And the spyglass Cane?
|
And, as we had a sabre Cane, why not Cane like
rifle or like spyglass as the Directoire had been the spyglass era. Or as well
the Cane fan, which fits into the handle, the Cane face-à-main, the Cane
stiletto, a sting that ejects roughly out of an insignificant knob and make the
bandit draw back.
But also and certainly less bellicose, the
flute stick, that comes from Austria. Each one have a whale of a time in
inventions that delight the eccentrics by the surprises that these small
mechanisms have in store for them. The Oh! The Ah! Such admiration is worth the
price that must be paid for it. |
 |
| |
|
Spyglass cane of incroyable ,
gnarled in twisted wood. |
|
 |
| |
|
Spyglass made of ivory,
mounted on a high Cane of Incroyable. |
|
So, the spyglass not only conceal in fans;
they were also introduced into golden crutches or into tortoiseshell or Saxe
porcelain handles, which crown the handles of the Canes or umbrella, as we
learn from H.R. d'Allemagne (Paris, Grund Editeur, 1930).
From the Directoire on, the spyglass will be
extremely popular. The Incroyable's Cane was of course eccentric. Some of them
added the spyglass. Incroyables and Merveilleuses will use it with the excess
that is their signature. |
| |
|
"Nowadays, many theater- and opera-goers
depend on binoculars to see the performance. Previously, they used either a
lorgnette (from the French lorgner, which means to spy or peep) or a
one-eyed spyglass"
"At the theater, the spyglasses were aimed
more at the spectators in the audience that at the actors on the stage. Thus,
as the goal was to gape discreetly, the spyglass mounted on a walking stick was
at the eye level of the seated spectator."
"During the same epoch, small spyglasses were
inserted in fans, snuffboxes and bottles as well." |
 |
| |
|
The same Cane, the spyglass
unmounted. |
|
| |
This is what explains Catherine Dike, in her book "Cane
curiosa, from gun to gadget". She adds the following:
"Fashion took an abrupt change during the five years
transitional period between the French Revolution's and the Napoleon's
accession to power (1795 - 1799) - called the Directoire. The reactionary
tendency showed up in the audacious dress of the Incroyable and Merveilleuses"
... "An accessory for these French dandies was a heavy gnarled cane often with
a spyglass on top." |
|
