museum of the Royal United Service Institution 19th century glass fronted cabinet . The inscription ‘Farmer 1744′ is placed vertically on the lock plate behind the cock adjustable silver candlesticks . This method of discharging a grenade was revived in the First World War, and survived to become a
standard Army weapon wardrobe of a 17th century lady . Farmer also made a double-barrelled I version of the box-lock pistol antique chamber cabinets .
Bidet, who emigrated from France, practised as a gunsmith in London from 17-21 to- 1731 antiques with plain legs . He did not make military weapons, but a sporting rifle he produced had a breech mechanism which is an obvious forerunner of Ferguson’s idea inlaid marble table lapis lazuli antique . The trigger guard was a lever turning a screw plug; but in this case the plug came right out and had a single thread harlequin painted bar . The action was therefore much slower than Ferguson’s, and the return of the plug to its seating might well be difficult in the heat of battle “perspectiva cabinet” . I trestle tables refectory . Johnson made a similar sporting rifle about 1750-B pictures of 5 drawer antique library desks and tables . Griffin had a shop in Bond Street from 1739 to 1773-Apart from the superlative quality of his arms, his chief claim to fame is probably a breech-loading carbine which will be described later 18th century mahogany wine cooler with brass feet . He also made fine holster pistols with silver mountings antique 1960’s table cigarette dispenser . Under the later name of Griffin and Tow their manufacture was continued till 1796 2009 chinese porcelain antique . The small `IG’ on a Griffin forged barrel was a hallmark of excellence countries where art deco was very popular .
William Ketland was one of the most famous of gunsmiths antique inlaid pembroke table . He started making guns in Birmingham in 174o, and was primarily responsible for establishing the town’s reputation for the manufacture of firearms 18th century writing table cabriole ball claw feet . Ketland was one of the greatest makers of Brown Bess muskets, and other ‘Brown Bess’ arms, for the Government furniture . In 176o a shop was opened antique chinese display stand dealers . in London r dubarry art deco . After William Ketland’s death one of his grandsons carried on the business as Ketland & Co angouleme guerhard . until his own -death in 1804, His brother-in-law, Thomas Izon, continued under the same name until in 1831 financial difficulties led to the firm closing american tripod tables . Old William Ketland is still commemorated, however, in the Birmingham Proof Mark imperial drop leaf antique table . In 1813 the Gunmakers’ Company of London tried to get a Bill through Parliament to compel every gunsmith to mark his firearms with the place of manufacture italian buffet furniture . The reason for this was that firearms marked `1,n don’ coiamat,ded a higher price than those made elsewhere night chamber pot . Some Birmingham makers had accordingly succumbed to temptation and put ‘London’ on their own arms pictures of yellow antiqued cabinets . The public implication that Birmingham arms were inferior to those of London make, however, annoyed the better Birmingham gunsmiths, and they formed a Guild to protect the standard of the products of their own town art deco french inspired dresser . This new Guild was called ‘The Guardians of the Birmingham Proof House’ antique campaign chair with lion paws . The proof house mentioned in the title was set up at the same ‘ time lion feet table . Ketland & Co turn tripod into table . had taken a prominent part in this movement and the proof mark adopted was an adaptation of the arraourer’s mark of two crossed sceptres, used by old William Ketland antique stores brass ashtrays made in china . The Birmingham viewer’s mark, stamped on the barrel after testing in the rough, consisted of the crossed sceptres between a crown above and a V below antique mushroom shaped table lamps . The proof mark for the finished barrel again had the crossed sceptres and crown, but in place of the V in the bottom angle, there were the letters B, P and C: the B and C being in the flanking angles and the P in the base andre hunebelle glass .
The two generations of John Richards, who covered the years 1745 to 1810; had shops in both London (in the Strand) and Birmingham for sale louis 16th walnut sideboard cabinet . They made an odd weapon, not uncommon at this period,•which was a bell muzzle flintlock pistol with a small bayonet under the stock which sprang into position on odiot tureen . releasing a spring antique clerks desk . Owing to the number of times a flintlock missed fire it probably had an appeal as providing an emergency weapon for close combat “english ironstone”+england”+marks .
One of the most famous of London gunmakers had the peculiar name of Durs Egg antique bentwood chaise . Business was carried on under that name from 1770 to x834 “alexander roux” pietra . It was then changed to D antique mahogany chippendale dining table . I meissen cris de paris . Egg (probably by a son or nephew) and lasted as such till 1865 antique oak drop leaf end table . Egg had a shop for the sale of private arms at No antique spring loaded drawer arm . x Pall Mall mid eastern style shell drawer . He had a Government contract for muskets and carbines, and made a large number of the Ferguson rifles queen anne gate leg table 18th century . In addition, he made a smooth-bore flintlock breech-loading carbine of his own design antique empire mahogany curved buffet with mirror . This was actually adopted by the Government and issued in large numbers to the cavalry towards the end of the century sheraton occasional table . It had a hinged chamber which was tipped up to receive the charge duncan phyfe buffet with legs . It had the advantage that since the chamber was loaded from its front end it could be loaded with the same cartridge as was issued for muzzleloaders antique oak and fabric dressing screen with fretwork . After loading, the chamber was lowered again and locked in position by giving a quarter turn to a steel bar which pivoted on the top of the chamber and engaged in two slots mid century antiques and porcelain tea sets .
This Egg carbine was capable of a fairly rapid rate of fire walnut veneer wardrobes art deco . To load it entailed only the simple operations, which could be performed on horseback, of tearing the cartridge, priming the pan, opening the breech, inserting the cartridge in the chamber, and finally closing the breech antique oak tables with leaves . Good as it was, however, the breech mechanism did not provide a gas-tight joint and there was thus a considerable escape of flame french clothes designers during 17th century . The reason for this was that there was only surface contact between the faces of chamber and barrel fauteuil bureau .
That such a carbine was required for cavalry use is shown by a passage from Captain Hinde’s The Discipline of the Light Horse antique wood inlayed wine cellaret . Hinde says:
`As light troops are more intended to act loose than in bodies, their principal practice should be to acquire personal address, viz escritoire antique . to manage the horse well, to use the sword with dexterity, and fire the carbine with great justness steele art deco chair wood arm rests . The proposal of Monsieur de Saxe, for loading at the breach of the carbine, seems well calculated for the fire arms of cavalry, if it will not make them too complicated (the author once saw a carbine belonging to a brother officer, made according to this proposal of Monsieur de Saxe; to be loaded, it was held firmly in the left hand, as when it was presented to be fired, and about the same place; then with the right hand the guard over the trigger was pulled back, on which the but of the carbine dropped down, hanging by a pin, and discovered the breach of it quite open; in a cartridge box he carried nine iron tubes loaded, one of which he thrust into the barrel, and directly with his right hand pushed up the butt, which made a click, and securely shut up the breach british longcase makers . On striking the lock with his hand the piece primed it self, and he fired without missing fire at any time art deco dinner service . He loaded his iron tube or cartridges without any rammer, with his finger shoving down powder, ball, and paper india old antique dining table . I think he told me Mr Griffin, gunsmith, in Old Bond-street, was the maker of it, and the officer had himself invented it, as he was a very mechanical ingenious gentleman, and an horse officer) the ramrod is apt to be lost, and at any rate is very difficult to manage on horseback, whereas a chamber with a fresh charge, could easily be introduced; but of this, the period preceding art deco .Mr Barbor, or any other gunsmith, can give the best account “art moderne” furniture . The objection of expense should not be admitted, for economy in the price of arms is, at best, very injudicious “bristol porcelain” for sale 18th century .’
The ‘Barbor’ mentioned by Hinde is probably I antique sideboard cabriole legs . Barbar who had a shop in London, from 1740 to 1780, in Shoe Lane antique ivory sofa table . The firm, however, seems to have been in existence since the beginning of the century, and to have been one of the foremost in fine decorative work marble table inlaid antique .
T tudor rose design waterfall furniture . Twigg was another well-known London gunsmith of 176o to 1780 designs for dressing table glasses . The firm was carried on from 1780 to 1783 as Twigg & Bass; and then reverted to Twigg only again from 1783 to 1813 antique mahogany card table, imperial . Twigg made Government flintlock holster pistols, and also flintlock holster pistols for officers which were of very fine workmanship art deco examples . His most noteworthy contribution to gunmaking was a number of different designs of multi-shot flintlock pistols chess table spiral legs . One of these was a seven-barrel pepperbox type of weapon, the barrels of which were rotated by hand after each shot joan klock, amsterdam, clockmaker . Some of his pistols had the under spring bayonet, which was released by sliding back the trigger guard jupe dining table’ . Twigg had a foreman named John Manton, who founded his own business at about the time Bass was introduced into the partnership antique enamelled glass . Manton, too, became a famous gunsmith, but he belongs more to the; nineteenth century and will be dealt with more fully in a later clawfoot antique lowboy . chapter 19th mahogany clerks desk .
John F satinwood commode john cobb . Probin of the Minories in London, 1780 to 1831, made flintlock holster pistols and carbines under Government contract meissen porcelain louis xiv . He also made pistols for officers, and there is, in the museum of the Royal United Service Institution, a pair made by him for General Sir Thomas Picton and carried by him in 18 r 5 antique walnut gateleg table . They have J neoclassical dressing table . Probin’ on the lock plate, and along the top of the barrel ‘Probin Maker to His R H the Prince of Wales’ delicate leg drop leaf table .
One of the troubles experienced with eighteenth-century flintlock weapons was failure of various parts of the mechanism due mainly to rusting glass supper table . Military locks were strongly made to withstand the rough usage which they inevitably experienced, but they could not be made waterproof antique porceline candle sticks . As a result regiments frequently suffered a serious loss of fire-power through draw leaf table northern furniture company . the number of muskets which were out of action owing to mechanical faults neo-rococo rockingham lamps . Rusting particularly affected the small moving parts of the lock, and the screws which held the various components together designs of arcs and pillars . The most serious breakages were the screws, for the rusted pieces were often so firmly imbedded that it was beyond the powers of the regimental armourer to remove them coalbrookdale neptune dish . The trouble caused considerable concern and gunsmiths were encouraged by the Government to offer suggestions 1800’s furniture makers .
The first to give a practical response was Jonathan Hennem, who submitted a design for a screwless flintlock musket to the Board of Ordnance on the 2nd May 1781 18th century card table . The Board appear to have been favourably impressed, for they directed `that two Musqueis be delivered to John Hennet [sic> for him to alter according to his proposal’ english baroque pottery . Arrangements were made for Hennem to carry out experiments near Woolwich, and he was engaged on these for the next two years antique meets modern furniture . Trials were apparently concluded successfully by the 18th October 1783; for on that date the Master-General of the Ordnance issued instructions to the Board ‘That zoo locks be provided by Mr imperial gateleg table . Hennem of his own Construction and that an Imprest of C70 may be granted to him towards Compleating the Order, the said Locks being found of great Utility in his Majesty’s Service’ swiss walnut art deco motif .
A short time later a celebrated London gunmaker, Henry Nock, made an apparently surprising intervention clear glass trinket boxes or powder boxes . On the 8th November 1783, he presented a bill for twenty’Musquet locks of Hannim’s Construction’, for which he charged 9s utensils used in britain for cooking . 6d paris style art deco desk . each sheraton +antique +gaming table . In view of the 18th century austrian porcelain . fact that Nock himself, as will appear later, was engaged in somewhat similar experiments he may well have taken Hennem under his financial wing leather revolutionary war writing box .
Finally Hennem sent in 400 locks, or four times the original order, and was consequently able to lower the price kedleston hall birds . Of these 400, 201 were coloured black and 199 were polished, presumably for comparative trials cedar chest genoa 16thc .
The 2oth Foot (now The Lancashire Fusiliers) was chosen to carry out trials with the Hennem locks 1900 era drop leaf gate leg table . The regiment was about to embark for Ireland on active service and it was already short of muskets; though if these were the reasons for issuing it with new and untried weapons, the former particularly seems to have been a pretty weak one art deco stemware . Anyhow, they received 308 of them, and in July 1784 Hennem was given permission by the Commanding Officer to instruct the men in the use of the locks the development of art deco . Hennem duly arrived at Plymouth only to find that the regiment had left for Ireland ming porcelains . He then obtained permission to follow it, with the proviso that his stay in Cork must not exceed three weeks fiddle shape flatware . This limitation proved, however, impracticable, for the 2oth was split up over southern Ireland in widely scattered detachments, and the roads and unsettled conditions of the time made travel slow and hazardous glass/wood art deco designs .
There was little in the appearance of Hennem’s lock to differentiate it from the ordinary flintlock bugatti furniture range . There were no screws, of course, and the mechanism was secured by pins riveted to the lock plate islamic influence 18th century . By means of a tool which Hennem called a ’spring lifter’, the lock could be completely dismantled in a few seconds antique trends .

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SWINEFEATHERS apostle spoons .
Top: A Swinefeather and its Case antique gateleg extention table .
Bottom: Combined Musket-rests and Swinefeathers antique spanish sideboard .
Dragoon—A flintlock (not a silver tripod table . matchlock) musket (which I hold much better for dragoon service, being upon occasion they may be able to make use of their snaphaunces on horseback, and upon any service in the night they may go undiscovered’); a belt to hang the musket on; a long tuck; a swinefeather identify furniture legs 1930 .
THE BIRTH OF THE REGULAR ARMY
With the restoration of the Monarchy the large and well-trained army of the Commonwealth was disbanded rococo medallion sofas . But from it, and from the exiled followers of the new King, was formed the British Regular Army art deco china cabinet . It was only a small army: a mere handful of regiments of horse and foot porcelain jug representing the four continents and a queen as europa . Its requirements in equipment were therefore comparatively small, and easily satisfied from the vast stocks of military stores which were available after the disbandment of Cromwell’s troops regency sofa . The King was far too poverty-stricken to provide his Army with more modern arms; and thus through the whole of his reign the troops were armed with substantially the same weapons with which the Civil War had been fought dining room table with white pillar legs .
The first scale of arms for the Army is contained in two contemporary documents gothic iron garden seat . In a M leaves for old oak table? .S latter carving on pembroke table . book which contains the establishment of the Army as it was formed in 1661, it is laid down that:
`Each horseman to have neoclassical regency furniture period . palissy dishware . marquetry semi-circle drop leaf . a sword, a case of Pistolls, the Barrells whereof to be not under fourteens inches length, and each Trooper of the Horse Guards is also to have a carbine 19th century regency furniture . The Musquet of every Musquettere is to be three feete in length in the Barrell, And the Bore to bee for Bullets of twelve in the pound, and each Pikeman to have a Pike made of Ash not under sixteens feete in length Head and Foote included antique furniture 1800 .’
Two years later the ‘Orders and Instructions’ of the Sth May 1663 directed that: antique gateleg table small . upholstered desk chair with cabriole legs . bob-box century . each Horseman to have what is a harlequin pattern . black leather armchair for desk . antique writing utensils . A sword, a Case of pistolles, the barrells whereof are not to be under fourtecen Inches in length, and each Trooper of Our Guards to have a Carbine, besides the aforesaid Armes, And the foot to have each Souldier a Sword, and each Pikeman a Pike of 16 foote long and not under, and each Musqueteer a Musquet, wth a Collar of Bandaliers, the barrell of which Musket to be about foure foot long, and to conteine a bullet fourteen well shall weigh a pound Weight antique black irish dresser .’
Whilst these documents are in substantial agreement, there is a surprising difference iii two lengths given for the musket barrel antique cherry drop leaf tables . Four feet was the normal measurement, but it may be that when the Army was first formed some relaxation was allowed in order that some of the non-standard arms available could be issued antique bookshelf design . As regards the apparent differences in the musket bore, one of these probably related to the nominal bore and the other to the actual weight of the bullets swansea duck egg .
There are two further points of interest: a trooper of the Horse Guards carried a carbine as well as two pistols; and the pike had been reduced in length to sixteen feet song dynasty bluish green glazed earthenware .
The eventual doom of the pike was heralded in two extracts which appear in Book W 5 leg antique table .O antique stemware+cobalt blue . 47/5 in the Public Record Office:
4 14 March, 166,2 antique english dressing table . Ordered that the french pikes and ye short swords or Byonettes that lately were recd finmar aalto artek . from Dunkirk be surveyed & an accompt presented to the office of their defects to ye end a Contract may bee made for their speedy repaire antique bedroom furniture with fan brass handles .’
4 17 March, 166-2 console tables tubular uk . Ordered yt ye Byonettes lately recd from Dunkirk to be issued to the psons foil antique wood inlayed wine cellaret photos . to be by them made cleave and repaired & returned with io daies space at rod ape antique chinese carved wood nest of tables .
It would thus appear that Soo bayonets were obtained from France, and that they had already seen hard service and required overhauling japanese antique boxes . Bayonets were already issued to at least part of the French Army, for in his oval loudon floral 1783-1843 .4rt de la guerre Puys6ger notes their use in 1647 valuable antique basketry marks . They were plug bayonets with handles and blades which were both twelve inches long classic furniture.dwg . It is probable that Charles II or his officers had seen and admired them in France, and it may be that this worn lot were obtained either very cheaply or as a gift from the French King cabriole design .
The plug bayonet apparently originated in the short, broad-bladed knife which was carried by hunters, and which had a round handle which could be fitted into the barrel of the gun in an emergency what is a double gate leg table .
The trial of the bayonet in the British Army was evidently a success; for a Royal Warrant of the 2nd April z 67 contained the following:
CHARLES R antique draw leaf dining table .
`Our Will and Pleasure is, that a Regiment of Dragoons, which we have established and ordered to be raised, in Twelve Troopes of fourscore in each beside officers, who are to be under the command of Oure most deare and most entirely beloved Cousin Prince Rupert, shall be armed out of Our stores remaining within Our office of the Ordinance antique paintings of trinidad west indies . gillows decorating firm . king george sofa table with iron lion legs . the soldiers of the several Troopes aforesaid, are to have and carry each of them one match-locke musquet, with a collar of bandaleers, and also to have and carry one bayonet or greate knife angouleme dihl .’
After this initial issue to one regiment, the adoption of the bayonet throughout the Army seems to have been somewhat slow george scheidt enamel . This was only natural, as the combination of musket and pike was a well-tried one in the infantry, and, war being a dangerous pastime, there is always an understandable reluctance to replace proved weapons by new and to act as escort to the artillery, and the light fuzil was better suited to their particular duties than the cumbersome matchlock mahogany coffee tables that incorporate a glass display case in centre . It will be noted, however, that the fuzil, although of carbine bore, was built as an infantry weapon, for the barrel was of matchlock length swan plate kandler .
Rests still formed part of the equipment of the musketeer, but they were seldom taken on active service, and were generally only used for ceremonial parades and duties carved african tripod table with chess board .
The introduction of Grenadiers into the new British Army marked the recognition of a weapon which had proved its value in the Civil War imperial gateleg table with japanese decorations . Explosive hand missiles had been used in warfare for very many years, but they were crude in manufacture and fairly ineffective in use first antique table de chevet . Those first used in the Civil War were also of doubtful value antique regency furniture . The filling aperture was generally closed by means of a wooden plug, in the side of which was a slot so that one end of a piece of slow match could be pushed into the interior nineteenth century gillow chair . The other end of the match was lit before the grenade was thrown wedgewood stoneware . The disadvantage of this method was that it was difficult to judge the correct length of match antiquite dressers . If it was too long the enemy often had time to throw it back again before it exploded sheriton roll top antique bureau . If it was too short it exploded in the air or even in the thrower’s hand maurice dufrene, design . The difficulty was surmounted by a most ingenious device antique extend side table . The wooden plug, instead of having the single slit, was bored with several holes chicken coups made into dressers . Into one of these a piece of match was inserted, and a bullet was fastened to the end inside the case sofa french 4 legs . Twigs were pushed into the other holes to act as a rudder like the feathers of an arrow and ensure that the match was kept to the rear during flight antique carved trestle table . When the grenade hit the ground or target the momentum carried the bullet forward and the lighted end of the match was pulled inside the case so causing the explosion walnut escritoire .
The grenades adopted for the Army in 1677 were better made and designed, but the percussion-ignition system was retained antique sideboards and buffets 1920 dutch . The military grenade weighed about 21 pounds and was 2-1 inches in diameter italian wood armchairs .
The subsequent life of grenades spanish vargueno . in the Army was comparatively short were exports scenes common in the chenghua period . During the eighteenth century they gradually dropped out of use; probably owing to the introduction throughout the Army of efficient flintlock weapons flatware forks types . The trench warfare of the Crimea brought them back into favour: and then they reappeared for some reason in the Sudan in 1884, But it was not till the First World War that the prestige of the grenade was restored to the level which it had acquired in the late seventeenth century antique drop leaf painted table 1800 .
Officers and sergeants of the infantry were still armed primarily with shafted weapons edge simplicity tub chair . These, however, were as much a symbol of rank as for serious use english stoneware marks . In 166o captains carried pikes, but by 1680 they had eight-foot spontoons antique hepplewhite sofa . Lieutenants started by carrying partizans, but in 168? they received pikes instead antique,dinning room table,gateleg,drop leaf . The sergeants were armed with halberds, which they retained until very nearly the end of the eighteenth century vintage gateleg dropleaf table .
In spite of the introduction of bayonets, musketeers were still equipped with swords american oak drop leaf table antique . Whilst there was no regulation
ti
pattern, something more serviceable than the rapier had gradually been evolved, with a straight cut-and-thrust blade and a simple guard with counter curved quillons, one of which was usually extended towards the pommel to form a knuckle bow paris style art deco desk .
It does not appear, however, that swords were popular with musketeers nancy galle furniture . According to the French writer Louis de Gaya, in his Traitl des armes of 1678, the English infantry seldom drew their swords but preferred to use the butts of their muskets at close quarters renaissance italian furniture style a bambocci and cupboards . This is understandable, since, without dropping the musket, the effective use of a sword must have been a difficult matter louis xviii style furniture . De Gaya was a captain in the Regiment of Champagne, and probably fought alongside the troops of King Charles II on the Continent antique double claw pedestal dining room table .Somewhere about x685 a sword with a short curved blade was introduced in supersession, or partial supersession, of the long straight-bladed sword antique english queen anne china cabinet with cabriole legs . This new weapon was known as a ‘hanger’ christening bowl used for . The blade was single-edged, curved towards the point, and about twenty-four inches in length art dec countries . The hilt’ was brass, and consisted of a rather flat double-shell and knuckle bow 19th century furniture archives . The grip was generally of wood and bound with wire boulle card table .
The first troops to be equipped with the hanger were the Grenadier companies of the infantry regiments; and it appears to have been, in fact, the first sword with which they were issued kem weber furniture designer prices .
The rapier was worn by officers long after it was discarded as an other ranks’ weapon, and it was probably carried by infantry officers during most of the reign of Charles II antique oval table with middle drop leaf . The sword which gradually replaced the rapier was of a somewhat similar type to that carried by the musketeers mahogany dining table cabriole legs . The blade was generally straight and intended for both cutting and thrusting antique little silver . The hilt was brass, and the guard comprised quillons and knuckle bow aaron burr desk .
From about 1685 officers of the Grenadier companies were armed with fuzil and plug bayonet, and thus carried neither sword nor shafted weapon 1800’s library tables .
At the end of Charles II’s reign privates of Horse and Dragoons had a sword with a straight blade and a steel full basket hilt inexpensive antique wardrobes . The blade was generally about thirty-eight inches long and sometimes double-edged universal statuary co mirror .
An improved method of carrying powder on the infantry soldier began to make its appearance during the 168o’s antique mahogany fretwork hanging cabinets . The bandolier, with its suspended and clattering wooden chargers, made silent movement by a body of troops virtually impossible sheffield plate 19th century . In its stead there was introduced a cartridge pouch, in which was placed a supply of made-up paper cartridges; each containing the requisite amount of powder (but not the ball) for one round of ammunition chamber pot cabinet commode 1800 . Such cartridges had already been in use for some time for the carbines and pistols of the cavalry antique book ends .
MARLBOROUGH’S ARMY
Charles II was succeeded by his brother, James II, a first-class administrator, who proceeded to expand the Army and to forge it into an efficient fighting machine repaint ceramic lamp .
One of the first results of the new regime was the production of a new scale of firearms to replace the many worn-out antiques which were still in service french makers of consoles gibier style 18th century . The effect of this was to give the Army a fairly standard armament, and, for the first time, regulation designs rococo writing table .
The new musket could be fitted either with a matchlock or a flintlock austro-hungarian +antique +furniture . It was a very substantial and heavy weapon lion head sphinx paws revival art chair . The* barrel was 451 inches long and made of very thick metal important american girandole mirror . The stock was painted black, and the barrel probably `russeted’ maples of london cabinetmakers . The matchlock was fashioned something after the style of a flintlock; the pan and cover being attached to the lock plate instead of, as previously, to the barrel petite french mantel antique clocks . The flintlock too was an improvement on its predecessor; the befter-designed lock which had been fitted to private arms for many years past being substituted for the old crude military lock classical revolving bookcase . Many of these muskets, as well as the other new firearms, bore the Royal cypher, J2R with crown over, on the lock plate antiquevenercoffeettableclawfeet . It has been suggested that this was a privilege restricted to the Household Troops and the Royal Regiments, and that it was not extended to all arms until the reign of George II antique mahogany rent table .
Matchlock muskets appear to have been issued only to the battalion companies of the infantry italian spider leg table . Fusilier regiments, Grenadier companies and Dragoon regiments had flintlocks paris exposition candlesticks . Muskets issued doric china longton england .to the Grenadiers were usually shorter and stouter in the barrel than the standard type 19th century bavarian side chairs . Some of them were fitted with steel grenade cups for firing grenades antique austria 1855 - 1953 statues . (A practice which was to be revived in the war of 1914-18 czechoslovakian lustreware .)
It was probably intended that as soon as economically practicable matchlock muskets should be converted to the more expensive flintlock william kent eagle console . It is likely that the battle of Sedge-moor was the last action in which matchlocks constituted the bulk of the infantry armament antique japanese tea table mother of pearl . By 1700 there can have been few, if any, matchlocks left antique brass mirror convex eagle .
All carbines and pistols were flintlocks staffordshire william kent . The former were lighter and smaller versions of the muskets with a barrel length of thirty-six inches boulle furniture . They had a steel suspension ring which moved on a ‘traveller’, or iron bar about world war 1 antique shovels . ten inches long, and was connected to a swivel and runner on the carbine belt antique octagon oak table . Pistols had a fourteen-inch barrel 4 section antique cutlery box .
The new muskets were issued with the plug bayonet regency pedestal desk buhl marquetry . This, of course, had the dual disadvantage that when it was fitted in the barrel the musket could not be fired, and when it was not so fitted the musket was not a close-quarters weapon antique 19th mahogany hepplewhite card table . These limitations led to the disaster of Killiecrankie in x689, when the English infantry were caught by the charging Highlanders in the process of fixing their bayonets into the musket barrels value of empire style china closet 1910 .
As a result of Killiecrankie, experiments seem to have been made with the ‘ring’ bayonet half tester bed . This was fitted to the musket by means of two rings which passed over the end of the muzzle and the grip of-the bayonet covered bowl/antique chinese doucai . General Hugh Mackay claimed that he invented this after the battle of Killiecrankie; but Puys6gur says that a regiment of the French Army had these bayonets in 1678 antique chests of drawers south wales .
The ring bayonet does not seem to have been a success; but the next invention, the socket bayonet, was 18th empire furniture . In this type the blade was attached to a short tube or socket which slid over the muzzle end of the musket barrel baroque rationalism . Socket bayonets suffered from the same initial trouble as the ring bayonets, that the external diameter of musket barrels varied too much to provide a standard bayonet which would fit even the majority of them american art deco bar furniture . Plug bayonets had a tapering handle and could thus be thrust into any barrel antiques table clock 1700 . In an effort to remedy the trouble bayonets with a socket split lengthwise were made, the idea being that the diameter of the socket could be adjusted to the size of the barrel which it was required to fit barley sugar twist pillars timber . Some antique display . of these were issued to Killigrew’s Dragoons in 17o6; for their equipment schedule lists: ‘Split socket bayonets to serve over a full bored musket’ antique china carving furniture .
Pikemen finally disappeared from the Army in 1702, and thereafter all private soldiers of the infantry were armed with musket and bayonet william iv furniture . The situation as regards the latter was, however, somewhat chaotic care of antique oak chest woodworm rot . An Ordnance Board report of 1706- says: ‘All the regiments raised since the disuse of pikes (1702) have provided bayonets india brass table tray . dutch delph pottery marks . biedermeier antique de . at their own charge 19th century 5 legged table . Few of the officers agree in the sort of bayonets fit to be used or in the manner of fixing them as may appear by the various sorts there are of them in the Army modern oriental writing bureau .’ It is probable that throughout the wars of William III and Anne most units were still equipped with the plug bayonet holland and sons ivory marquetry . But the socket bayonet must have been in fairly extensive use; for the Ordnance records of 1704 show that socket bayonets had been sent to Portugal, although 3000 plug bayonets were available in the Tower stores 17th century oak tables .
The blade of the socket bayonet appeared in a number of different shapes before a 1800’s library table . standard type was finally adopted england biedermeier chest of drawers . This was triangular in section, tapering to a point, and with two of its sides deeply grooved, or ‘fullered’ glasgow art nouveau antiques . With various modifications this triangular socket bayonet remained as the standard Army weapon until 18 8 8 19th century drum table examples .

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