Collecting Canes and Sticks

A rustic walking stick, such as a stout blackthorn with a crooked horn handle is a great friend on a country walk and can be adapted to: knock fruit off trees overhanging roads; fend off unfriendly dogs; kill poisonous snakes and give a lift to get up steep slopes. However their suaver cousins, town canes and sticks, are seldom seen now; except, maybe, at a wedding or very formal event. However, because of the wide variety of materials and high levels of skill often involved in their manufacture, they make very collectable items. Here, from the bottom up, is a little selection, from the range of antiques available from www.antiquewalkingsticks.co.uk:
First, a carved ivory monkey head, cleverly inset into the briar stick; a malacca cane topped by a wood nymph carved in ivory; an ebony swordstick; a gold-topped snakewood stick and a horn-handled, silver-lapped partridge cane.