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  • Posts Tagged ‘General Blackader’

    THE FENIANS MEET BLACKADER AT WHYTE’S

    Wednesday, October 7th, 2015

    The Fenians meet General Blackader at Whyte’s sale of History, Literature and Collectibles in Dublin on October 17. Lot 104 in the auction is a surviving door fragment from an explosion at the division corridor in the House of Commons, London.  On January 24, 1885 in an event dubbed “Dynamite Sunday” the Fenians detonated near simultaneous explosions at the Tower of London, Westminster Crypt and the Chamber of the House of Commons.  The door fragment is estimated at 150-200.

    Lot 189 is described by Whyte’s as the only known trophy created to celebrate a British victory in 1916 and it is inscribed to General Blackader.  Charles Blackader commanded a territorial brigade in Dublin during the Easter Rising.  He presided over the court at Richmond Barracks where most of the leaders of the Rising were sentenced to death.   The trophy is a 12lb artillery shell case in a timber and brass frame is stamped “HMY Helga – The call to arms – Liberty Strikes”.  “HMY Helga” refers to the armed auxiliary patrol yacht of that name, armed with a twelve-pounder coastal defence gun. During the Rising the Helga shelled Boland’s Mills, Liberty Hall, the GPO and surrounding areas.  The gong was purchased by the current owner in Islington Market in 1987. Although now living in Ireland, at the time of purchase she was a Japanese student with Irish connections who liked it because it reminded her of a Shinto temple bell.  It is estimated at 800-1,200.

    The surviving fragment of a door from the Division Corridor at the House of Commons.

    The surviving fragment of a door from the Division Corridor at the House of Commons.  UPDATE: THIS MADE 620

    The gong fashioned from an artillery case and stamped General Blackader.

    The gong fashioned from an artillery case and stamped General Blackader.  UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 2,600 AT HAMMER