An item much feared by landsmen during the 18th. & 19th. Century, as it was used to "encourage" men to enlist in the Royal Navy! As so many men would spend their leisuretime and wages in the inns and taverns, they were easy pickings for the Press Gangs that would roam the streets at night, looking for potential recruits for the Royal Naval ships, by whacking them over the head as they staggered home to bed. When they finally awoke, nursing sore heads, they'd discover themselves to be far away at sea, maybe never to return home again.
The "working end" is heavily weighted with lead, and finely bound with intricate plaiting, and the original leather wrist-strap is neatly bound to the wooden shaft by fine stringing. It measures 10ins. (15ins. including the strap).