WALKING STICKS

"I picked up my hat and my heaviest stick" - Watson (STUD).

Every self respecting Victorian gentlemen, many ladies, and even children used walking sticks throughout the Victorian era. They served, and still serve, many purposes; yet, over time, these purposes have changed drastically from wardrobe decoration to more utilitarian purposes. In the Victorian era, walking sticks were used as a measure of social status, wealth, and power. They were the man's version of a purse - they could be changed to suit the occasion, show off his wealth (or lack thereof), and accompany him on his walks when, perhaps, no one else would. In these occassions, they could double as a security device should any ruffians await along the deserted lane. Indeed, many individuals mentioned in the Canon, such as Mr. Henry Baker in BLUE, Watson in LADY, Jim Browner with his "heavy oak stick" in CARD, and the Master himself used them for protection or violent purposes. Walking sticks of the era were decorated with intricate designs, jewels, gold, silver, porcelain, glass, and precious materials by artists throughout England and France. The wealthiest society members even had the option of a cane made entirely of ivory or with solid gold handles. Ornate versions that were less expensive included a gold accent collar and elegant shaft. Men would often keep a variety of canes for different occassions. Now, canes have evolved into medical walking aids; but those canes fall outside the realm of this discussion. Before beginning a discussion of the types of canes - and thereby the types of canes Dr. Watson & Mr. Holmes might have used, we must first examine the anatomy of the cane.

Canes have several different parts including the handle, collar, shaft, and ferrule or tip. There are several different types of handles including: knob, L-shaped, crutch, opera T, pistol grip, and hook (see below for examples). The collar attaches the handle to the shaft and is often a band of metal. Handles made of metal do not have collars. The shaft is the straight part of the cane. It is usually made of wood but can be made of bone, bamboo, horn, glass, or metal. Women carried slightly smaller dimension canes (and subsequently shafts) as most men have larger hands than a woman of the same height and weight. Originally, canes had a bare tip which limited the life expectancy of the stick. Often, the stick would become frayed and swollen at its terminal end. To protect the tip of the cane from wear and tear, inventors created the ferrule, which is a cap to cover the bottom. It is usually made of metal such as copper or silver with an iron heel. It can also be made of horn (including water buffalo horn) or ivory. Early canes has long brass ferrules up to 6 - 7 inches to protect the cane from mud on unpaved roads. As roads were topped, ferrules became progressively shorter. By the time Mr. Holmes & Dr. Watson were to stroll with their walking sticks, the ferrules would have been under 2 inches. The tip or "heel" is the end of the cane. Note: I found a different reference published in 1974 which named the ferrule the "finial" and the ferrule was labeled as the Collar. These seem to match the dictionary definitions closer but the above definitions are given as they are in wider use, including by Dr. Watson.

Before 1860, a hole was drilled through the cane's upper shaft but below the handles or collar, so that thongs could be passed through them to form a wrist cord. In more expensive canes these holes had metal, bone, or ivory eyelets placed on either side of the shaft to prevent wear and tear on the holes. These eyelet decorations came in various shapes and sizes and were made of iron, bone, ivory, horn and precious metals depending on the means and tastes of the owner. Tasseled ends were later added to the the simple loop to provide a more decorative effect.

The walking stick, or cane, comes in endless styles. Three different types have been identified to categorize the walking stick: decorative, folk art style, and system (or gadget) canes.

This is an Oaken walking stick in the folk art style, the kind of cane that John Hector McFarlane owned in NORW. It may also resemble Holmes' "Alpine-stock" in FINA.

The sword cane, below, is an example of system (or gadget) canes

This is an example of a decorative walking stick, such as a Victorian gentlemen might have owned.

The first, decorative, were embellished with artistic details and, usually, these were the types of canes carried by Victorian gentlemen. These canes may have taken several artists to complete one piece; and they often have a plain wood shaft with an intricately carved handle. The second, folk art, were usually crafted entirely of wood by an amateur craftsman. The folk canes are less formal in appearance, are often carved the length of its shaft, and seldomly have a ferrule. The third type, system (or gadget) canes were at the height of their popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries. They always have a second or hidden purpose; and they secreted a variety of objects. Professional canes carried tradesmen items (such as scalpels and syringes for a doctor). City canes carried necessities such as cigars or even musical instruments like flutes or violins. Outdoor canes included items one might need for outdoor activities such as a compass or fishing items. Weapon canes concealed weapons such as a sword or even a gun. Sword canes, as well as canes in general, come in countless varieties. For instance, swords blades came in the following varieties: foil, single-edge, oval double edge, flat hexagon double edge, diamond, triangle, or small sword edge. And that's just the main type of swords found in sword canes! Count Negretto Sylvius owned (and tried to use) his "loaded cane" in MAZA. His cane seems to have been loaded with a sword (rather than a gun) since he needed to make "the final spring and blow."

When identifying canes, the handle is the most important part of the cane; and it comes in endless varieties. Handles have been made of tortoise shell, bone, antler, bronze, wood, snakeskin, leather, sharkskin, and glass. Handles typed depended entirely on the owner's taste and comfort. Below are 7 of the most common handle types, but there are countless more.

Knob

L-Shape or Crop Handle

Crutch or Crooked Tau

Opera

T-Shaped

Pistol Grip

Crook

Metal handles, usually gold or chased silver knob handles, could be inscribed and used as presentation sticks. Collars were also used for less expensive inscriptions (as the amount of precious metal in collars was far less than entire handles). Scholars will recall that the Charing Cross Hospital inscribed the silver collar on a cane for Dr. James Mortimer with, "To James Mortimer, M.R.C.S., from his friends of the C.C.H. 1884" in HOUN.

Canes may be identified by their handles; but a few also have their own name. The "Tippling cane," was a system cane that hid a whiskey flask. The "dueling cane" held two swords for dueling purposes. There were also specialty canes, of course. Masons such as Jabez Wilson (REDH) or John Hector McFarlane (NORW) might have had one a three-sided Masonic cane among their collection.

Of the actual canes of Holmes and Watson, we know little. But a few facts point us on our way. During their period, ivory and bone cane handles were becoming rarer; but antler, horn, brass, gold, and silver were becoming more mainstream. Canes no longer sported eyelets and wrist cords. The ferrules had already been dramatically shortened and would not have exceeded two inches. From the middle of the nineteenth century, the modern crook handle was becoming a favorite among walking stick patrons (and continued rising in popularity through the first quarter of the twentieth century).

Since Holmes is "rather over six feet," the dimension of his cane's shaft would also have been larger than that of shorter men because the force with which he naturally struck the ground would have been greater (since the cane was longer). If one assumes Holmes was 6"1 or 6"2 and using a rough estimate, his canes would have been about 37" long. I estimate Watson at being about 5"8 (see Dr. John H. Watson for details). So, if we take Watson's height as 5"8, his canes would have averaged roughly 36".

As to Watson, it is known he had at least 3 canes; for he notes he grabbed his "heaviest" cane in SIGN. Instead of using a comparative adjective (between two items), he used a superlative adjective, thereby indicating he had at least three canes. Holmes, himself, likely had a moderate sized collection. Canes are not often mentioned by Watson except when necessary to the story, and naturally this would be so; for like one's socks, one needs not mention something that would have been considered a little mundane at the time. Jeremy Brett has been criticized for portraying the Master with a cane a great deal more than mentioned in the Canon, but it was very likely the correct interpretation given the usage of canes at the time.

Since both Dr. Watson and Mr. Holmes often used their canes as protection and security devices, they likely owned a few heavier, more durable canes designed for this purpose in addition to a few more elegant evening accessory walking sticks. Holmes might, indeed, have had his own "Penang Lawyer." Holmes might have weighted his protection canes with lead like Fitzroy Simpson, but for the opposite reason - being that Holmes was often a target of the underworld because of his line of work.

He did have a walking stick for the country which was a "long thin cane" (SPEC); although given that it would have had to have been so long to fit him, even a thicker wood would have given the illusion that it was thin by the nature of its elongation. The wood of this particular cane was hearty specimen, properly fitting a country walk, as he used the cane to beat the serpent without breaking the cane.

Therefore, we find Watson and Holmes probably have between 3-5 "decorative" style canes each with 1 - 1.5" ferrules capping the bottoms. They did not have eyelets or wrist cords. They were likely made of a wood shaft with handles made of antler, horn, brass, gold, or silver. It is likely both Holmes and Watson had at least one cane with a crook handle. Since knob handles, carved or uncarved, have also always been popular, these are also likely candidates among the collection. In addition, Pistol Grip or Knob canes would seem to give the most solid striking top in times of peril, redoubling the possibility of finding the other canes with these handles. At least one of each set, and likely at least two, were made of a heavy, sturdy wood; and they may well have been Penang Lawyers. Holmes had a set longer and therefore slightly thicker than Watson; and he may have had at least one walking stick inscribed and given by a grateful client at the conclusion of some unrecorded case. The good Doctor might well have had, among his collection, a doctor's cane which secreted away syringe, vials, gauze packs, and tongue depressors. More than this, I can tell you nothing.

On a related note, in STUD Watson remarks that Holmes "[i]s an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman." Singlestick is a martial art related to fencing and stick fighting using a wooden weapon; and stick fighting is the use of a a small staff, cane or walking stick as a blunt hand weapon -- a skill that would assist Holmes in his line of work a great many times, to be sure - and it is certainly why Holmes made certain his walking stick was with him in times of danger when hand to hand fighting was more likely than gun play.

Stick fighting with Canes as shown in Pearson’s Magazine, 11 (February 1901)

For further information, see:
cane fighting methods
Victorian singlestick match
Irish Stickfighting

A great deal of information for this study came from Bill Rau's article, "Collecting Antique Walking Sticks" and the now defunct website Canes.org. Further information was obtained by Kurt Stein's, "Canes & Walking Sticks." Information on the Penang Lawyer comes from the Hobson-Jobson Dictionary.