So fervent was the demand by stature-hungry nobility for extravagant walking sticks that artisans were compelled to stretch the level of their creativity to new heights.

The cane's role as a token of social stature took hold during the 16th and 17th centuries when kings and aristocrats introduced them into society duly encrusted with jewels and precious metals. This remarkable collection of French walking sticks once belonged to Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-PГ©rigord, the Prince de BГ©nГ©vent and the ChГўteau de ValenГ§ay These rudimentary aides were indispensable as weapons, tools, supports and even as smuggling devices for money and other precious cargoes. Travelers of the Middle Ages would seldom take to the unfriendly roads without the protection of their walking stick. Indeed, the walking cane has always been used as a form of protection whether by design or circumstance. More than 100 staffs, or walking sticks, were found in his tomb undoubtedly to assist and protect him in the afterlife.

The cane's importance to the Egyptians extended from life even into death as exemplified by the legendary King Tut. Even the Pharaoh would have carried a special staff of some kind. Walking sticks, it seems, were very popular among the ancient Egyptians with each profession such as merchant, shepherd or priest possessing a walking cane of differing form and function. I will leave that argument to the historians.Д®ven farther back in time, numerous references to the walking cane can be found among ancient Egyptian artifacts. Cain used a stick to kill his brother Abel, and some enthusiasts have ventured to suggest that the word 'cane' was thusly derived. First written mention, if somewhat circumstantial, can be found in the Old Testament's Book of Genesis where the story of Cain and Abel unfolds. Ornate staffs carved with mythical characters and symbols would have belonged to prehistoric chieftains as would those made of mammoth tusks and stag horns. Since then the use, symbolism and form of the walking stick has evolved quite dramatically. The first canes were probably little more than tree branches used for support when prehistoric man took his first upright steps.

While it is impossible to expound on all of the fascinations of antique canes and cane collecting in such a limited space, the following is a brief overview of antique walking sticks along with a few hints on building a collection and a list of helpful reference materials.ДЇrom Prehistoric Man to the Thrones of Europe Yet despite their decline on the fashion scene, the walking stick is enjoying an extraordinary resurgence in popularity among collectors who have become fascinated with the history, workmanship and hidden treasures found in them. They generally lack the attention to aesthetic beauty that once dominated their manufacture. Today, canes are more utilitarian in nature and are used primarily as an aid for getting around. Of course, the dictates of society have changed drastically since then and the fashionable engagements that filled the days of the well-to-do are far less stringent.

They were much more a fashion accessory than walking aide. Unlike today, canes of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, often boasting handles of precious metals and jewels, served as symbols of wealth, power and social stature. In centuries past, well-heeled gentlemen, and ladies too, were seldom seen without a walking stick in hand.

Antique walking canes