John Adams's walking stick, made from a vine grown in the Pitcairn Island, the top with a silver mount engraved 'This Stick/grown in the Pitcairn Island/was the property of John Adams/the last of the Mutineers of the/Bounty. given by him to W. Northwood Esqr. many/years an Alderman of/Sydney N.S.W. by who it was/presented to W.H.Palmer/September 23 1862', the foot with copper mount

Details

The Mutiny on The Bounty
John Adams's walking stick, made from a vine grown in the Pitcairn Island, the top with a silver mount engraved 'This Stick/grown in the Pitcairn Island/was the property of John Adams/the last of the Mutineers of the/Bounty. given by him to W. Northwood Esqr. many/years an Alderman of/Sydney N.S.W. by who it was/presented to W.H.Palmer/September 23 1862', the foot with copper mount
35in. (88.9cm.)

Provenance

John Adams, by whom given to
Alderman W. Northwood, Sydney, by whom presented to
W.H.Palmer, 23 Sept. 1862, and thence by descent to the present owner, his great great grand-daughter.

Literature

The UK Log, January 2000, Issue 1, Whole Number 19, pp.3-5.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Adams signed the Bounty's muster as Alexander Smith. He was one of the able seaman who remained onboard the Bounty 'as pirates' after the mutiny. On Pitcairn he reverted to his own name, became leader of the mutineers on the island, and the longest lived of them all (a source of information and relics for early visitors to Pitcairn), dying aged 65 on 5 March 1829.

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