Victorian sword stick esoterica

[Jim McDougall]

Another seldom traveled road in sword history.
As I have often shared here, my attractions to swords and their forms and use from old films watched from boyhood have prompted my quests to seek out examples and learn more on their history.

While apparently misremembering Sherlock Holmes in films having a rack of canes including sword canes in his 221B lodgings, the notion of a flashing sword from a seemingly harmless gentleman in these dark Victorian settings has always been intriguing.

After years I finally found one, this one with antler horn handle and of course, malacca cane shaft/scabbard , and the most important, a vintage rapier blade, probably German, late 17th c.

The history of concealing a sword blade within a shaft, or cane has been around for some time, and known somewhat in other cultural contexts, but in the 'west' one of the most notable ancestors seems to be to the Spanish adventurer and spy of 16th c. Alonso de Contreras. He is noted to have concealed a sword within a staff as he traveled as a pilgrim.

The notion of a concealed sword in the fashionable accessory of a walking stick is one borne out of the decreased acceptability of gentlemen wearing swords in public, largely by the latter 18th c. With self defense still a most considered factor especially with wealthy and gentry figures, the placement of a rapier blade inside a fashionable walking stich was de rigueur.

The use of malacca cane, from the Asian rattan palm , this material was brought by trade vessels bringing back all manner of exotica for the whims of Europeans, and was most popular for various canes, walking sticks and umbrellas.

In the early 19th century, this fashion had become well established among 'dandies' and one colorful figure in this category was Lord Byron (1788-1824) the great Romantic period poet. His lameness did not prevent him from learning defense using the sword, and within the walking stick, of which he owned several. Indeed he studied under the fame London master of fence, Henry Angelo.

Naturally this fashion tradition carried through the century and into the 20th.
However the idea of the deadly rapier blade had not always sat well with fencing and martial arts masters and enthusiasts. Early on during the late 17th through 18th centuries, the use of the deadly rapier blades from Spain and France became popular in England leaving behind the heavier sword blades and favoring the thrust. Contrary to popular belief, the idea behind the duel was not to kill the opponent, but to disable him, with the objective primarily to satisfy honor.

Still, the idea of self defense against a dangerous attack from less than honorable person would seem to negate that idea.

It seems that the idea of these sword sticks/canes became popular in the British military, especially in the Indian Raj, and officers had daggers in swagger sticks, as well as sword canes often awarded ceremonially by their ranks.

This is something I have wanted to write on for many years, and wanted to share this here, in hopes that others out there might have found this topic interesting as well.

I think of the later life of some of these old rapier blades in these interesting contexts is intriguing as dimensionally crossing from the swashbuckling swordsmen of Dumas et al into the dark Victorian shadows of Holmes and others. Though I hate the idea of a true old Tomas Aiala blade dismantled, it is hard to resist it finding later life in this context.

The bottom two pics are the Lord Byron sword cane, post 1822 as he had added the name NOEL that year.

[toaster5sqn]

Slight correction, I believe you will find it was Henry Angelo not Harry.

[urbanspaceman]

Hey Jim, for some odd reason the dealer and auction world of the UK has been saturated with sword-sticks of late. The variety of blades used is legion; many full length, and some no more a a foot long. A heavily weighted top to the stick was also popular.
Of course, carrying either one is strictly illegal in this country where we have to give the criminals and the thugs a decent chance; anything else is hardly cricket, is it?
Your example is extremely rare; most are trefoil or slim lenticular.
I came across this example which mystified me for a while, not being privy to the traditions of societies. It was missing the vital element of course, but once revealed, the mystery was actually more stimulating than the explanation.

[Akanthus]

In Germany allone possession is forbidden by a very strict gun law.

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you so much gents!
One of the biggest problems I have had in acquiring one of these has been of course the legality issue. Naturally my quest has been to find a historic weapon for 'historic' study, but of course many laws have little reasonable meter in typical verbatim application, and characteristically are followed to the latter by plebian officials.
OK, that might have been a rant!

Keith, thank you for noting the blade. That was key in this! It is an early rapier blade rather than the trefoil type found in small swords mostly of the 18th century. While this is of course Victorian, it begs the question, how did the maker of this interesting example come to use such an early blade?
The 'anchor' symbol is of course among the variations used in Solingen in following the Spanish tradition using these, usually at the terminus of the fuller.

It seems there are certain variations of these devices by the numbers of arms and their varying widths as well as separations and other elements, but no particular study has been done as far as I know. It would be interesting to discover a comparison of this example on an intact rapier, but there is the dreaded 'needle in a haystack' axiom

It seems to me you once had a swordstick with Aiala blade?

This is a superb example, as the echelon of gentlemen carrying these sword sticks were typically trained and skilled in swordsmanship, and would have held such an esteemed blade in high honor and tradition.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by toaster5sqn

Slight correction, I believe you will find it was Henry Angelo not Harry.

touche' Toaster!! Importantly noted, and corrected.

[urbanspaceman]

I use a search engine that posts UK dealer's products. It is obviously not fully comprehensive but it gives some indication.
There are 162 for sale at present with prices ranging from £3,950 down to £275.
Brigg of London appears to be the top maker. Here's the expensive one:
Mahdi of Khartoum walking stick sword stick.
On the silver collar is having the illustrious name Brigg of London. Hallmarked for 1902 made from Ebony Malachite silver horn and bone with a fine steel blade, overall condition is superb with no damage whatsoever a truly finely made of exceptional quality walking aid. Above the Briggs silver collar is a smaller one with what looks like Arabic symbols. This is the Flagship for anyone's collection. Total length of 94 cm diameter of handle is 5 cm the ebony sticks diameter from handle being 18 mm tapering down to the bottom 12 mm, from steel tip to the top of the handle is 85 cm.


£1,500 will get you one with a silver mustache comb and mirror secreted in the vulcanite handle. Obligatory in 1888 Birmingham!

[Jim McDougall]

Thanks Keith! My guess is that due to the ever heightening legal mandates toward weapons, and the 'concealed' syndrome, there are efforts to unload these items out of stock fearing confiscation.

It does seem intriguing to note the numbers of these accessory/weapons that clearly were in circulation. One goal here was to learn more on the history and actual use of the sword cane/stick, and try to recognize how much 'lore' surrounds them.

The study and formal training of sword fighting techniques and formal fencing became well established in the 18th century, but by the last quarter of the 19th had become well rounded martial arts training. These included boxing, often fencing as well as 'cane fighting'. With similarities to fencing in some respects, it was basically use of the cudgel it seems, and was seen as 'gentlemanly' as it did not typically focus on deadly results.

The use of a concealed blade inside a fashionable accessory with specific purpose of the deadly thrust was seen by many as distinctly 'un-gentlemanly'.

With the sword cane, its use as a swashbuckling trope in the image of the formidable gentleman, or dandy, seems to have found its place in literature or sensational narratives as in some of the accounts of Lord Byron as previously mentioned.

While the sword cane was never mentioned in any of the Zorro literature or early films, it was brought in with the Antonio Banderas film "The Mark of Zorro" and was used effectively as a trope heightening his disguise as a noble dandy.

Apparently in the corpus of Holmes literature and films, though Holmes is suggested to be a skilled swordsman, Conan Doyle does not have him using the sword cane (much to my dismay in my misremembering).

However in "Adventure of the Empty House" (1903), as Holmes recounts his victory over Professor Moriarity at Reichenbach Falls, by crediting his knowledge of 'Baritsu', a study in martial arts of the times. It seems this suggested to later writers that he had used a sword cane.

Actually 'Baritsu' (misspelled) was BARTITSU, from Edwin William Barton- Wright, an English engineer who had developed a combined martial arts regimen including boxing, ju-jitsu, French kick boxing (savate) and CANE FIGHTING in 1898-1902. He had lived in Japan several years and named his method BART-ITSU combining his name and jitsu from the Japanese art.

The walking stick without the concealed sword element became a common trope for the elegant gentleman, and a personalized form of art often in these important accessories of status and wealth.

In an old movie favorite "The Wolf Man" (Lon Chaney Jr. 1941) the lead character is Larry Talbot (Talbot is a term for a breed of hunting dog) and is taken with a walking stick he finds in a local antique shop.
Its handle, the head of a wolf. (OK guys, here I go again with the wolves!).

[urbanspaceman]

I know this is not about sword-sticks, but duels and Byron have been mentioned so I thought I would tack this in. Being a smallsword duel I included this story in my book. I found it intriguing, especially the bit about Byron's sentence and the Statute of Edward VI. If anyone knows what that is, I would be obliged if they would explain it for me.

A very interesting small-sword duel took place on January 26, I765, between Lord Byron and his neighbour and distant cousin Mr. Chaworth. These gentlemen were dining with others at the Star and Garter Tavern in Pall Mall about seven in the evening when the conversation turned upon the subject of game on their estates (precise story varies). This resulted in a drunken altercation, after which Lord Byron left the room, and meeting Mr. Chaworth in the passage stated that he wished to speak with him.
He then called a waiter and asked if there were any room disengaged. The waiter showed them to an unoccupied room and left them with a candle, which was all the light in the apartment except a dull fire. As Mr. Chaworth turned round after shutting the door, he perceived Lord Byron with his sword half drawn, who instantly exclaimed "Draw." Mr. Chaworth immediately complied, and at the first thrust his sword passed through Lord Byron's waistcoat, and he thought he had wounded him, when Lord Byron, shortening his sword, gave him a fatal wound. A struggle then took place between the parties, for they were found grasped in each other's arms by the landlord and waiter, who, hearing the noise, hurriedly entered the room.
A surgeon was immediately sent for, who pronounced the Chaworth wound mortal, the sword having entered on the left side of the stomach, and, passing obliquely upwards, had made its exit five or six inches higher on the left side of the back.
It appears that when Mr. Chaworth's sword passed through the waistcoat of his antagonist, he expressed his apprehension that he had seriously wounded him. Now under such an apprehension it is probable that he was thrown off his guard and Lord Byron quickly shortened his sword and ran him through.
Writhing under the agonies of his wound, Mr. Chaworth several times declared that, although he well knew that he was in immediate danger of death, he had rather be in his present situation than live under the misfortune of having killed another person. He also observed that when, after closing the door, he turned round, he perceived that Lord Byron's sword was half-drawn and knowing his man, he drew his own as quickly as he could, and had the first pass at him.
After three months incarceration the House of Lords found William, Lord Byron, "not guilty of the felony of murder, but of manslaughter," and his lordship, being a Peer and claiming the Benefit of Clergy and the statute of Edward VI., was discharged after paying his fees.
The two swords involved were preserved: at Annesley, and Newstead.
nb. About 300 aristocrats a year died of duels in France in the 1600s.