Explorer's pistol fetches £19,000

Phillip Gregory of Lyon and Turnbull with the pistol

A flintlock pistol reputed to have belonged to Captain James Cook has been auctioned for almost twice its expected price.

The Belgian-made gun was sold in Edinburgh by a direct descendent of the legendary explorer's eldest sister.

Experts at Lyon and Turnbull, where the pistol was sold, said documentation backed its origins. The holster pistol had been expected to sell for £10,000 but was bought by someone from Australia for £19,290.

The auction company said it had received calls from Cook enthusiasts in New Zealand, Alaska, Australia, America and Malta.

John Batty, an expert from Lyon and Turnbull, said the explorer's descendent, Brenda Holder, who lives in Reading, had been very sad to part with the heirloom, which had been in the family for six generations.

'Very rare indeed'

He said: "They have no one to pass it on to and I'm sure it's gone to a good home.

"A private Australian buyer has bought it, I think because Cook was such an adventurer and a traveller, he has always appealed to Australians.

"This type of pistol itself isn't that rare but the Cook connection makes it very rare indeed, and we certainly get something like this every day."

Recently a walking stick made from the spear that killed the explorer was sold for a record £135,000.

Relatives of the explorer have a copy of the family tree as well as the will of James Cook's wife and other papers and photographs of interest.

The travels of the Yorkshire-born explorer ended in 1779 when he was killed by crowd of more than 1,000 warriors on a Hawaiian island.

After landing, a shot was fired and in the ensuing uproar Cook was clubbed to the ground and repeatedly stabbed by native spears.

His body was surrendered by the natives and was buried at sea on February 21, 1779.