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ARMS & MILITARIA
ARMS,
by definition, are any weapon used by an individual for sport, (like hunting
and target shooting), personal defense and warfare. This covers an enormous
range of pistols, rifles, muskets, shotguns, swords, knives, spears, axes,
cutlasses, lances and a host of similar items from just about every corner
of the world. What they are and how they came to be here in Canada is
part of the story we like to uncover at the Roadshow. Unlike their mass
produced modern counterparts, many of the arms are products of highly
skilled craftsmen from another era. Already we have seen antique flintlock
and percussion pistols and shotguns made by some of the finest British,
European and Of
all the swords brought to us so far, the lethal beauty of the Japanese
samurai sword is the finest. A combination of the bladesmith’s skill
in producing the optimum cutting edge in history is married with a detailed
artistry in iron, gold and silver that would often decorate the sword
guard (tsuba), grip (menuki & tsukamaki), and pommel (kashira). In
Japan today, the craftsmen who still carry on these remarkable skills
are designated National Treasures. However,
it isn’t just the rare and exotic that we like to see on the Roadshow.
The rifle carried by an ordinary soldier at Vimy Ridge or Beaumont Hamel
that shared with him the horrors of the Western Front during the First
World War, is just as important as the pistols carried by an officer who
scaled the heights of Quebec with Wolfe or was at Queenston with Brock.
Each has a place in the history of our selves and our country, whether
it was found at a local flea market or was brought here by an ancestor
in a sailing ship, or a war bride after the Second World War. Unlike ARMS, which can be defined within a specific range, MILITARIA is a subject of unlimited scope. Every item with a military connection can come under the definition. There are, of course, those artifacts with an obvious connection, like medals, uniforms and badges. Then, there are the less obvious and amongst these we can list furniture, cutlery, silver, works of art, jewelry, books, photographs and souvenirs. To illustrate, this we have already seen fine groups of medals with amazing stories of heroism; artwork from Second World War prisoners of war; a fantastic folding book (sixty six feet long!) that illustrated, in colour, the story of the funeral of the Duke of Wellington and depicted every regiment in the British Army, the entire English aristocracy and Queen Victoria!
All have come under the discerning eye of the appraiser, but no matter how rare, exotic or commonplace, it is the story, your story, that catches our imagination, shows us our place in history and keeps us coming back for more. Ross
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One
of the busiest tables we have had at the Roadshow is the Arms & Militaria
table. Do not think that by this we have long, snaking lines of Roadshow
fans armed to the teeth with an assortment of guns, swords, daggers, and
other blood thirsty implements - we don’t -- they do, however, have
the widest variety of military antiques that you can possibly imagine.
American
gunsmiths of their day. These are products combining functionality of
design and artistry, made with hand wrought steel, exotic woods and then
beautifully engraved with a skill not seen today. 
Here
in Canada during the 19th century, the military played a significant social
role and this is seen in the photographs of the citizen soldier, the militia,
from Victoria to Halifax. Roadshow has seen furnishings from an officers’
mess and the soldiers’ barracks; chairs from a British regiment
stationed in Kingston and even a handsome quilt made by a soldier in Halifax
to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 1897 Jubilee. Roadshow fans have
brought us naval souvenirs which have included a sextant from a German
U Boat, which until recently was still used aboard a Newfoundland fishing
vessel, and a magnificent whale tooth scrimshaw depicting a Royal Navy
captain and his ship from the 1840’s. 
