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The shotguns once owned by Sir Douglas Haig. (Click on image to enlarge). UPDATE: THESE FAILED TO REACH THEIR RESERVE AND WERE UNSOLD.

A pair of 12 bore sporting shotguns once owned by Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928) will be sold at Bonhams in December. Makers J. Purdey & Sons confirmed that the guns were completed in 1887 and were formerly the property of Earl Haig. At the end of 1915, Field Marshal Haig was appointed head of the British forces on the Western Front.

In February 1916, Germany began a campaign against the French at Verdun. To relieve pressure on the French the British began an attack along the Somme. On July 1 the battle started. It lasted five months.  The allies lost  620,000 men, mostly British. The German line was not broken. A few miles of territory was all that was achieved.

Born into the whisky making family, Douglas Haig was a career soldier who served with distinction in the Boer War. He was aide-de-camp to King Edward VII between 1902 and 1904. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from December 1915 to the end of the war.  His sporting guns will be sold at Bonhams on December 13 and are estimated at £15,000 to £20,000.

The year 1939 is clearly printed on the stamp under the image of the seaplane. (Click to enlarge). UPDATE: IT MADE 90 EURO

A 1939 first day cover  of the first flight from Shannon is due to come under the hammer at a sale in Co. Limerick on November  12.  Addressed to Nancy Wills Culpeper of Norfork, Virginia the envelope shows a four engined seaplane.  The image is repeated on the official stamp. It features as lot 589 in the sale by O’Donovan and Associates of Newcastlewest, Co. Limerick, on November 12 and is estimated at 40-60 euro.

Situated at one of Europe’s most westerly points Shannon Airport is unique in the history of world aviation.  Before long haul aircraft came into being Ireland’s transatlantic airport was the re-fuelling gateway between Europe and America. It was the ideal stepping stone between the old world and the new.  From 1937 to 1945 Pan Am and BOAC used Botwood in north central Newfoundland as a terminal for their Atlantic Crossings. On June 27, 1939 the Yankee Clipper left Botwood for the first Trans-Atlantic passenger flight to the flying boat terminal at Foynes. Work began to drain the land on which Shannon Airport was built in 1936.  In 1942 it was named Shannon Airport and in 1945 the runway was extended to allow transatlantic flights to land.

A diamond cluster ring by Tiffany is a highlight at  O’Reilly’s sale at Francis St., Dublin on November 16.  The 2.03 carat ring with the centre old cut diamond to a diamond surround and diamond shoulders mounted in platinum is signed Tiffany & Co.  In a Tiffany box it is estimated at 25,000-30,000.

The sale features diamond, emerald, ruby, sapphire and aquamarine rings, gold chains, bracelets and watches.  Here is a small selection:

An Art Deco diamond panel bracelet signed Hennell. (24,000-26,000).An Art Deco diamond and sapphire plaque ring c1920 (10,000-12,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 25,000.

A diamond target ring by Tiffany (25,000-30,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 25,000.

A gold Kruggerand (1,200-1,400). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,150.

A diamond and ruby cluster ring (5,500-6,500). UPDATE: THIS MADE 5,300.

A 5.01 carat diamond solitaire (35,000-45,000). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

A solitaire diamond ring (8,500-10,000). UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD.

This amethyst and diamond cluster ring is estimated at 1,600-1,800. UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,600.

The Hardy letter. (Click on image to enlarge).

The Hardy letter. Click on image to enlarge.

A personal letter dictated by Thomas Hardy on Christmas Eve in 1912 comes up at Limerick Auction Rooms on Saturday, November 12. The letter touches on the subject of the death of his wife and the fact that he is unable to read or write clearly due to his eye illness. The sale of 500 lots contains a first 1913 edition by Thomas Hardy of A Changed Man and other stories published by MacMillan in 1913.

The Hardy first edition (click to enlarge).

Another rare lot is a World War I death plaque relating to Limerick nurse Elizabeth Grace Stewart. She was a staff nurse in Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Nursing Service Reserve, who died on service in February 1916. The Stewarts were Limerick silversmiths.  Such plaques are common for men, but rare for women.

UPDATE:  The letter sold for 260 plus fees.

John Burke Sculpture Maquette of the sculpture at the Wilton Roundabout in Cork 66cm high. (2,500-3,000). UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 1,700 AT HAMMER.

Irish and provincial silver is a feature of the Woodwards sale in Cork  on Wednesday, November 9 at 6 p.m.  The sale of 274 lots also features art and porcelain.  Here is a small selection:

A George III Irish silver oval shaped sauceboat 6.5ozs. (500-700). UPDATE: THIS MADE 300 AT HAMMER.

A George IV Cork silver swing handled sugar basket of helmet shape by William Teulon, Cork, c1790 (2,000-2,500). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,900 AT HAMMER.

Edward VII silver fruit basket London 1906. 31ozs. (2,500-3,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,300

A George III silver circular sugar bowl by John Hillary, Cork, c.1780. 6ozs. (1,700-2,000). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200

A George III Irish provincial silver soup ladle with tapering handle, bottom marked with the mark of William Ward of Limerick with Dublin hallmarks for 1786. (800-1,000).