A spectacular look at the exquisite artistry of the walking stick. This visually arresting, lavishly produced art photography book with concise informative text features nearly 400 antique canes from all over the world. The collection is rich in outstanding jewelled examples, Art Nouveau and Art Deco designs from some of the world's most renowned artists, as well as splendid earlier ivories, porcelains, folk art and marine carved canes. Walking sticks, like many objects from the hand of man, contain a wealth of history. In use since before the time of Tutankhamen, they have been put to service over the centuries not just as ambulation aids, but as symbols of authority and status, presentation gifts, and fashionable accessories. Most often, they were not utilitarian, they were worn as an adornment and valued for their beauty. Canes tell us about the culture, fashion, values and diversions of the people who owned them and the era in which they were made. Many are truly objects d'art, fashioned of coral, tortoise, silver, gold, platinum, wood, crystal, steel, porcelain, tortoiseshell, minerals, and precious and semi-precious stones. They have as their subject love, death, religion, politics, theater, war, vocations, history, hobbies, and puzzles. They may contain secret compartments and surprises hidden within. Some have been made by legendary artists, some by unlettered folk craftsmen and mariners lonely at sea. They are allegorical, metaphorical and, sometimes, just self-evidently beautiful. Photography by Umberto Barone; Concept and Design by Pierangelo Marengo and Piero Luigi Carboni; Set Design by Giacomo Barone; Text by Roberta Maneker; Jewelry Historian Simon Teakle; Foreword by Wendell Garrett.