  IN compiling this volume I believe I can claim, in a sense, to have broken new ground, for although a description of the Spanish Royal Armoury finds a place in every Guide and Handbook to Madrid, no exhaustive survey of the contents of this priceless treasure-house, apart from the official catalogue, is in existence. The present work is based on the admirable catalogue prepared in 1898 at the instigation of Queen Maria Cristina by the Conde de Valencia de San Juan, to whom, with peculiar pleasure, I desire to make full acknowledgment of my indebtedness. To the formal descriptions of the exhibits, which the Conde de San Juan has collated with invariable accuracy, I have prefixed a brief sketch of the historical development of Spanish arms and armour, which, I venture to hope, will make the book more acceptable, both to the specialist in armour, and to those who visit the Armoury without any particular knowledge of the subject. Though the Armeria Real remains the richest in the world, it has enriched nearly all the collections of arms and armour in Europe and America. Mr. G. P. Laking, in a recent number of the Art Journal, has shown that after the fire of 1839, a very large number of pieces were fraudulently abstracted and sent to London for sale—ultimately finding their way to armouries and museums as far apart as Rome and New York. If the truth were known it would probably be found that there was not a collection of any importance that did not include some of the spoils of the great treasure house established by the Kings of Spain. In furtherance of my object, I have laid under contribution a large number of authorities, and I cannot omit to acknowledge my obligations to the standard works of Meyrick, Hewitt, Demmin, Lacombe and Clephan, to the writings of Baron Davillier and Don Juan RiaÑo, to the Iconografia EspaÑola of Don V. Carderera, and to Dr. Wendelin Boheim, of the Imperial Armoury, Vienna. I also desire to render a special tribute of thanks to Mr. E. B. d’Auvergne, who placed his expert knowledge at my service, and has rendered me invaluable assistance in my endeavours to make this compilation both accurate and complete. The value of a book of this kind must, I recognise, depend in a large measure upon the selection of the illustrations and the excellence of their reproduction. In this matter I have been greatly helped by SeÑor Don Lacoste, and Messrs. Hauser y Menet, whose photographs, other than those taken by myself, are, with their permission, reproduced here. A. F. C. “Royston,” |
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