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 as ambulation aids, 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 ivory, 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, 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.