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try as we might to show our collector's something that they may find
interesting or not seen before... it is not always possible! This years
2012 card has attempted to prove it can be done... crammed full of
goodies, many totally unique ~ but they do take some close viewing to
spot! There are examples of all three of our speciality areas, walking
canes, arms & armour & marine. We do hope that you will be able to visit
the gallery during the course of the year as there can never be the same
experience as seeing an item first hand... but for those who cannot make
it this is designed to tempt you!
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we so often refer to a walking cane as an accessory to one's costume, so
it is not surprising to see in formal portraiture the inclusion of a cane
in the sitting arrangement. Indeed portraits of this period were usually
painted with the sitter wearing all their finery - and perhaps home and
lands in the background ~ to show off ones social position and wealth.
Here are just a few examples of both 18th and 19th century oil portraits
.... with the sitter and their other worldly goods "cut out" so that we
can focus on the cane!
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"Without My Walking Stick, I'd go insane, can't look my best, I feel
undressed without My cane" ! .... and so the song goes!
Truly the
anthem for all cane collectors... Do check out the link on You Tube of
"The Shots" rendition of this little number...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6LCQaPttpE&feature=related
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... perhaps some may be familiar with this very handsome portrait of a
grayhound by the English artist Sir Edwin Landseer (1803-73) painted in
1841 ~ the original is an oil on canvas commissioned by Queen Victoria &
presented to her husband Prince Albert at Christmas 1841. Described as
‘very friendly if there is plum-cake in the room … keen on hunting, sleepy
after it, always proud and contemptuous of other dogs’, Prince Albert’s
beloved greyhound Eos stands poised and alert, guarding her master’s
possessions. Note one of which is an exceptional ivory handled malacca
cane! ... Greyhounds were traditionally associated with court life and
also appear in portraits by Titian & Van Dyck, & along with whippets are
the first breed of dogs seen in early portraiture & landscapes..
Since
Buckingham Palace has recently been open to the public, some may even have
been fortunate enough to see the original of Eos for themselves, as it is
positioned in a central location in the Royal Palace, at the top of the
main hall staircase! Victorian's may well have been aware of this portrait
& knowing that a Royal painting had been comissioned enticed collector's
of the time to commission their own version of the painting.. Here is a
very fine example of such a work, shown next to the original, & obviously
not quite a Landseer... it remains the next best thing!
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found this early advert, made for the American market to sell "London
Life" cigarettes, which displays a stylised Gentleman in his finery, which
includes a black silk top hat, tall stiff collar shirt, silk tie, kid
leather gloves & of course a formal ebonised walking cane! ~ the advert
continues.. "By Appointment to His Royal Highness. The American
Gentleman"... the downside to looking like a Gentleman & smoking at the
same time is perhaps that you can no longer have a hand free...
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Great News for all cane collector's worldwide ~ dates have been set for
the next Canemania 2012 conference, to be held in Chicago USA from
September 12th - 16th ~ this is the main by annual event for cane
collector's and not to be missed so book up early as spaces are limited! ~
for information about this event, how to sign up, and further details
please view the conference web site at: www.canemania2012chicago.com
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It has just been bought to my attention that a certain Ms. Jennifer Lopez
topped the "10 Most Popular Song Performances of 2011" with her rendition
of a little ditti called "On the Floor" ~ where she was accompanied by a
gentleman rapping artist by the name of "Pitbull".... In the picture below
we can see Ms. Lopez performinng this number at the 2011 American Music
Awards in Los Angeles in November, 2011. This is a mighty fine example of
a Lady, who wearing a entertaining "sparkling" number has gone the extra
mile to find a walking cane to match her attire... Bravo to Jenny from the
Block!
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We recently had a visit from a well known collector who had just
celebrated the most special occasion of his daughter's wedding... In true
fashion the Father of the Bride has to give his daughter away and on this
well rehearsed day how better to do such an important task than whilst
carrying one of your canes! ~ bravo for such great style ~ and
congratulations to Diana who looked so beautiful...
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We frequently refer to whalebone canes for which there is a strong
following amongst cane collectors. These are canes carved by whalers and
made whilst at sea from the spoils of the whale. However, where does the
bone actually come from? The best canes are carved from the pan bone, the
flared spoon like rear portion of the sperm whale jaw, and only the whale
teeth themselves were more prized. The reason was that the pan is the
largest and densest bone occurring in nature and lent itself to being cut,
carved, and engraved in large segments.
Here is such a complete bone,
which in this example has been carved with the whaleing port that
presumably it was caught from, and can clearly be seen to read "Hammerfest
1898". It has been used as a piece of decorative natural history, and
would have been intended to be mounted on a wall, perhaps over a doorway.
It clearly shows the type of material that we see in whaler's crafted
canes, and although this is a relatively small example, gives you some
idea of where and how the whalers' had to go about starting to create such
beautiful works of art.
Hammerfest is in Norway, and was the most
Northern fishing and whaling port ~ and as this early picture shows was
clearly rather bleak!
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Just come across this rather wonderful photograph of Enrico Caruso (Feb 25
1873 - August 2 1921) ~ the magnificent Italian tenor... here he is
looking rather splendid ~ & of course, wearing a cane! ~ sadly we don't
own this one ~ but I would love to know who does?
Caruso was born
and died in Naples, Italy. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera
houses of Europe and North and South America, appearing in a wide variety
of roles from the Italian and French repertoires that ranged from the
lyric to the dramatic. He also made approximately 290 commercially
released recordings from 1902 to 1920. All of these recordings, which span
most of his stage career, are still available today!
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We are frequently asked if anybody today actually "wears" a walking cane
for its original purpose, that is to say as a true fashion accessory..
Well
I think we have found a Society of Gentleman who are indeed fine
supporters of the use of canes!
This amazing photo was taken by
Daniele Tamagni from the book - "The Gentleman of Bacongo" ~ of the
Sapeurs in Congo-Brazzaville: eccentric dandies, who raise fashion to an
almost religious status. Their name comes from SAPE ~ La Societe des
Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elegantes ~ translated to The society of
Tastemakers and Elegant People ~ In general they do live in poverty but as
one Sapeur describes the strange combination of poverty and fashion "A
Congolese sapeur is a happy man even if he does not eat, because wearing
proper clothes feeds the soul and gives pleasure to the body".... A Sapeur
never combines more than three colours, and increases his status with a
cigar and a walking cane.. This society started in the eighties, but
remains a phenomenon with many followers.... so now you know!
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Al Jolson (May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was an American singer,
comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest
Entertainer". In the 1930s, he was America's most famous and highest paid
entertainer. Between 1911 and 1928, Jolson had nine sell-out Winter Garden
shows in a row, more than 80 hit records, and 16 national and
international tours. Although he's best remembered today as the star in
the first (full length) talking movie, The Jazz Singer, in 1927.
According
to the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, "Jolson was to jazz,
blues, and ragtime what Elvis Presley was to rock 'n' roll". Being the
first popular singer to make a spectacular "event" out of singing a song,
he became a “rock star” before the dawn of rock music.
He
enjoyed performing in blackface makeup – a theatrical convention since the
mid-19th century. With his unique and dynamic style of singing black
music, like jazz and blues, he was later credited with single-handedly
introducing African-American music to white audiences. As early as 1911 he
became known for fighting against anti-black discrimination on Broadway.
Jolson's well-known theatrics and his promotion of equality on Broadway
helped pave the way for many black performers, playwrights, and
songwriters, including Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Fats
Waller, and Ethel Waters.
This is an extrodinary collector's
walking cane, carved in wood & hand painted in a likeness to the famous
entertainer!
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this beautiful 18th Century gold top cane depicts a man attempting to
court a young maiden ~ in the tried & tested method of presenting her with
flowers! ~ February 14th is of course Valentine's Day ~ traditionally a
day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting
flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards known as
"valentines".
What better way to celebrate this day this
for a cane collector than this cane!
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Now largely forgotten, in the early to mid 1900's Sir Harry Lauder was one
of the most famous entertainers in the world. A gifted singer, songwriter
and comedian, he sold millions of recordings and filled theatres all over
the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the USA. One of his Trademark
items was a very crooked walking stick ~ of which he had many ~ and during
our research into Harry, we came across a collector called Jim Vallance
who has created a really marvellous web site with a section all about the
singer, with very informed details about him and his collection ~ the
pictures alone are very amusing & worth viewing ~ so please check out this
link below to go directly to his site & history of the Scottish ballardeer
who diied in 1950... (Jim has given his conscent to use this link to see
his site)
www.jimvallance.com/02-family-folder/harry-lauder-folder/lauder-pages/harry-lauder-sticks-canes/pg-lauder-sticks-canes.html#
The
images of the cane that we show here is a typical example of one of
Harry's canes, with a silver plate engraved detailing it as having been
gifted by his niece Greta Lauder in 1955...
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can anybody throw some light as to just who is this "jilted" horned man? ~
a recent aqusition, this truly fabulous figurative ivory handled cane, of
a courting couple with a misterious figure behind them, who is looming in
the background but also clasping a dagger! Please also note the horns! Do
please get in touch if you have any ideas as to who this mythical
character might be... we have a few ideas of our own but as they are
mostly still alive... and this beautiful carving was created in around
1870, I guess we would be wrong to suggest anybody! ... ideas please!
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We recently met a very hip young stylist called Madeleine Ostlie who we
helped out on a London fashion shoot with some canes ~ and she very kindly
wrote about her visit on her Blog. What struck me about the images she
took was that they were obviously taken with a "fashion designers" eye and
although they are only snap shots ~ they have an edge to them that we
rarely see in the antique world! Do have a look at this great fashion blog
~ for all sorts of inspiration!! - you have been warned! ~
www.seamlessfashion.blogspot.com
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A very charming lady visited our store by the off chance whilst walking
down Kensington Church Street having visited one of the many fine
restaurants in the street for lunch... She duly rang the bell & said she
simply had to come in as the window had caught her attention! Elisabeth
Robinson is journalist & a regular contributor to The New York Times, and
her articles are often in the travel section of the paper. She kindly
wrote about us in the "Foraging In London" section & even found a cane to
purchase for a friend!
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The Mail on Sunday's Toby Walne wrote a feature for the paper featuring
interesting collectables that seem off the normal radar to most, which not
only give the collector great pleasure and enjoyment, but also, have
proved to be quite sound investments! Of the collecting fields included he
wrote a feature about walking canes which he asked us to help with ~ and
we even managed to persuade a collector ~ typically a very shy species ~
to get involved and be featured! Interestingly other collecting fields
that he featured included Teddy bears, travel posters & moon rocks!
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The story of the Chiiliean Miners successful resue touched the whole world
& was a real celebration of joy for all... not that often do we find
ourselves so uplifted.. also unusually do we see new subjects in walking
canes that we have never seen before ~ but here are is a collection of
three canes all relating to miners, carved as one peice walking canes! Two
are modeled as the head's of a miner, the third as a full standing working
man. The canes are almost certainly made from oak, and there are also
emblems carved in high relief on the upper section of the shafts that are
similar; typically being the tools of the trade, a pick shovel and a
miner's Davy lamp. Each Miner also wears a typical helmet, and one example
appears to show some sign of being decorated white with paint. During the
last year we have aquired this small collection which we think are
charming; possibly carved by the same hand, but true works of Folk Art,
inspired by the mining industry ~ now reminding us of the inspiring events
that ended on 14th October 2010 ~ colour postcard available
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Discovered recently, this walking stick belonged to the British spy &
multi millionaire explorer William Gill (1844 - 1883), & was used to
bludgeon him to death in the Sinai desert. The intricately carved walking
stick was used by Bedouin tribesmen to murder Gill at the age of 39 in
1883 whilst he was gathering secret intelligence for the British
government.
It is not known who killed Gill or why, but he died whilst on his way to cut
the telegraph lines between Constantinople and Alexandria. Gill is buried
in St. Paul's Cathedral, London.. He became a multi millionaire overnight
through inheritance, but instead of quitting his job in the army he
continued to travel the world using his fortune to finance a series of
explorations, while at the same time gathering intelligence for the
British government as a spy. .His explorations took him to Persia, China,
Tibet, India, the Balkans, Turkey and North Africa. He kept intricate
diaries of his travels which he regularly sent to his mother. Detailing
public transport, hotels, catering, architecture and the interesting
people he met. They were bequeathed to the Royal Geographical Society in
London to whom they were bequeathed in 1932 by a Mrs Rea. He was awarded
the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington, London..
This story is an interesting one & we have more research detailling the
sequence of events that came to the demise of this famous and important
historical explorer... ~ the walking cane can be viewed by appointment
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Back in May 2010 Canemania 2010 was held in Milan and was a tremendous
success. A great time was had by all, with interesting lectures, visits to
museums and fine public buildings and a superb evening gala dinner with
live opera singing. This was all down to the hard work of our Italian
friends Pier Luigi Carboni & Pierangelo Marengo and their commitee ~ for
which they deserve great thanks. It was a perfect opportunity for
collectors to get together whilst enjoying superb surroundings &
entertainment ~ and indeed old freinds and collectors came from all over
the world to attend the event. Watch this space to hear further news of
the next Canemania collectors conference which has been proposed to be
held in Chicago, USA during 2012!
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Right in the center of the beautiful city of Milan is a large shopping
area. Located in the prime position is a flagship Prada fashion store ~ &
as you enter this grand homage to high fahion & very soft leather ~ you
are confronted by a beautiful large display cabinet containing the
companies cane & parasol collection! It takes up quite a large amount of
this very valuable display space ~ which only bears witness to just how
important walking canes are! The items are not for sale but are intended
to show the early origins of the company ~ well worth a visit even if you
dont need more boots or handbags ....
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a visit to the National Trust property Kingston Lacy in Dorset bought
about a surprise sighting of a small yet rather fine collection of walking
canes! Home of the Bankes family for more than 300 years, this striking
17th-century house is noted for its lavish interiors. The outstanding art
collection includes paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, Titian and Brueghel,
with the largest private collection of Egyptian artefacts in the UK.
However, in a modest way it is when you first enter the house that the
surprise awaits you as there almost in the doorway, what is actually now
the entrance hall of the building is this interesting assortment including
both decorative & system canes, also with formal & folk art canes. ~ do
please let us know if you ever come accross such sightings on your
travels!
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Do look out for "Bel Ami" which comes out in 2011 ~ a film with a truly
star studded cast, Robert Pattinon, Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman, Kristin
Scott Thomas to name just some! plus a selection of star studded
supporting quality walking canes which we loaned for the filming. There
are some great period dress scenes many showing canes being used for
purpose ~ as a true dress accessory ~ the canes will be on display
during the year in the gallery
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Its not so often that we Brits get the chance to celebrate any victory in
the world sporting arena ~ even more so at the games we invented ~ so on
this rare occasion and in celebration of actually beating our great
friends & rivals the Aussies on their home turf ~ just to rub it in as we
have in the past sufferred so miserably at their hands ~ The Retention of
The Ashes ~ is worth a party! We have over a very long time
collected this selection of cricket related canes waiting for this
opportunity to celebrate them with you! ~ walking canes with handles
formed as hands & ball shape handles are not really very rare, but what
unites this selection is that in each case the ball has a "stitching"
detail as you would see on a cricket ball & in some cases the canes are
also carved along the shaft with cricket motifs, such as stumps! ~ colour
postcard available!
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England tends not to cope very well when bad weather strikes! ~ and so
just before Christmas with various storms and foul weather Kensington
Church Street sufferred a electricity failure that put the whole street
into darkness for nearly a whole day! Fortunately opposite us is a great
restaurent "Ffiona's" which is well known for its candlelit suppers ~ and
so to our rescue she came with over 40 candles which gave the gallery a
certain church like theme for the day and also kept the heat up!
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"The Walking Stick" came out in 1970 staring David Hemmings and Samantha
Eggar, and even with the sub title .... "She Couldn't Refuse Him
Anything!" .. surprisingly appears not to have been a
blockbuster! However it is good news to all us collectors' to have had a
film named after one of our passions! We were thrilled to aquire an
original poster for the film which now hangs proudly in the gallery
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My friend Andy Carroll's passion is riding a bicycle ... now in its 10th
year "The Fireflies Ride" is a group of riders who undertake an enormous
challenge of riding their bicycles - 8 gruelling days of cycling from
Geneva to Cannes, 1000km across the French Alps - all in aid of Leuka -
their mantra being "for those who suffer we ride.."
Founded
in 1982 Leuka is a registered charity dedicated to raising funds to
support research into the causes and treatment of leukaemia at London's
Hammersmith Hospital. At the forefront of clinical and scientific advances
for the past thirty years, the specialist unit at the Hammersmith already
has an international reputation for excellence and innovation.
This is
a charity close to our hearts as some may know, Michael German is
currently a cancer sufferer and is treated at this amazing center.. Read
more about the Fireflies at www.thefirefliesride.com and please watch the
amazing short clip by film maker Nick Mason
Please consider supporting
Andy and Leuka if you feel it is possible - visit his link to make any
donation: www.justgiving.com/TenaciousFox
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a keen collector found this amusing clip and kindly passed it onto us - it
is great fun - filmed in Abbey House Museum, Kirkstall, Yorkshire. Learn
about Mr. Maynard Mitchell, a well known rabologist (collector of walking
sticks) as he has to catalogue a newly acquired collection of walking
sticks. The background music, the note taking scretary and the voice over
commentary make this a classic!
Just view this link! :
https://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=172
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On a recent trip to London to pick up a BAFTA for "The Wrestler", a
charming gentleman kindly made a pit stop to visiit us. Thinking that to
complete his attire certainly a fine walking cane was required.... and so
with careful thought and consideration a most elegant option was duly
selected!
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We are delighted to announce our new cane display stand to compliment the
exisitng circular stand that we already have made & supply in various
woods. We have been looking for some time for an additional stand to add
to our range for collectors' & at last we have this design & found
somebody clever enough to make it to a top standard. This is a large two
tiered traditional "fan display" model which holds up to 24 canes
individually ~ each socket & ring is lined in soft green baise fabric for
protection. It has been faithfully copied from an original Victorian
example with all the dimensions faithfully reproduced & can be made to
order in most woods ~ it is manufactured today by wood craftsmen to the
highest quality ~ we currently have examples available in both oak &
walnut wood which look stunning! The overall height of the stand is
68.5cms / 27 inches & the width at the furthest point is 82cms /
32.5inches ~ for more details please see our section under the title of
cane stands...
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"Vertical Art: The Enduring Beauty of Antique Canes and Walking Canes"
(Hudson Hills Press) ~ this amazing book is a demonstration of the art of
walking canes in their finest glory ~ this beautiful book shows 377 canes
and is 400 pages with slipcase ~ it was launched at Canemania 2008 in
Paris and is truly a unique selection of some of the finest canes ~
photographed in colour with tremendous style by Italian photographer
Umberto Barone, it has been produced to the very highest standard ~ this
book sets a standard for the collection of canes and is a must for all
serious collectors ~ not just of canes but items of beauty!
In the
caption below entitled "Mondo Cane" this excellent book is reviewed by Eve
M. Kahn in the New York Times, date December 26, 2008
The book is
available to purchase directly from www.verticalartcanebook.com, and for
further images of whats inside visit the site which is almost as splendid
as the book!
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for some time now kind customers have requested seeing images of our
changing window ~ those who have visited us know it is actually very small
but the challange is always on to fit in as much as possible, making it
hopefully an eye catching puzzle for passer byes ~ however we frequently
have new visitors to the shop who say somthing like .. "I have passed by
for over 10 years and never made it in" ~ to which we always think we must
be doing somthing terribly wrong! ~ here are some views of current &
windows past!
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Such was the success of Renzo Traballesi's exhibition held in Sienna in
September 2007 that the exhibition was asked to be presented in Milan - to
an even larger audiance. By the time this had come about Renzo had been
approached by various collectors that they also had canes that could
warrant being included in this second exhibition. This additional
catalogue was written to acompany the full exhibition version and is an
interesting and worthy text for any collector.
Now available at £18.00 plus p&p
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Finishing in September 2007 was the highly successful cane exhibition at
the Santa Maria Della Scala museum in Siena, Italy, organised by cane
collector Renzo Traballesi. For those of you who missed it or were unable
to attend we have for sale copies of the exhibition catalogue - this is a
must for any cane collector as the quality and production of the images is
truly excellent. It runs to three hundred pages plus and is in full
colour, and the pages are approx. within the A4 format. Published by
Priuli & Verlucca and priced at £30.00 plus p&p
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In the early 1990's we produced two video tapes illustrating over two
hundred and thirty fine quality antique canes, with the view of sharing
knowledge in the subject by showing some of the highest quality items to
be found by the collector of today.
“Sticks to Canes - Part One” we
cover the earlier period from 1550 to 1840 and includes a group of the
early ivory pique canes, similar period early silver ones, ornate gold
examples, a group with early porcelain handles, a few historical items
including a cane belonging to Lord Byron and another of Napoleon III. On
show to be viewed also are some early system canes including a magnificent
Admiral’s telescope cane by Elliot, London, with its shaving set, lamp,
writing implements, drawing tools and wax candle; a group of watches, some
early flintlock gun canes made by Klett and Jones, and a few of the
earliest sword canes produced. There is a selection of early musical items
including violins, clarinets, flutes etc. Among other rarities are three
nutcracker canes and a Martin microscope, complete with original it’s
slides.
“Sticks to Canes - Part Two” we cover the main period for
the collector of today, from approximately the 1840’s and ending with the
era including the world war of 1914. In this section can be found a group
of fine Marine whalebones including architectural examples, a group of
fine ivories, cased gold mounted tortoiseshells, medical items including
hearing aids, a group of amusing wood and ivory articulated animal heads
and many system canes including watches, sword and gun canes, a large
selection of mainly silver cigarette, pipe, lighter and snuff canes. There
is also a group of Faberge canes and handles from his St Petersburg and
Moscow workshops, Folk Art items and many more unusual pieces.
By
revising this project into a DVD we bow to the march of technological
progress and hope that the collector of today will gain some further
insight and that future collectors will be inspired to start collections
in this fascinating subject.
The duration is for Part 1 1:37 and
for Part 2 1:44, and the DVD is available in both European and American
formats, professionally filmed and recorded - priced at £20.00 each film
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