A travelling inkwell with glass bottle, by Wright and Davies London 1876 .
Price: £795.00

This inkstand works on a principle derived from the Ransome patent, manufactured by De La Rue and Company. The original design and patent were made by Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Limited of Ipswich (better known as makers of agricultural equipment) in 1861. In 1864, they licensed the manufacture of their design to leading stationers, Thomas De La Rue, who made changes to the design. Although many examples can be found in other metals, they appear in the catalogue of the Army and Navy Stores and are still collected today. This seems to be one of very few known silver examples.

An agate seal with gold-coloured mounts (untested), circa 1825. The matrix is engraved with the arms of Meyrick impaling those of Vane (for the Dukes of Cleveland).
Price: £795.00

William Henry Meyrick (1790-1865) married Lady Laura Vane on 24th February 1823. Meyrick was the son of Thomas Meyrick and Elizabeth, illegitimate daughter and heiress of Admiral Augustus Keppel (1st and only Viscount Keppel). Meyrick was Lieutenant Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards and portraits of him survive by Hoppner and an anonymous artist.    Lady Laura Vane (1807-1882) was the youngest daughter of William Henry Vane, (Earl of Darlington and future 1st Duke of Cleveland). She is depicted in a family group with her husband in a portrait auctioned in 2002.

A George II seal, unmarked circa 1730, engraved with the arms of Bligh .
Price: £225.00

The Bligh family are believed to have arrived in England in the 15th century from Brittany and to have acquired lands in Cornwall at this time. A junior branch of the family gained estates in Ireland after the British Civil Wars and, following a very advantageous marriage in 1713 by which they acquired Cobham Hall in Kent, were created Earls of Darnley in 1725. The English family produced several prominent naval officers — including Captain, later Admiral, William Bligh of H.M.S. Bounty. He served under Captain Cook on his third voyage and suffered a mutiny in 1789, which led to the British settlement on Pitcairn Island.

A gold seal with uncut cornelian on 4 legs circa 1820.
Price: £180.00

A George III seal London 1793 by Godbehere and Wigan (overstriking Peter and Ann Bateman), engraved with a female figure holding an anchor for Hope (one of the three Virtues).
Price: £145.00

The biblical link between Hope and the anchor comes from Hebrews 6:19. The image of Hope was used on trinkets in the second half of the eighteenth century — a time when the Navy was expanding. The fact that this seal would not act as a seal suggests another use: snuff boxes were produced with this image and are believed to have served as a sailor's farewell to his family (see Millett and Field Convict Love Tokens (1998) p. 50, and also a pendant in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich).