DUBLIN.- As we look at the landscape of Dublin’s quays and docks, it’s difficult to imagine a built environment under the water, but it’s there and it was built by men like Joe Murphy who wore this helmet to do it.

Joe Murphy was a Master Shipwright working for Dublin Port and Docks. Much of the work he undertook was underwater construction and maintenance. In the late 1950s he led a work crew in a diving bell, which is now restored and displayed on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin. In the early 1960s he progressed to working in a diving suit with copper and brass helmet.

Murphy retired as Technical Supervisor in the 1980s, by which time the suit was obsolete and he was presented with the helmet as a retirement gift.

The much sought-after Siebe Gorman twelve-bolt copper and brass helmet is lot 180 in Whyte’s Eclectic Collector auction on Saturday 17 September, estimate €3,000-€5,000 (£2,590-£4,310 approx).

City Centre Crime is nothing new
An essential part of every city-dwelling gentleman’s outfit in the early 19th century was a small pistol for self-defence against “rampsmen” (muggers), “cutpurses” (pickpockets) and “bludgers” (some other unpleasant light-fingered types). Whyte’s Eclectic Collector auction on 17 September has a wide range of these small muzzle-loading guns designed to be carried about the person. These include derringers, boot-pistols, muff-pistols and pocket pistols. They all share a significant drawback: once they have been fired, reloading takes so long that the “rampsman” or his accomplice will have bludgeoned you half to death and gotten what he came for before you’ve even measured out your gunpowder.

The solution arrived at in this pistol, lot 273, was the addition of a vicious little spring-loaded bayonet on the top of the barrel, which served as a second line of defence. Progress…..supposedly. Estimate €250-350.

An Important Irish Political Correspondence
An archive of letters to the nationalist politician from the political heavyweights of his day
John Joseph Clancy (1847-1928), usually known as J. J. Clancy, was a King’s Counsel and Nationalist Parliamentary politician, whose career spanned the rise of the Land League and Home Rule movements, the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War. He was Irish Parliamentary Party MP for North County Dublin and a pro-Parnellite after the Party’s split, one of the few who had supported Parnell to be re-elected. He was a staunch advocate for parliamentary nationalism and a devoted supporter of John Redmond.

Lot 34 In Whyte’s eclectic Collector auction is an archive of 31 signed autograph letters to J. J. Clancy from the leading Irish and British politicians of his day including Charles Stewart Parnell, William Gladstone, Michael Davitt, H.H. Asquith, David Lloyd George, et al.; also included is a signed, hand-written speech by John Redmond referring to the Housing of the Working Classes 1908 Act, popularly known as the Clancy Act; and Clancy’s personal Draft Report of the Irish Convention, marked "secret and Most Confidential". Estimate €5,000-€7,000

A Unique Parnell Commemorative Baton
A baton carried by the Chief Marshal of the Parnell Anniversary Demonstration, 1900 is lot 37 in Whyte’s Eclectic Collector auction. The bog-oak baton surmounted by a silver plated bust of Charles Stewart Parnell and decorated with carvings of ivy, commemorates “the uncrowned King of Ireland”. The baton carries a white metal collar engraved, 'Presented to - Mr M. J. Murray - Chief Marshall of the - Parnell Anniversary Demonstration - held 7th Oct. 1890 - by the Parnell Anniversary Committee'.

Ivy as a symbol of allegiance to Parnell takes its cue from a wreath of ivy sent by a Cork woman to Parnell’s funeral, "as the best offering she could afford,". Mourners took ivy leaves from the walls and stuck them in their lapels. Ever after, the ivy leaf became the Parnellite emblem, worn by his followers when they gathered to honour their lost leader. Estimate €1,000-€1,500.

A Significant Militaria Collection
The Simon Collection of 20th century German militaria focuses largely on the uniform and equipment of the average foot soldier. From helmet to boots (over thirty examples of the former to two pairs of the latter) the collection is the result of a twenty-five-year search for the best preserved example of each item of kit.

As well as Picklehaubes, “coal scuttles” and pith-helmets the 150 lots include specialist equipment such as landmine warning flags, lot 466, estimate €120-€180; a mountain trooper’s ice axe, lot 442, estimate €300-€500; a despatch rider’s goggles and gauntlets, lot 439, €150-€200, and even a wartime luxury – a Wehrmacht toilet roll! The latter is unused (!) and intact in its original printed wrapper, Lot 433, €80-€120.

An extensive assembly of badges, medals and insignia from before the First World War to 1945 is also on offer in Whyte’s Eclectic Collector auction.

1960s Rally cars in miniature
A section of Dinky and Corgi model cars in Whyte’s Eclectic Collector auction on 17 September includes this scarce Corgi Toys Rallye Monte Carlo gift set. The set includes a B.M.C. Mini Cooper-S, a Rover 2000 and a Citroen D.S.19, all contained in their original display box. Lot 193 carries an estimate at €400-€600.

NASA scientist’s collection at Whyte’s
An Irishman living and working in Houston, Texas sees an estate sale in a neighbouring suburb and pulls in for a look. The non-descript house reveals little about the owner until he looks in the study, which is lined with photographs of astronauts, rocket launches and views from space. Files of technical reports and flight logs fill the bookshelves and on the desk is a commemorative plaque presented to NASA scientist Charles M. Grant for his role in the first manned lunar landing.

Charles M. Grant’s career at the NASA Manned Spaceflight Centre, Houston, Texas spanned the Mercury, Apollo, Skylab and Shuttle programmes. He accumulated a large collection of objects and ephemera related to early space exploration and our vendor successfully bid on a number of these in his estate sale. Now, fifteen years later, the owner has entrusted Whyte’s to auction them. Lots 131 to 141 in Whyte’s Eclectic Collector auction are from Charles M. Grant’s collection. Estimates range from €150-€600 and include official NASA documents and photographs, and geological samples (used to compare with samples brought back from outer space).

Golden Opportunity for Canny Investors
With the present uncertainty in the markets over Brexit and the US Presidential election, many investors are buying precious metals such as gold or silver as a safe haven for their money. In this auction Whyte’s offer over 100 different gold coins, including Krugerrands, sovereigns, US Double Eagles, Canadian Maple Leaves. Less familiar coins include a Dominican Republic Trujillo thirty pesos, Turkish five hundred kurush, Peruvian one libra, Indian mohur and Persian pahlavi. The coins will sell at bullion or slightly above and with estimates of €80 to €1,200 these lots offer a golden opportunity for the small investor.

Other collectibles include stamps, banknotes, sporting memorabilia, advertising signs, travel posters, collectable books, photographs and ephemera.

The auction takes place at 11am on Saturday 17 September, with viewing at Whyte’s, 38 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, 10am to 5pm on Wednesday to Friday 14 to 16 September, and on-line at www.whytes.ie