A Beautiful Victorian Hidden Gadget System Cane, Known As the Toulouse-Lautrec Cane. In Carved Mallacca Wood

Of all systems canes, the Toulouse-Lautrec walking stick is certainly the most unique. This stick is named after the famed 19th-century artist whose personal reputation rested largely upon his frequent visits to cabarets and dance hall bars within the mystical underbelly of Montmartre in Paris, France.

This intriguing type of cane, also known as a tippling stick, conceals the necessary apparatus related to travelling alcohol consumption: a tubular glass flask fixed within the haft, and in the separate top section, a hollow empty receptacle for either using as a drinking cup or to hold small 'tipple' glasses. Both sections are connected by screw threaded silver plated copper metal mounts

Notably, it is often said that Toulouse-Lautrec himself personally commissioned a wooden-shaft cane with a secret compartment in which he could hide a small glass vial for liquor, mostly absinthe, known as the 'green fairy'.

Systems canes are the most highly collected types of canes and there are literally thousands of types from which to choose. A system cane is one that has a dual purpose or hidden meaning or function. These canes were used in much the same way as we use a wallet or a purse today and wealthy gentlemen or ladies would have owned several canes to be used for different outings and purposes.

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