Dark blue fabric knee-length overcoat with satin lining, black velvet stand-and-fall collar with hook-and-eye closure, twelve gilt buttons to the front with Kriegsmarine insignia and seven more to the false closure and half-belt on the rear, two lateral slit pockets with covers; shoulder-boards / epaulettes with insignia for Kapitän-Leutnante and the anchor-and-propellor motif for an engineer. 2.23 kg, 121 cm long



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey; thence by descent to his grandson.

Including WW1 Saxony Friedrich August Medal Silver FA Medaille; on watch chain with black enamelled cross marked '1914'; Crimean War Society pin badge; Red Cross service badge with ribbon; reproduction Blue Max 'Pour Le Merite' WW1 Medal; and other items. 118 grams total, 1.4-37 cm



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey; thence by descent to his grandson.

Felted naval cap with applied title 'SMS Seydlitz' to band; coquette button, including two original post cars of the ship one inscribed 'For my friend Mr De Witt Bailey and signed and dated July 1983, the other signed and dated 1983. 135 grams, 25 cm



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey; thence by descent to his grandson.

S.M.S. Seydlitz was a German battlecruiser that served in the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) during World War I. She participated in major naval engagements like the Battle of Dogger Bank and the Battle of Jutland, where she sustained significant damage. Ultimately, she was interned and scuttled at Scapa Flow in 1919.

Tinplate container with printed design for 'Constantin Kaiserpreis'; printed instruction plate for 'Apparat 84I'; square cast plate for Selbstanlaser 'automatic starter'. 274 grams total, 8.6-15 cm



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey; thence by descent to his grandson.

Wool cap with short brim and braided chin strap with anchor buttons; maker's badge inside. 146 grams, 26.5 cm



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey, one of the global authorities on the confederate army in the US civil war; thence by descent to his grandson.

Each a fabric patch with overstitched badge detailing. 8.84 grams total, 3.6-10.6 cm



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey; thence by descent to his grandson.

Fabric Naval epaulette with braid and gilt Medical Corps insignia; belt clasp with repoussé emblem. 70 grams total, 6.2-11.2 cm



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey; thence by descent to his grandson.

Including Essex Regiment, Durham Light Infantry, Devonshire Regiment and others, with regimental button and other items. 83 grams total, 16-61 mm



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey; thence by descent to his grandson.

Dark blue fabric waist-length pea jacket with cotton lining, double-breasted format with two columns of nine silver buttons to the front with Kriegsmarine insignia and corresponding button-holes, and six more to each cuff; applied gilt-metal badge to the upper arm with anchor and crossed cannons for naval artillery; some usage wear especially to the outer sleeves and hem. 1.09 kg, 66 cm long



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey; thence by descent to his grandson.

Stiff fabric straps for a naval officer's sword with hooked chain and lion-mask detailing. 275 grams, 117.5 cm



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey; thence by descent to his grandson.

Michaelis (Sebastian) The Admirable Historie of the Possession and Conversion of a Penitent Woman - Seduced by a Magician that Made her to Become a Witch, and the Princes Sorcerers in the Country of Province Who Was Brought to S. Baume to Be Exorcised, in the Yeere 1610, in the Moneth of November... published in English by William Aspley in 1613; the cover with strange symbols scratched into the skin cover, the inside front cover annotated in ink with various names followed by witchcraft(?) calculations: 'Thomas Jouery = 6 = 6 / 2 = 1 =', Holder = 6 = 6', Haleok = 2222' Ginkins = 7', 'Cols - 4 - 2 =', Rogers = 1', John Yodes(?) his book - 1728' and others, with some annotations inside the book; frontice page and pages to B1 absent, ending at page 414; the cover detached, binding and some pages loose, the remainder of the inside fine with 'hidden' inked text(?). 516 grams, 19.5 x 16 cm



Found within a library of antiquarian books. Property of a Huddersfield, UK, gentleman.

Sébastien Michaëlis was a prominent Dominican inquisitor in the Avignon region of France in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, where he was involved in a number of witch trials and executions. In 1611, he was called to investigate a group of nuns at an Aix-en-Provence convent who were reportedly possessed by the devil. Several of the nuns asserted that a local priest was the cause of their possession, accusing him of everything from devil worship to sexual perversion to cannibalism. Under torture, the priest confessed to having signed a pact with the Devil, and was executed. Michaëlis wrote up his experiences this book called Histoire admirable de la possession d'une penitente, published in 1611; the English translation, shown here, followed soon after in 1613. Michaëlis's text is known for its extensive classification and hierarchy of demons named by the nuns in their confessions. While many of the named demons are not discussed elsewhere, his classification schema was highly influential upon other demonologies and witchcraft treatises.

Hardback with cloth covers, gold titling to spine 'Air Force Daily March 1954 to July 1954'; pasted label to front 'Reel Room / Strong Room'. 6.19 kg, 46 x 31.5 cm



From the library of an East Anglian gentleman, 1970s-early 2000s.