Shooty McShootface
32 Cal
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2021
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction score
- 9
Hi all,
I am looking for some advice on this rather dandy walking stick that has found its way to me. I suspect mid-19th century, and possibly a custom job based off a traditional percussion cap pistol. There are some curiosities about it...it appears too finely engraved to be for poaching, so perhaps it was for a gentleman to clear a path through riff raff on the thoroughfare or for protection when visiting parlour rooms.
As you can see, it looks like a gun cane. But the handle has a feature that I suspect is to attach a stock. This is why I was thinking a poachers gun. Then the engraved part of the barrel is too fine for that, and looks like a standard percussion pistol. Normally I would expect the barrel to unscrew yet it does not. I believe it is welded and do not want to force it to find out. The long barrel or "cane" is not engraved, so I was thinking a frankenstein creature...that a threaded pipe was shoved into the original pistol barrel and this cane was a later attachment. Yet it appears not to be, as body, barrel and cane are all engraved with number "6" or "9" in the same font depending on perspective. The cane part is also slightly tapered so would be used for pellets rather than a ball? Or tapered on the outside but consistent bore on the inside? Top of pistol has a "5", a "54" in an oval, and a factory stamp that is hard to discern. Any idea what I am looking at? A custom cane for a well heeled dandy to blast ruffians, a freakish experiment, or a poachers gun?
I am looking for some advice on this rather dandy walking stick that has found its way to me. I suspect mid-19th century, and possibly a custom job based off a traditional percussion cap pistol. There are some curiosities about it...it appears too finely engraved to be for poaching, so perhaps it was for a gentleman to clear a path through riff raff on the thoroughfare or for protection when visiting parlour rooms.
As you can see, it looks like a gun cane. But the handle has a feature that I suspect is to attach a stock. This is why I was thinking a poachers gun. Then the engraved part of the barrel is too fine for that, and looks like a standard percussion pistol. Normally I would expect the barrel to unscrew yet it does not. I believe it is welded and do not want to force it to find out. The long barrel or "cane" is not engraved, so I was thinking a frankenstein creature...that a threaded pipe was shoved into the original pistol barrel and this cane was a later attachment. Yet it appears not to be, as body, barrel and cane are all engraved with number "6" or "9" in the same font depending on perspective. The cane part is also slightly tapered so would be used for pellets rather than a ball? Or tapered on the outside but consistent bore on the inside? Top of pistol has a "5", a "54" in an oval, and a factory stamp that is hard to discern. Any idea what I am looking at? A custom cane for a well heeled dandy to blast ruffians, a freakish experiment, or a poachers gun?