Walking Stick

Periodca. 1850 - 1860

MediumBlackthorn, gold, gold and quartz nugget, iron, steel

Dimensions37.5 × 1.75 in. (95.3 × 4.4 cm)

InscribedThe walking stick's head is engraved "Robert Hartshorne / from / John Minturn."

ClassificationsAccessories, Men's

Credit LineGift of Mary Minturn Adams in memory of her Hartshorne Ancestors, 2018

Object number2018.10.19

DescriptionA man's walking stick comprised of a smoothly polished blackthorn shaft. The stick is topped with a circular gold head, with paneled sides ornamented with engraved floral and foliate sprays. The head flares slightly at the top inset with a faceted natural quartz and gold nugget. Alternate panels on the head are engraved with the inscription "Robert Hartshorne / from / John Minturn." The stick's lower point is weighted with a cast iron blunt tip with a steel ferrule above, incised with a pair of shallow bands.
Curatorial RemarksThis elegant man's accessory is made from a straight branch of the blackthorn shrub. Prunus spinosa, or blackthorn, is a member of the rose family and is native to Europe, western Asia, Africa, and was naturalized into North America. Blackthorn is aptly named, as its branches are covered in long, sharp spines. Flowering in spring, blackthorn produced fruits, also known as sloes, which can be preserved into jams and jellies and also fermented into liquor. Blackthorn was first fashioned into a weapon known as a shillelagh by early Irish tribes, the heavy wood and sharp thorns producing a formidable weapon. By the nineteenth century, blackthorn was a popular choice for fashionable men's walking sticks, its strong and sturdy wood able to take a fine polish. Throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, men's walking sticks were often given as presentation gifts for a variety of commemorative events or celebrations.NotesThis striking walking stick most likely was given to Robert Hartshorne (1798 - 1872) by his brother-in-law John Champlin Minturn. Born on 27 October 1804 in New York City, John was the son of Benjamin Greene Minturn (1771 - 1845) and Mary Bowne (1774 - 1852). John married Sarah Ann [surname] (1808 - 1895) in [date?]. The couple had four children, including John (1829 - 1892), Elizabeth Ann (1839 - 1848), Robert (1846 - 1852), and Charles Edward (1852 - 1867). John's sister, Mary Ann Minturn (1802 - 1861), married Robert Hartshorne in 1823. John Champlin Minturn was in business with his older brother William H. Minturn (1796 - 1854). In an 1841-42 New York City Directory, the firm of W. H. & J. C. Minturn appears listed at 9 Wall Street, described as "merchants." John Minturn died at the age of 82 and was interred in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

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