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This is a Napoleonic design which may, indeed, be little different from the early 19th-century original. There was a National Guard in Paris since the days of the Revolution in 1789, when they were commanded by Lafayette. They remained in business right up to 1914 and beyond. Made of die-struck brass, its condition is a bit rubbed, with the Paris motto being barely legible. Otherwise, it is in reasonable order. Prov: from the J.R. Gaunt & Son Ltd. Pattern Book Archive, sold at auction by order of the National Army Museum, London. |