THE CALEDONIAN RAILWAY SEAL
AN EARLY 19TH-CENTURY WOODEN AND STEEL DESK SEAL, CIRCA 1865
£630
Auction: 19 May 2023 from 10:00 BST
Description
the turned hardwood handle with reeded lower section to a square steel matrix, engraved with armorial with garter and inscribed EDINBURGH CARLISLE GLASGOW, the whole surmounted by Caledonian Railway and motto Nemo Me Impune Lacasset below
Dimensions
Length: 93mm, matrix: 23mm x 20mm
Provenance
Provenance:
Great Central Railway Auctions, 13th October 2012, lot 222
Footnote
Note:
The Caledonian Railway, which acted as the first continuous travel between Glasgow and London, was formed in 1845 with the objective of connecting Glasgow with the English railways. The Caledonian railway evolved from English concerns of linking cities through rail travel, their main line which opened in 1848 positioned the Caledonian Railway at the peak of Scottish rail companies. Due to the Railways Act of 1921 the Caledonian Railway became a constituent of the newly formed London, Midland and Scottish Railway, formed in 1923.
In 1865 they adopted a version of the Scottish arms as their crest, later adding a further ribbon below their motto bearing the words Caledonian Railway Company. The motto translates to No one provokes me with impunity and derives from the Royal Stuart dynasty.