Canadian Regimental Mess Tray

Mixed media Ca.1910

A Very Rare, elegant brass handled, 1 1/2 inch deep, mahogany frame mess tray, having a glass surface, though which is seen an uncut sheet of Canadian silks, the tray being backed with green baize. 55 Canadian Regular & Militia regiments including: Highland, Guards, Rifle, Artillery, Field, Horse, Dragoon Governor General's body guards & NWMP. are depicted, being printed in colours, on silk, these were later issued individually in cigarette card form, and are today highly collectable. Even more desirable among military collectors is an uncut sheet of silks, especially in a practical format as a mess tray.

Approx. 17 1/4 X 24" (43.7 X 61 cm.)

Ref.DS0067/ANN/dov GNN
PRICE CODE C
Click Here for Pricing Details  SOLD

MINIATURE REGIMENTAL COLOURS & BADGE

2nd. Battalion The Middlesex Regiment (The Duke of Cambridge's Own)

Embroidered & padded silk, gold & coloured threads, mounted on silk. England Ca.1920

Note the detail of the crest.

Formed by the amalgamation of the 57th. and 77th. Foot regiments, becoming in 1881 the 1st. & 2nd. Battalions of the (Duke of Cambridge's Own) Middlesex Regiment. Incorporated into the design of the badge is the 1876 cypher & coronet of the Duke. Known as the 'Die-Hards' since the battle of Albuhera during the Peninsula War, when they held their position though out numbered four to one. They also served with distinction during the American Revolution and in many other theatres of war.

Perfect in every detail including the Sovereign's colour and the Regimental Colour which include battle honours up to 1918, Badge with the Blazon Albuhera , Facings and regimental name banner.

Such miniature presentation colours, were handmade for presentation to a retiring regimental commander and are not generally found on the open market.

In Canada the sister regiments are: The Peterborough Rangers, The Wentworth Rangers, The Middlesex Light Infantry.

Approx. 17 X 22" (43 X 56 cm.)

Ref.DS0323/DLN/dov LAL
PRICE CODE C: Click Here for Pricing Details SOLD

War

Sir Edwin Henry Landseer RA. 1802 - 1873

Following Lady Butler's concept of depicting images that portrayed the realities of war, rather than its glory, Landseer tried his hand at the genre and produced this splendid, if tragic, depiction simply entitled War.

This strongly emotive image depicts a scene immediately following an explosion of ordnance on or adjacent to a building. Caught by the blast and falling masonry two lifeguards lie fallen, one of their two horses also succumbed, but the other charger vainly struggles to maintain life in the midst of destruction, as terrified, it snorts and tries to rise, disentangling itself from its fallen trumpeter guardsman.

The exquisite detail in the rendering of the horse where veins in its rump pulse and intricacies of equipment such as sheepskin saddle cover, bridle, edgewear, and embroidered trumpet cloth are testament to the consummate skill of Landseer as an artist, noted for his brilliant portrayal of animals, even if this image does pander to the Victorian taste for sentiment.

Landseer entered the RA. school at 14 where he excelled at animal depiction, improving his knowledge with anatomy lessons, he was elected a member in 1831. His visits to the Scottish highlands and his many pictures of highland animals & sports helped establish a vogue for Scottish subjects.

Greatly admired by Queen Victoria, whom he taught to etch, she acquired many of his works. He was also commissioned to model the lions that surround Nelson's column in London. Knighted in 1850. his last years were marred by depression especially after having being hit by an omnibus and the nature of his subjects became darker and he became obsessed with the suffering of animals.

He was offered the Presidency of the RA. in 1865, but declined. His works may be found in many National & municipal collections and his many engravings still remain very popular.

Mixed media Mezzotint, Etching.
Click for more information on the printing technique.

Proof before letters, Matted 22" X 33 1/4" Ref. AG.17 /LDV/ snd VOL. PRICE CODE D: Click Here for Pricing Details   SOLD

Frank Sternberg  L G.

[The Military Artist]

Colour aquatint, signed in graphite below image (bottom right), triple matted (not acid free), glazed.
gilt-wood frame.
Image size: 13 1/8 x 15 3/4" (33.3 x 40 cm.) Frame: 23 1/2 x 25 1/4"
Ref. DA4/DSL/ a.ande >RVN     PRICE CODE B          Click here for price guide SOLD

Published by George Virtue & Co. London 1924. after Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier 1874 painting 'The Sergeant's Portrait'. Sternberg depicts a seated military artist sketching a portrait of a standing French Royal Dragoon officer of the pre Napoleonic era, ca. 1790, whilst five other cavalry men stand or lounge beside them with varing degrees of interest in the proceedings. Two are smoking clay pipes, two others are in undress uniforms, one of whom holds an earthenware jug. A cute mix breed mess-dog looks affectionately on. Good uniform detail in the facings, helmet, head wear and sword in this interesting military composition, with exquisite back and foreground detail.  Attractively presented.

Frank Sternberg L G.? (1858-1924) was a noted  painter & engraver (largely in mezzotint) of gaming
and historical subjects, especially after Messionier.  Elected a member of the Royal Society of
Painter-etchers & engravers [RE.]1882. He lived in Leeds 1881 & London 1904.
He exhibited at the Royal Academy [RA.] RE & Royal Society of Artists.[RSA]

J. Rogers after John Turmbull
THE DEATH OF GENERAL MONTGOMERY (in the attack of Quebec Decr. 1776)

Remarque 1. British infantryman 2. Death of Wolfe. 3. Iroquois brave ally.

Hand coloured Steel engraving,matted glazed natural wood frame.

Image inc. remarques:6 3/8 x 8 1/2" (16.2 x 21.6 cm.) Frame: 12 x 14"
Ref. DA3 /VL/ a.ande >ANN   SOLD       PRICE CODE B

Another heroic portrayal of the death of a colonial hero on the battlefield, General Richard Montgomery (December 2, 1738 – December 31, 1775) was an Irish-born soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a Major General  in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and he is most famous for leading the failed 1775 invasion of Canada. When the American Revolutionary War broke out, Montgomery took up the Patriot cause, and was elected to the New York Provincial Congress in May 1775. In June 1775, he was commissioned as a Brigadier General in the Continental Armyand was ranked 2nd in command of all the Brigadier Generals. After Phillip Schuyler became too ill to lead the invasion of Canada, Montgomery took over.
Montgomery eventually took Fort St. Johns, the key to the British defence of Montreal and later Fort Chambly and the City of Montreal.  He then advanced to Quebec City where he joined with another force under the command of Benedict Arnold. On December 31, he led an attack on the city.  The attack failed and Montgomery was killed. The British found his body and gave it an honorable burial at sunset on 4 January 1776. Once Montgomery's death was announced, Benedict Arnold assumed command of the American colonial forces.
Washington wrote to Schuyler, "In the death of this gentleman, America has sustained a heavy loss, as he had approved himself a steady friend to her rights and of ability to render her the most essential services." On January 25, 1776, Congress approved the establishment of a monument in memory of Montgomery. Throughout the colonies, Montgomery was viewed as a hero. Montgomery was also mourned in Britain. Whigs attempted to use his death to show the failure of the British policies on the American Colonies. In 1818 Montgomery's remains were transfered to New York fro reinterment.

John Trumbull  1756-1843 was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War and was notable for his historical paintings. His Declaration of Independence (1817-19) was used on the reverse of the two-dollar bill. His father served as Governor of Connecticut from 1769 to 1784. Both sides of his family were descended from early Puritan settlers in the state.

The young Trumbull entered the 1771 junior class at Harvard College at age fifteen and graduated in 1773. Due to a childhood accident, Trumbull lost use of one eye, which may have influenced his detailed painting style. In 1780 he traveled to London, where he studied under Benjamin West . At West's suggestion, Trumbull painted small pictures of the War of Independence and miniature portraits. He painted about 250 in his lifetime. While working in his studio, Trumbull painted Battle of Bunker Hill 1786 and Death of General Montgomery at Quebec 1786. Both works are now in the Yale University Art Gallery. He also painted portraits of many of the leading figures of his day. In 1794 Trumbull acted as secretary to John Jay in London during the negotiation of the treaty with Great Britain, which largely settled the boundary with Canada. Trumbull was appointed president of the American Academy of the Fine Arts in New York City, serving for twenty years, from 1816 to 1836.

THE ROYAL MILITARY ASYLUM AT CHELSEA
For soldiers children of the Regular Army ------ Intended for 500 girls & 500 Boys.
Published 20th. May 1805 by Laurie & Whittle London.    #50

Original hand coloured copper engraving Matted glazed, gilt-wood frame  11 x 16 (28 x 40.6 cm.) inc. letters.
Ref. 76 DW37/LN/ e.ande >DOL    PRICE CODE B      Click for price guide SOLD

The Royal Military Asylum (RMA), founded in 1803 by act of Royal Warrant dating from 1801 by HRH. Frederick Duke of York and Albany. It is old by contemporary standards of dating institutions, but considerably younger than the then nearby Royal Hospital whose in-patients are known simply as Chelsea pensioners. For over a century, these two institutions, the Royal Hospital and RMA, existed side by side. Before the RMA was in 1892 renamed the Duke of York's Royal Military School and moved in 1809 to new quarters on the White Cliffs of Dover. The school’s primary purpose was to educate the orphans of British servicemen killed in the Napoleonic Wars of 1793-1815. The school was co-educational; making the Duke of York's the very first co-educational boarding school in the United Kingdom. The Duke of York’s has many traditions and a rich history, which includes ceremonial parades and uniforms, it favours a monitorial style of education modelled on the English Public School system. This rich history includes a long line of notable alumni, known as Dukies, "Here from 800 to 900 lads, the orphan sons of British soldiers, are maintained, and educated, undergoing, at a suitable age, a regular military training. The school-buildings (designed by Mr, Copland) occupy three sides of a quadrangle, with a central portico of the Doric order. The play-ground and drill. ground are of ample size."      Cruchley's London in 1865 : A Handbook for Strangers.

Brooks V. after George Housman Thomas 1824-1868

QUEEN VICTORIA DISTRIBUTING THE FIRST VICTORIA CROSSES
in Hyde Park, 26 June 1857. 

SCARCE Chromolithograph by Vincent Brooks after George Thomas. Published by Henry Graves and Co, London, 25 June 1858. 9 x 17 ½” 10 x 18 ½”   
Ref. GH82 (140)/AAL/ d.ands> EVL SOLD     PRICE CODE C

The event was attended by large crowds who greeted the V.C. heroes with rapturous applause. Apparently, the Queen stabbed one of the heroes, Commander Raby, RN, through the chest as she pinned the cross to his uniform. The Commander stood unflinching while the Queen fastened the pin through his flesh!

The first presentation of the Victoria Cross took place in Hyde Park, London on Friday, 26th June 1857 where 62 VCs were presented by Her Majesty  to veterans of the Crimean War (1854-1856)  to recognise those men who had carried out acts of great courage. The recipients also included five civilians. On parade were a large body of troops under Sir Colin Campbell, comprised of Life Guards, Dragoons, Hussars, Royal Engineers, Artillery and Line Regiments, together with a detachment of Bluejackets from the Royal Navy. Just before ten o'clock in the morning, following a royal salute from the artillery, her Majesty, the Prince Consort, the Crown Prince of Prussia, the Prince of Wales and the Queen's son Prince Alfred (Duke of Saxe-Coberg-Gotha) rode into the park and took places near the dais prepared for them. The Victoria Crosses lay upon a small table covered with scarlet cloth. The 62 (of 111 Crimean recipients) stood at ease some distance off and came forward one at a time as Lord Panmure, Secretary for War, read their names.