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MARK OF JOHN FOSSEY, LONDON, 1739,
Details
RAILWAY INTEREST:- A GEORGE II SILVER MUG WITH LATER PRESENTATION & DECORATION,
MARK OF JOHN FOSSEY, LONDON, 1739,
Chased in relief with a steam-engine named "STILETTO", tender & single carriage that appears to have detached itself from the rest of the carriages further up the track, also a quatrefoil, scroll-edged cartouche inscribed "This cup with a purse of 25 sovereigns was subscribed for in Cheltenham and presented to Mr. Henry Wilkinson in acknowledgement of his courage & presence of mind in saving the lives of a large number of passengers on the Gt. Western Railway on the 8.July, 1851, Sept. 1851", 4¾ in. high (12 cm.), 10 oz.
MARK OF JOHN FOSSEY, LONDON, 1739,
Chased in relief with a steam-engine named "STILETTO", tender & single carriage that appears to have detached itself from the rest of the carriages further up the track, also a quatrefoil, scroll-edged cartouche inscribed "This cup with a purse of 25 sovereigns was subscribed for in Cheltenham and presented to Mr. Henry Wilkinson in acknowledgement of his courage & presence of mind in saving the lives of a large number of passengers on the Gt. Western Railway on the 8.July, 1851, Sept. 1851", 4¾ in. high (12 cm.), 10 oz.
Special notice
VAT rate of 17.5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.
Further details
The incident here depicted was reported in the Cheltenham Chronicle & Parish Register of 10/7/1851. The train left Cheltenham at 7.30 a.m. with 460 passengers in 12 carriages, was augmented by 8 more carriages at Gloucester and thence to Stroud where it's length was further increased to 23 carriages in all, with a total of 1200 passengers. Emerging from a tunnel between Stroud & Tetbury, the driver discovered he'd lost 12 carriages which had become detached, the cause of which, it later transpired, was the breaking away of the grappling hook of the first carriage that joined the train at Gloucester. The driver decided to send one of the two engines pulling the train down the line as he feared a collision with the soon-to-arrive mail train; indeed some passengers jumped from the train in terror! Henry Wilkinson was instrumental in rescuing the runaway carriages & was rewarded by a subscription which collected almost 30 pounds of which 5 pounds was spent on the mug, the remainder being presented to him in cash.