Sea chest

Sea chest belonging to John Adams d. 1829, the 'Bounty' mutineer and landed by him on Pitcairn when the ship was burnt in 1789. The chest has straight sides and is of dovetailed construction. The lid consists of two boards with an overlap at the short ends. The front of the chest is flush and it has iron strap hinges. The brass lock is a replacement and the keyhole has been blocked. It seems to have had an iron handle on the right hand end at some point (now removed) and to have been nailed or screwed shut in the past. On a brass plate on the lid, the inscription 'SEA CHEST WHICH BELONGED TO JOHN ADAMS THE MUTINEER OF H.M.S. BOUNTY'.

Provenance: Acquired by the Reverend W. H. Holman. He arrived on Pitcairn in 1852 during a visit by Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresby in HMS 'Portland', and remained there until 1853, while the pastor of the island - George Hunn Nobbs, returned to England to be ordained. Holman gave the chest to the Royal United Service Institute. It was transferred to the National Maritime Museum, when the RUSI museum closed in 1963.

Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Royal United Service Institution Collection