Bruneau to host its first Historic Arms & Militaria sale on May 1
Circa 1829 Russian M. 1805 12-pound bronze field gun, estimated at $30,000-$50,000
CRANSTON, R.I. – Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers will hold its first ever Historic Arms & Militaria auction on May 1, starting at 10 am Eastern time. The sale will feature more than 400 lots of historic material from the American Revolution through to the modern day, and offer objects that will appeal to beginning and experienced collectors. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
“Working with the Bruneau team over the past months to build this auction has been a lot of fun,” said Joel Bohy, director of Bruneau & Co.’s newly created Arms & Militaria department. “The catalog features the collection of Larry Cooley. Larry collected some of the finest U.S. martial arms from the late 18th to the mid-19th century, and we’re thrilled to be offering them.”
Kevin Bruneau, president of Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers, added, “It’s an amazing assemblage of historical items, from pre-Revolutionary War right up through our world wars. I’ve never seen such collections like this, other than in museums. I’m looking forward not just to this auction but to watching the new department grow and seeing what Joel Bohy is going to come up with next.”
Leading the sale is a circa 1829 Russian M. 1805 12-pound bronze field gun. It carries a pre-sale estimate of $30,000-$50,000 and is being sold to benefit the acquisition fund of the Massachusetts National Guard Museum, where it was displayed until recently. The 69½ inch field piece is marked “1829 / Bryansk” on the breech with the foundry name, and it has plain dolphins on the gun’s top.
Circa 1799-1802 U.S. North & Cheney second contract pistol, estimated at $20,000-$30,000
Also featured is a circa 1799-1802 U.S. North & Cheney second contract pistol, model 1799, .74 bore, serial number 697, is expected to hit $20,000-$30,000. The pistol, 14¼ inches long, has a walnut stock, an iron back strap and brass frame, a trigger guard, and a butt cap.
Circa 1837 U.S. Navy Elgin cutlass pistol, estimated at $15,000-$20,000
A circa 1837 U.S. Navy Elgin cutlass pistol, .54 bore with a walnut grip, should realize $15,000-$20,000. Only 150 cutlass pistols were made from a U.S. Navy contract, with the blades made by N. P. Ames. This example won the Gun Collector Committee’s Best of Show trophy at the NRA annual meeting in 2016, in an exhibition titled U.S. Military Pistols: Evolution to Perfection.
Pattern 1798 U.S. horseman’s pistol, estimated at $10,000-$15,000
A pattern 1798 U.S. horseman’s pistol, .65 bore with a walnut stock and 16¾ inches long overall, is estimated at $10,000-$15,000. Only 398 of these pistols were delivered in 1799 by Robert McCormick and John Miles. The one being offered is attributed to Miles, as McCormick stamped his name on the stocks of the guns he delivered. Miles delivered 200 pistols in 1799.
A powder horn from 1759 belonging to Moses Comstock, estimated at $7,000-$9,000
A powder horn from 1759 belonging to Moses Comstock, whose name appears in the Massachusetts French & Indian War rolls, has an estimate of $7,000-$9,000. The 19¼ inch cow horn is carved with trees, bottles, glasses, deer, horses, birds, fish, a man on horseback, and a ship. It’s marked with Comstock’s name, the year “1759,” and the initials of the carver (“IS”).
Silver-hilted 18th century sword by Boston silversmith William Cowell, Jr., estimated at $5,000-$7,000
A silver-hilted sword made between 1740 and 1750 by the Boston silversmith William Cowell, Jr., with a silver wire-covered wood grip, a triangular colichemarde-form blade with a leather washer at the base of the hilt, and a leather-covered wood scabbard with a silver throat, should go for $5,000-$7,000.
A British Royal Warrant of 1768 grenadier cap plate, estimated at $3,000-$5,000
A British Royal Warrant of 1768 grenadier cap plate, made sometime between 1768 and 1802 from repousse silver-plated sheet copper over a die-struck tinned-iron plate, is expected to fetch $3,000-$5,000. The 11½ inch cap plate has a black japanned background and is marked in a banner, ‘NEC ASPERA TERRENT,’ with a lion, crown, and foliate scrolls, plus mounting holes.
Circa 1847 U.S. Remington Jenks Naval carbine with tape primer, estimated at $2,000-$4,000
A circa 1847 U.S. Remington Jenks Naval carbine with tape primer, one of about 1,000 such carbines built in 1847 and 1848, has an estimate of $2,000-$4,000. The .54 caliber weapon has a figured walnut stock with a crisp cartouche on the left side, a brass butt plate, trigger guard and barrel bands, a steel saddle ring on the lower trigger guard, and a marked case-hardened lock.
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