Major Antique Firearms Collection Heads to Auction

News Ghana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, Roger A. Agana, https://www.newsghana.com.gh/major-antique-firearms-collection-heads-to-auction/

One of the most significant collections of early English firearms to appear at auction in decades will be offered by Olympia Auctions later this month, featuring rare 17th and 18th-century weapons assembled over six decades by a renowned Canadian academic.

The collection belonged to the late Professor David S. Weaver (1939-2023), a mechanical engineering professor at McMaster University in Ontario and world-renowned authority on historical firearms. Many pieces in the collection have remained unseen for generations and represent some of the finest examples outside major museum holdings.

Arms and Armour specialists Thomas Del Mar and David Williams at Olympia Auctions described the offering as representing “a great opportunity for anyone wishing to acquire superb examples of this country’s rich heritage in the applied arts that spanned the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, produced by many of the foremost gunmakers.”

Professor Weaver served as past President of the Canadian Guild of Arms Historians and was a member of The American Society of Arms. His expertise extended beyond collecting to scholarly research, culminating in his receipt of the Research Medal from the Arms and Armour Society in England in 2023, shortly before his death.

The collection’s highlights include several pieces with exceptional historical provenance. A rare gun from the armoury of the Earls of Dunmore from Dunmore Park in Stirlingshire carries an estimate of £2,000-£3,000. The weapon was made for either the 1st Earl or one of his six sons in the early 18th century and connects to Colonial American history through John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, who served as the last British Governor of Virginia.

A fine 16-bore flintlock silver-mounted sporting gun by Griffin & Tow, London, dating from 1771, represents outstanding craftsmanship in both quality and decorative execution. The piece carries an estimate of £8,000-£10,000 and remains in excellent condition with original silver hallmarks intact.

Dutch gunmaker Andreas Dolep (c.1648-1713) features prominently in the collection with a rare pair of 28-bore flintlock silver-mounted holster pistols dating from circa 1710. The pieces showcase the exceptional craftsmanship that earned Dolep and his son top positions among London’s most important late 17th and 18th-century gunmakers, carrying an estimate of £6,000-£8,000.

Political history intersects with firearms craftsmanship through a rare 16-bore flintlock gun by pioneering Lincolnshire gunmaker E. Newton. The weapon belonged to Charles Watson Wentworth, 2nd Marquis of Rockingham, who served twice as Prime Minister of Great Britain. Dating from circa 1760, it appears in an inventory from Wentworth Woodhouse and carries an estimate of £2,000-£3,000.

George Wallis (1731-1803), the celebrated English gunsmith and private collector, is represented by a rare pair of 20-bore flintlock silver-mounted holster pistols. Wallis founded one of Hull’s earliest museums to display his extensive arms collection and was known for innovative 18th-century air-powered rifles. The pistols, hallmarked 1778, carry an estimate of £3,000-£4,000.

Several pieces trace their provenance to the celebrated Clay Bedford Collection, including an important pair of 20-bore flintlock silver-mounted holster pistols by James Grice. These weapons were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1971 and feature silver mounts by prominent Georgian silversmith Michael Barnett. They carry the sale’s highest estimate at £10,000-£15,000.

The collection includes technical innovations such as a fine 80-bore flintlock pistol by John Probin of Birmingham, designed to fire four barrels simultaneously. Produced in the durable alloy ‘tutenag’ and dating from circa 1770, it carries an estimate of £4,000-£5,000.

Royal connections appear through duelling pistols by Harvey Walklate Mortimer (1753-1819), who was appointed Gunmaker to King George III in 1783. The fine pair of 32-bore flintlock duelling pistols, preserved in their original case and dating from 1785-90, carries an estimate of £6,000-£8,000.

Professor Weaver’s dedication to collecting continued until his final weeks, when he purchased a pair of LeMaire pistols shortly before his death in 2023. His collection represents more than six decades of scholarship and passion for early English firearms.

The Professor David S. Weaver Collection of Fine Antique Firearms will be offered at Olympia Auctions on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, providing collectors and institutions an opportunity to acquire pieces from what experts consider the most important private collection of 17th-century pistols in existence.

News Ghana, Latest Updates and Breaking News of Ghana, Roger A. Agana, https://www.newsghana.com.gh/major-antique-firearms-collection-heads-to-auction/

Read More