Victorian sword stick esoterica

[A. G. Maisey]

Jim, what a lot of us --- me included --- tend to forget is that it is only in very recent times that English spelling has more or less been formalised. My own family name --- going back through the years --- has a lot of variations, the variation I use is from Cornwall, but originally the name was French, with a rather different spelling.

The English royal connection with Harry/Henry is well documented, but I was recently helping a friend carry out some research on his ancestors, & what I found was that as recently as only 100 years ago in Australia members of the same family had around 10 different ways in which to spell their own name, they were all rural dwellers, and by the look of it, most of them could not spell nor write nor read.

I learnt about the Harry thing when I was in high school & we were required to memorise extended passages of Shakespeare. I doubt that The Bard is even studied in school these days.

[Jim McDougall]

Thanks Alan! It truly is interesting about spellings and even words, which have sometimes changed entirely in meanings (now recorded in 'archaic' dictionaries). As you note, the spellings of names are incredibly varied over the years, and of course relied on the literary skills of those recording them.

As an American aside toward the familiar names from formal, here a common version of Henry is Hank (probably from Dutch dimin. henk), but here in Texas we think of the late Hank Williams for example, and in country music, Henry Williams just wouldnt have had the same twang

You're right about schools these days, too many students probably never heard of Shakespeare. Very sad.

[urbanspaceman]

A friend of nearly 70 years, a professor of English grammar, tells me again and again, when my ignorance of the subject disrupts my literary endeavors, that it all boils down to effective communication, and that many of the rules we learned in school are products of personal pronouncements that remain open to debate.
When you read what is written, do you understand what the writer intended?
Actually, correct punctuation is far more important in accurate conveyance of intention. The lack of a comma can completely change the meaning of the sentence - as countless school-time exercises have shown.
Jim, everybody understood perfectly well to whom you referred, it didn't need to be corrected; and, in fact, the correction was potentially inaccurate, as Alan so eruditely pointed out. Well done Alan, I was hoping someone would set the record straight.
ps
The USA and the UK are countries separated by a common language.

[A. G. Maisey]

I was once told that if I wrote something that an educated 8 year old could not understand that I'd better go back & try again.

Been trying again ever since.

Occasionally successfully.

[urbanspaceman]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I was once told that if I wrote something that an educated 8 year old could not understand that I'd better go back & try again.

Been trying again ever since.

Occasionally successfully.

You and me both. Thank Heaven for Microsoft Word or I would never have started, because I cannot spell either.

[Jim McDougall]

LOL! Good notes Keith.....The UK and the US separated by a common language! I recall going to London years ago, thinking this is a piece of cake, its the same language ......well, half the time I needed an interpreter!
Well noted though...it is indeed about communicating, but this exercise has taught me a great deal, and that is most important to me...learning.

Back to the sword canes:
I wanted to locate cases in written works where these were noted, and perhaps content supporting how and when likely actually used, hoping for historical context.

In the archaeological strata of my 'note mountains', I found an entry from 1997, an apparent auction offering described as the sword cane of Dr. Syntax.
Completely bewildered, I looked it up:
This was one of the first 'comic' adventures written by William Combe (1742-1843) in "The Three Tours of Doctor Syntax".
I have yet to find exactly which installment held reference to a sword cane, and even more puzzling, the offering of such a weapon from a fictional character. I wish I had more of the detail!

Thus far, still looking for more literary references, but it has become interesting to see how the sword cane, apparently not a focused detail of particular notice in these early works, has become a notably used prop in modern venues.

In the Antonio Banderas version of "The Mask of Zorro" his character, Alejandro Murrietta, uses a sword cane as a trope heightening his disguise as a gentleman dandy.
In the 1968 version of "Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" starring Jack Palance, as he transforms into the evil Mr. Hyde, the sword cane again presents as a prop emphasizing his threatening character.

In "Batman", the evil character 'the Penguin' carrys a sword cane.

But in the 60's in the TV series, "The Avengers" the hero, John Steed, carries a sword cane formidably as the gentleman, FIGHTING evil and injustice.

In studying the history of such a mysteriously dynamic weapon such as the sword cane/stick, it is difficult to avoid recognizing the kinds of representations occurring in fictional sources. It is the seeds of actuality in these that give perspective to better understanding the true character of the weapon as perceived, despite the hyperbole and lore.

[Jim McDougall]

While the object of the thread is of course the sword cane, it is interesting to see the other features which also came into the 'concealed' category with these fashionable items.

In going through notes I discovered this......guns ALWAYS have to get in the act it seems This is an example of 'firearms curiosa' (Lewis Winant, 1955) that is featured in this Man at Arms article.
It is a cane with concealed gun apparently patented in Stockholm in 1885, and in US in 1895, but seems to have ceased production shortly later.
There are examples of these even produced with shoulder stocks!

In other reading, some of these sticks concealed other misc. and Toulouse Lautrec, the famed poster painter of Moulin Rouge fame, apparently had a decanter of his absinthe in his. Other sticks had various gadgets etc. to the notion of Swiss army knives.

The concept of firearms combined in swords and edged weapons was a long established idea, with various hunting swords having guns attached in the 18th c.

[urbanspaceman]

[toaster5sqn]

A.G. Maisy, thank you for the details of the Henry/Harry pronunciation. As a New Zealander I'm a long way from the "Royal" way of doing things and know of Mr Angelo only from written sources (I have his 10 divisions of the Highland Broadsword on my wall). I will note that this forum is written communication and Harry Angelo appears to have always written his name with the spelling Henry.

Robert

[kahnjar1]

As far as sword canes are concerned, they are an illegal IMPORT to New Zealand but there are many in collectors hands here. I have never owned one myself but have owned a .410 cane gun (British made). Pic below (sorry for quality) with other stuff I had at the time. Also a link to Poachers Guns which you may find of interest https://www.google.com/search? =poac...t=gws-wiz-serp
Stu