Captain Cook's pistol up for sale

  • Breaking
  • 24/01/2013

Captain James Cook’s early 18th century Continental Flintlock holster pistol is being put up for auction in Australia.

As well as being the first European to circumnavigate New Zealand, Cook was the first to observe Australia’s Eastern seaboard and observe its indigenous peoples.

His pistol was passed on to his family following his death in Hawaii in 1779, but Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Ron Walker purchased the pistol in 2003 from the descendants of Cook at an auction in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Leski Auction house describes the firearm as Cook's one key link to his life and relationship with Australia. 

"We can confidently argue that he left his DNA on this, something that can't be said for the anchor or the cannon of the HMB Endeavour, which are located in Cooktown, North Queensland and Canberra respectively,” says Charles Leski.

The lock of the pistol is signed "Corbau-A-Maastricht", a reference to Dutch gunmaker, Godefroi Corbau Le Jeune.

It features a plain 13 bore barrel, brass fore-sight, spurred brass pommel, brass trigger guard, replacement ramrod and pipe, and pale fruitwood full stock with carved shell behind tang. The barrel is 31cm long.

The pistol has a pre-sale estimate of $125,000 - $250,000.

It will be offered for sale by Leski Auctions in Melbourne on Thursday, February 14th at 5.00pm.

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source: newshub archive