Wheel-Style Barometer and Thermometer. Comberbach & Sons, ca. Engraved metal barometer with two hands with adjusting knob, original thermometer (neither the barometer nor the thermometer still function) in a beautifully carved wooden case. With hinged door on verso to access innerworkings. Both the barometer and thermometer are under glass. Approximately 40 x 13. Some wear to wooden case, some soiling and tarnishing to metal pieces. With an engraved plaque affixed to front between barometer and thermometer: Presented to Mr. Catlow by the Weavers of Moss St. THE NAPOLEONIC WARS: Historical Artifacts From Both Sides Of The Conflict In 19th Century Europe. As Hollywood turns its attention to the larger-than-life character of Napoleon Bonaparte, with Ridley Scott’s recent’Napoleon’ feature film and Steven Spielberg’s forthcoming revival of Stanley Kubrick’s unrealized epic, the interest in collecting Napoleonica is on the rise. The collection on offer was gathered by an avid and lifelong single collector of military artifacts of the late 18th and early 19th centuries – the period of the French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon. To begin with, the interest focused on the life and death of Admiral Lord Nelson, whose last heroic victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, permanently ended Napoleon’s hopes of invading and overpowering’Perfidious Albion’, that Nation of Shopkeepers! As time passed, the genre broadened to include every aspect of collecting associated with this tumultuous era, ranging from uniforms and accoutrements, ceramics, snuff boxes and miniature portraits, clocks and barometers, later commemorative items and memorabilia to a substantial library which included documents, period prints and ephemera. Historical characters from Napoleon, Josephine, Marshals Ney, Berthier and Murat to Lord Horatio Nelson and the Duke of Wellington are reflected here. Both the French and British sides are respectively represented within this collection, raging the vast breadth of the nations which fought the conflict until its conclusion in 1815 with ultimate defeat of France’s Emperor. This is an estate liquidation. We have done our best to catalog and describe the items, all of which have been assessed by a most respected historian and dealer in Napoleonic Wars related antiquities, books and militaria, Robin Bates. We recommend keeping all packaging materials intact should damage occur as well as the damaged item within. Tracking will be provided. All sales are final. Buyers must be aware of what they are purchasing.
