THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE CALEDONIAN RAILWAY SEAL MATRIX
A MID / LATE 19TH-CENTURY STEEL SEAL MATRIX, CIRCA 1865
£555
Auction: 19 May 2023 from 10:00 BST
Description
the cylindrical matrix with a short stem, engraved to edge, TOP, the matrix engraved with the pre-union Scottish Royal arms and motto CALEDONIAN RAILWAY around
Dimensions
Length: 26mm, matrix: 28mm diameter
Provenance
Provenance:
Sheffield Railway Auctions, 11th December 1999 lot 353
Footnote
Note:
The Caledonian Railway was the first line to link Glasgow with England via Carlisle from 1849 and the company rapidly expanded, taking over many smaller rival lines. Of its General Managers, perhaps the best known is the last, Donald Matheson, who was not only General Manager of Caledonian from 1910-1922 but oversaw its incorporation into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, becoming General Manager of the new company until his retirement in 1926. It was he also who conceived the idea of creating the Gleneagles golf courses and grand hotel.
The Caledonian Railway's adoption of the pre-Union Scottish arms as its emblem was unofficial and not authorised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms