The 137-lot sale will take place over three days at The Canterbury Auction Galleries in Kent.
Littaur has collected truncheons for the past 15 years. Ahead of the sale he said: “I have a dry, black sense of humour. The irony that such a beautifully decorated piece of wood was actually intended to thwack someone across the back of the head with the business end appealed to me so much that I began collecting them.”
Estimates for the October 2-4 sale range from £60-£750.
Smaller truncheons, known as tipstaves were commonly used before the 1829 Metropolitan Police Act established the first British formal police force under Sir Robert Peel. Officers patrolled with 20in (51cm) wooden truncheons and larger truncheons came in with the passing of the County Police Act in 1839.
Among the most valuable of the Littaur collection coming up for sale is a Georgian long truncheon measuring 27.5ins (69cm), painted with GR, the royal coat of arms and a rare image of the White Tower, the old keep at the Tower of London, where it would have been carried by a resident policeman. It is estimated at £500-600.
A late 18th century brass and turned wood tipstaff, engraved with a crown, GR, a fouled anchor and RCVY for the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard, is also estimated at £500-600.
This collection also features examples commemorating events such as the Chartist riots, the working class political protest movement of the 19th century. One dated April 10, 1848, marks the mass meeting on Kennington Common, London, when a third petition was delivered to parliament by a number of Chartist leaders. This is estimated at £250-350.
Lots from this truncheon collection can be viewed on thesaleroom.com
