C002 - An elegant knobbly cane with hallmarked silver capping and mount.
Overall length 36 inches/90cm.
I found this cane on a junk stall at a steam fair. The knobbly shank caught my eye and the metalwork could turn out to be silver, though it was difficult to tell under the thick layers of accumulated grime.
After cleaning, it turned out to be a most attractive vintage stick in pretty good condition, and the metalwork was indeed hallmarked silver.
Although quite slim, the shank has adequate strength and stiffness. I am not familiar with the material, but I suspect it may be what is known as "Congo pearl". According to Theo Fossell's "Walking And Working Sticks", this material is actually sweet chestnut. A tool known as a "distresser" is applied to a young growing stem, punching lines of evenly-spaced ring-shaped holes into the soft bark. The stem is then left to grow while the wood forms lesions around the damaged areas, forming the knobbly pattern shown here.
On the other hand I could be wrong!
I checked this hallmark at Collectiques Hallmark Database (alas, now defunct - but see my Links page for another useful hallmark guide).
This indicates the silverwork was assayed at Birmingham (UK) in 1919, enabling us to put a pretty definite date on the cane itself.
The mount is rather battered, being of much thinner stuff than the capping, but appears to carry the same hallmark. Piecing together the initials which also appear on the capping, we appear to have "W.H.", which may be the maker's initials.
(I have turned this picture upside-down: the mount seems to have been fitted to the cane the wrong way up!)
I have fitted a new steel-tipped brass ferrule to the tip, the original being thoroughly worn out. In order to remove as little material as possible and to avoid any further damage to the tip, I mounted the ferrule with hot-melt glue. This provides protection against moisture and also means the ferrule can easily be replaced in future without damaging the end of the cane.
I revived the oil finish with a lick of boiled linseed oil and it has come up very nicely with no need for further finishing.
This is truly a collector's piece, though still a very practical and usable stick.
SOLD