Canes were a flourishing business in the 19th century, employing thousands of people across a wide range of jobs. According to official French communal records from around 1850, there were approxi- mately 250 registered firms operating cane factories in Paris alone. The key to getting the right materials and professionals for every manufacturing task is this. Numerous data indicate that demand for canes made from a single piece of rare wood with an integral, distinctive crook handle signifi- cantly exceeded production capacity. Posh retailers offered these in the fashionable capitals of the Western world at exorbitant prices, and their uniqueness made them highly sought after—Frizon and Antoine in Paris, Franz Hiess & Söhne, and L. Schuh's Nachf. Edlauer in Vienna, and Swaine, Adeney, and Brigg in London are just a few of the upscale retailers. Canes with crook handles made from a single piece of rare wood were frequently the preferred option for royals, high-ranking nobility, and prominent politicians, as these individuals often had a strong penchant for discretion over ostentatious canes. According to the account of the last caretaker of this cane for the past half century, his father was in the Austrian diplomatic corps in Egypt at the beginning of the 1940s, when he received it a gift from Achille Groppi (1890–1949) in Cairo. Groppi, one of King Farouk's closest friends, was also, like King Farouk, a well-known collector of antiques and canes. Piratinera Guianensis, or snake wood, belongs to the Moraceae family and originates in tropical South America. It is a truly exotic species and one of the most difficult woods to find. Typically, it is a very small tree and shows only a small amount of the wonderful reddish-brown heartwood, with speckles of black appearing as hieroglyphics or snakeskin markings, rarely evenly spread across the entire face of the board. Its markings, which resemble snakeskin, give this small, relatively rare timber its name. Snake wood is dense, extremely heavy, and can be somewhat chal- lenging to work with. It splits fairly easily and tends to splinter. It's also difficult to cut and drill. However, it becomes very smooth when fin- ished and has a superb, natural polish.
Continental Cane Collection Auction - 91
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