Inventory and survey of the armouries of the Tower of London (1916) (14586274008)

Identifier: inventorysurveyo02ffou (find matches)
Title: Inventory and survey of the armouries of the Tower of London
Year: 1916 (1910s)
Authors: Ffoulkes, Charles John, 1868-1947 Parr, Charles McKew donor Parr, Ruth, donor
Subjects: Weapons
Publisher: London, H.M. Stationery Off
Contributing Library: Brandeis University Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Brandeis University Libraries



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loan was not held to have created a precedent, for thereare no further records of armour being lent for such a purpose again. It should be remembered that the Tower was originally simply astorehouse for munitions of war, and that it is only the lapse of time andhistorical associations which have distinguished certain pieces in the Collec-tion as valuable specimens of the craft of the armourer. In addition tothese pieces there is still a large amount of ordinary armour, such as wouldbe served out to the rank and file of the army between about the years 1590and 1650, together with certain obsolete weapons of even later date ; andit is these items which from time to time have been issued, when occasiondemanded, as the limited space available for display in the White Towerprecluded their exhibition with the more historically important pieces. From about the year i860 onwards issues and transfers were made fromthese large stores of seventeenth century armour and weapons to certain Plate II
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r//umr.Y/m/A//e (^xiii^/r//////7/.J E.4. INTRODUCTION. 13 museums, fortresses and other Government buildings for decorative purposes.Among these are found many examples of Maltese armour, that isdecorated late sixteenth century armour of North Italian origin, whichwas brought from Malta in the year 1826. For many years receipts forthese issues were signed annually by the recipients, but after a time thetransfers were in some cases—as, for example, those of the RotundaMuseum, Woolwich, of the Royal United Service Museum and of certainother buildings—made absolute. It should be remembered that up to theyear 1904 both the Tower Armouries and all the above buildings andinstitutions were either wholly or in part under the control of the War Office,and such transfers were effected without much complication or difficulty.It was only on the assumption of the control of the Tower Armouries bythe Office of Works that some definite division of these military remainsbecame needed. As time goe