Antique arms and armor collectors dueled at auction on Monday, June 28, 2010 in San Francisco for a piece of South Carolina history – the successful bidder paying nearly $50,000 (twice the estimate) for a pair of important dueling pistols formerly owned by a South Carolina land-owner before the Civil War.  Bonhams & Butterfields, fine arts auctioneers, sold the cased pair of English percussion dueling pistols in its $650,000 Antique Arms and Armor auction on the West Coast. 

The pistols, the top sellers in June’s sale, had been owned by Charles Baring-Gould (1774-1865) an English immigrant who’d settled in Charleston, later relocating to Flat Rock, South Carolina.  Bonhams & Butterfields anticipated bids in the range of $25/35,000 for the pistols -- made late in 1825 by noted gunsmith James Purdey for Mr. Baring-Gould.  Bidding for the cased guns opened at $10,000 and volleyed between collectors and gun dealers in the auctioneer’s salesroom and those on telephones.  Ultimately the lot was hammered above estimate, selling for $49,725.  The guns are serial numbers 905 and 906.  These numbers are documented in “The Early Purdeys,” a reference book by L. Patrick Unsworth, where it is noted that they were produced before 1826 and are examples of the very first percussion dueling pistols made by Purdey. 

Another pair of English pistols sold strong – a collector paid $18,720 for a pair of silver-mounted circa 1767 flintlock pistols by John Bumford, London.  Several examples of Smith & Wesson revolvers were sold, including a New York engraved Smith & Wesson Old Model Russian revolver produced for Schuler, Hartley & Graham with extensive scroll-engraving and depictions of ram’s heads on both sides of the frame (sold for $9,945).  Another Smith & Wesson with elaborate decoration sold was a .357 magnum engraved and etched by Ken Hunt.  This pistol was made for George Washington Vanderbilt III (1914-61).  Vanderbilt, of the prominent New York family, was an avid sailor and spent much of his life studying marine species.  The revolver has an overall gilt finish with varied scenes of marine life - with a dolphin and fish, waterweeds and nautical motifs (sold for $4,680). 

Rifles and modern sporting guns also attracted bids - a rare engraved mid-19th century American half-stock percussion rifle by Jacob and Samuel Hawken, St. Louis, Missouri, sold for $29,250.  A pair of .44-caliber lever action rifles were of interest: a Henry Model 1860 rifle brought $15,210 and a fine Winchester Model 1866 rifle sold for $16,380.

Knives and swords from varied time periods and cultures were offered, with an 18th century Ottoman kilij selling for ten times its estimate.  The kilij, with a curved 32-inch blade, features gold floral inlays and inscriptions on the blade and scabbard; it sold for $23,400.  A similar-sized tulwar-hilted kilij was also decorated with Arabic inscriptions and gold overlays, this example selling for four times the estimate, bringing $14,040. 

Two highly decorated edged weapons offered early in the sale featured jade hilts, pommels in the form of an ewe and a ram, ruby, diamond and emerald cabochon decorations, and red scabbards with pierced gilt brass mounts.  Both lots doubled their estimates.  The first was a 10-inch Mughal kard which sold for $11,700, the second, an 8 ½-inch Mughal khanjar which sold for $11,115. 

The June auction featured several Buffalo Bill posters, including a large chromolithograph poster:  Buffalo Bill, Attack on the Cabin which brought twice its estimate, selling for $2,340.

The illustrated auction catalog includes prices realized during the sale, online for review at www.bonhams.com/us [see results for sale # 18246].  The next offering of antique arms and armor is scheduled for November 15, 2010, details and highlights will be posted to the firm’s website in advance of the San Francisco previews and auction.