A rare George III silver-gilt boot-pull
the hook with hinged handle, engraved with a crest.
Hallmarked: London 1814.
by Thomas Phipps, Edward Robinson & James Phipps,
$1200
The crest and initial are those of General Sir George Townshend Walker, BT, KTB, GCB (1764-1842), Lieutenant Governor of Chelsea Hospital. Walker was commissioned as an ensign in the 95th Regiment of Foot in 1782.He served in the Flanders Campaign and was then given command of the 50th Regiment of Foot in October 1799. He commanded his regiment at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars. He went on to command a brigade during the Walcheren Campaign in 1809 and again at the Siege of Badajoz in 1812 during the Peninsular War He became Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army in 1825 before retiring from that post in 1831.In 1837 he became Lieutenant-Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea where he died in November 1842
Phipps & Robinson were London silversmiths, Thomas Phipps (?-1823) and Edward Robinson (?-1816), with premises at 40, Gutter Lane. They produced mostly fine boxes (snuff boxes, nutmeg graters and vinaigrettes) in silver and gold, but also wine "labels", knife stands, apple corers, hearing trumpets and other domestic items.