Lot Essay
The pistol was formerly the property of Colonel Valentine Baker (1831-87) and has passed by descent to its present owner. It was for many years on display in the National Army Museum, together with Colonel Baker's uniform and other personal accoutrements.
Colonel Valentine Baker was the brother of Sir Samuel White Baker the explorer of the sources of the Nile. In 1860 he took command of the Tenth Hussars of which he was an outstanding and much loved Commanding Officer, warmly supported by the regiment's Colonel, the Prince of Wales. Soon after relinquishing command he was accused of assaulting a woman on a train to Waterloo and, with no real evidence, found guilty, imprisoned and disgraced. He then very successfully served the Sultan of Turkey and later commanded the Egyptian Gendarmerie, acquiring the title "Pasha", before his death in 1887
Colonel Baker's uniform and accoutrements are to be offered for sale in a forthcoming sale of Militaria at South Kensington (date to be announced)
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Colonel Valentine Baker was the brother of Sir Samuel White Baker the explorer of the sources of the Nile. In 1860 he took command of the Tenth Hussars of which he was an outstanding and much loved Commanding Officer, warmly supported by the regiment's Colonel, the Prince of Wales. Soon after relinquishing command he was accused of assaulting a woman on a train to Waterloo and, with no real evidence, found guilty, imprisoned and disgraced. He then very successfully served the Sultan of Turkey and later commanded the Egyptian Gendarmerie, acquiring the title "Pasha", before his death in 1887
Colonel Baker's uniform and accoutrements are to be offered for sale in a forthcoming sale of Militaria at South Kensington (date to be announced)
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