Exhibition Grade Dress Sword Cane

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Masterpiece Cane Auction

By Kimball Sterling

May 24, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-05-24 11:00:00 2025-05-24 11:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Masterpiece Cane Auction https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/kimball-sterling/masterpiece-cane-auction-19479
A European Masterpiece Cane Auction Kimball Sterling kimballsterling@earthlink.net

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• Lot Description
  Ca. 1880 The cane is fashioned of a single piece of laurel with a formal crook handle. The slender clum shows well-defined, regularly alternating nodes and progressively elongated segments, distinguished by a hardly noticeable taper and evident and richly hued veins throughout. It is heeled by a metal ferrule. The handle detaches via a concealed, precisely geared, and fully functional quarter-turn lock mechanism, revealing a 19-inch tall, forged, and polished angular blade. It showcases two blood grooves on the broader sides for weight reduction and enhanced stiffness, to end in a beautifully stretching, long, and sleek tip. Furthermore, the blade features a broader panel with the signature “TOLEDO” positioned between its scroll ornate ends. The cane features an inconspicuous profile, making it the perfect disguised defensive weapon. It survived in its original superb condition. A long gilt metal end cap, with beautifully engraved initials, along with a pair of matching plain collars that conceal the breaking line, adds an elegant, personalizing, classy touch. The passage of time has imparted to it the indefinable and cherished character of great collectibles. Notably, sword canes rarely come in this slender quality and were a popular fashion accessory for wealthy and upper-class men, who were routinely trained in swordsmanship and wished to carry a weapon for self-defense. Despite decades of ongoing efforts and the research by several members of the cane community, the true origin of the name “Toledo,” which occasionally appears on upscale sword cane blades, remains uncertain. However, the prevailing mindset favors a marketing label suggesting the blades were crafted in Toledo, Spain. In reality, a significant portion of these blades, as well as the canes were produced at the Manufacture Francaise D'Armes & Cycles in Saint-Étienne (Loire). H. 6 ½” x 4”, O.L. 35 ½” $1,200-$1,800 As a rule, most gentlemen of the 19th century owned a wide variety of canes. That collection would, and indeed, have included at least one sword, dagger, or stiletto cane. One has to remember that during the 19th century, a man's honor was sacrosanct, and the slightest verbal infraction against that honor was considered an affront worthy of a duel to the death. The wise man was consistently prepared, and the bearer of a sword cane was even more so.
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