[Jansypan]

This is around 4ft long hard wood stick, covered in hand carved various faces, animals, fish, guitar, cricket bat, ball and stumps and what looks like an native american totum face.

It's quite interesting and obviously tells a story of some sort. Was told it belonged to grandads grandad so that would put it 1800's.

Is it a shelelie? Honestly have no idea only that it's been knocking about for years. Sorry phone won't let me post pic.

 

[CAS14]

Do you have a nearby university with an American art-history professor? Outside chance that he or she could lend some insight.

 

[Jansypan]

But what would the cricket bat, ball and stump have to do with the story? There's a gun carved on it too which would suggest hunting, rabbit. Also a violin a spade, honestly there's all sorts of things carved onto it. You notice something different each time you look at it. The handle is a dogs face or a walrus.

 

[gdenby]

Or approach a curator at a museum (art or historical.) w. American artifacts. The first big collection of walking sticks I ever saw was at a local history museum.

Don't know that the images represent a story. May just be a bunch of things that were important to the owner(s). Back when folks didn't have computer/TV/radio/phonograph, and maybe didn't have access to many books, sittin' around carving emblems of things you like to do on a stick would have been a good use of spare time. I say this 'cause the first sick I saw being carved was by a fellow during lunch while laying a new water line at a park near my grade school. Every day there was more stuff on it. I approached him, and asked what he was doing and if I could take a look. The stick was covered with fish, turtle, frog, and duck head shapes. He said the handle of one of the shovels they were using had snapped off, so he was making a walking stick. He like to fish on the days he had off, and those were what he saw when he was fishing.

 

[Jansypan]

Oh that's excellent more than likely explanation as great grandad was probably an Irish navvy brought over to build the local reservoir. How very interesting. Thanks for that xx