A scarce clay pipe that depicts John L Sullivan and Jem Smith on opposite sides of the bowl. The pipe was likely made in anticipation of the highly touted contest between the two in 1887. Sullivan had travelled from the US with the hope of fighting the English champion, Smith. In Sullivan's own words he was 'blackguarded' out of the fight, and Smith went on to fight Jake Kilrain in France. A very rare piece featuring two legends of the bare knuckle era. 13cm long.

bowl

Attributes read from the catalogue text · provenance below

Estimate

A$60–100

Realised

A$40

Closed 13 Nov 2020, 01:00 View at the house ↗

727-729 High Street, Armadale, VIC 3143

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History

Provenance

Source: Leski Auctions
First seen: 25 Sept 2026, 15:05
Last seen: 25 Sept 2026, 15:05
Category: Collectables · classified by our model
Reference: This page is the durable record · survives the house removing its listing
Artifact hash: a1f19b59bca4 · integrity of the captured page

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