For more than fifty years, the auction house Hermann Historica has been running exclusive special auctions with historic and military objects that regularly attract international attention.
The 78th auction at the house, which will take place in Munich on 14 and 15 March, also fits into this series, presenting firearms from five centuries across three catalogues. The pieces are from the family archive of Freiherr von Leonrod as well as selected collectors' items from the royal family and imperial property, totalling to 832 lots in all.
On 14 March, the auction will begin with firearms that feature both historical and modern weapons. Highlights include a 17th-century flintlock double turner by the Salzburg gunsmith Cornelius Clett.
Also from the 17th century comes a flintlock shotgun, which is made entirely of metal. The signature indicates the Passau gunsmith Johann Glett as the manufacturer. A century older, however, is the wheel lock buffer of the Dresden gunsmith Zacharias Herold. After Herold executed orders for the Dresden armory and arsenal in 1588 and 1590, he was a court janitor for the Electoral Saxon court from 1603 to 1610.
Even among the forthcoming modern systems there are many highlights to be discovered.
Particularly noteworthy is this prototype of the Mauser gun Nickl from 1921. The model was not pursued, which is why it is a singular piece whose non-firing is certified.
Another rare collector's item are are two models from the late 19th century: one, a Borchardt C 93 Loewe Berlin, the other, a model 1898 Schwarzlose.
Hermann Historica’s auction continues on 15 March with the catalogue, ‘The Freiherr von Leonrod - KB Kammerherrn, Obersthofmeister, resistance fighters’ with numerous interesting pieces from the family archive of the Franconian-Swabian noble family.
In the 19th century, the Leonrods were especially well-connected with the history of Bavaria and the House Wittelsbach, and they held a number of court or state positions: Leopold Freiherr von Leonrod (1829-1905) was from 1887 to 1902 the Bavarian Minister of Justice, and his sister-in-law Sybilla Dame of Leonrod (born Meilhaus, 1814-1881) was the educator of the later ‘Fairytale King’ Ludwig II of Bavaria. One of the last members of the Leonrod family was the resistance fighter Ludwig Freiherr von Leonrod (1906-1944), whose involvement in the attempted Valkyrie assassination of Hitler on 20 July 1944 cost him his life.
179 objects belonging to the Leonrod family are being auctioned, including medals, uniforms, documents and personal photographs.
The closing of the auctions beings on 15 March with the sale of selected collector's items of royal and imperial possessions. One such lot is the magnificent, silver model of the SMS Kaiser Friedrich III, which Prince Heinrich of Prussia (1862-1929) received at its departure as commander of the I. Geschwaders 1903 of its officers and officials.
Another object from the catalogue that had also been received as a gift, this time by King Frederick II of Prussia, should also be noted. The item in question is a plate from the ‘Prinz von Preußen’, which put to sea from Emden to Guangzhou with a 186-strong crew in late December 1753. However, in June 1755, just a few nautical miles away from its home port, the ‘Prinz von Preußen’ ran aground near Borkum, whereupon the majority of the presentation service was smashed. This is why the few surviving items are rarely found on the auction market.
Certificates of royal enthusiasm for firearms are also represented in the auction. The older pieces include a wheel lock rifle of the Roman-German Emperor Ferdinand III (1608-1657) from the 17th century, to a younger pair of luxury percussion pistols from the mid-19th century which were in the possession of Duke Ernst II of Saxony-Corburg and Gotha (1818-1893), brother in law of Queen Victoria.
As a reminder, the auctions will take place on 14 and 15 March at the Hermann Historica in Linprunstraße 16 in Munich.