Collecting Antique Canes and Umbrellas, Great Fun
07.25.08By Val Ubell
I started collecting umbrellas about 12 years ago. Hubby and I took a trip out east, to Maine. While there, we visited the L.L. Bean store and I bought one with the little ducky for a handle. Actually bought two of them, one for a souvenir for our oldest granddaughter. These are actually put to good use. A while later, I found several at a sale and they had bakelite handles. I decided to put them into a stand by the door.
The next one I found had a clear plastic handle, and the rest is history.
A few years back my hubby came home with a very unusual find. It was a cane with some type of bone and he still had the tag from the estate sale. It was “shark’s vertebrae.” He asked what I thought it might be worth. And my rather sassy response was “what do you think, we can just go to an antiques book, look inside and find a price for a cane made of shark’s vertebrae?” He chuckled and got out a few books and ‘voila’, there it was, exactly as stated! It was valued at about $120, which was about $100 more than he paid for it. We re-tagged it and put it in our case at the antique mall. It sold in just 5 days. After that, I did more searching for them and while I have never found another one quite like that, have been able to locate a few unique ones.
My latest was this carved wooden cane, featuring the head of a dog and with glass eyes. More than I usually spend, but it was so charming that I had to buy it.
I really like the handle on this umbrella, nicely carved with the talons of a bird, holding a ball. If you look closely at the carving, you’ll see a number ‘7.’ Not sure what that signifies, perhaps just good luck to the user.
And as my luck would have it, another estate sale netted me this lovely antique cane, quite fancy with gold plated detailing. You know it is an old one because it reads “A.R. 1894.”
Another one, with gold and mother of pearl, reads “A Merry Christmas.”
This one with the ‘bone’ is nicely shaped too.
My grandkids call this the ’snake’ and it sure does look like that with its curvy style and silver detailing.
I could have told Maddie that canes were originally a symbol of status and that walking sticks or canes have been part of the human lifestyle since we stood upright. Or that these began being popular in the late 19th century as an important piece of fashion. But that might have overwhelmed her. For now, she just likes looking them over and carefully handling them. And that’s alright with me.
Serious collectors know where to look; antique stores and auctions, even the internet. They display them proudly as do I and are always on the look-out for other treasures.
