Hand-carved canes are a part of America's culture and its art, speaking to our capacity for self-expression and to our rich national heritage.

As vehicles of personal communication and group identity, American folk art canes display images ranging from King Kong to depression-era bathing beauties, from boxer "Gentleman Jim" Corbett to an anonymous shoemaker, and from Civil War soldiers to Dolly Parton.

Symbols of fraternal and military organizations also occupy the miniature world of the cane, as do representations of nature, from snakes swallowing frogs to bee-filled gardens.

This book is the first comprehensive scholarly book focusing on American folk art canes and will be a foundation for future research in the field.

More than 300 full-color reproductions disclose the complex cultural meanings, obscure individual histories, and light-hearted social commentaries of folk art walking sticks dating from the early nineteenth century to today.

Detailed, comparative, and historical photographs show the divers styles, techniques, and themes used by generations of American carvers who have mastered this expressive and utilitarian form.

Each illustration eloquently demonstrates the carvers' artistry i transforming a simple functional object into a work of art.

The introduction and eight original essays by noted scholars examine the methods of dating canes, their sculptural and symbolic qualities, and the aesthetic character and history of Native American, African American, Civil War, fraternal, and contemporary canes.

Details of the canes' imagery, origins, and composition are given in an extensive documentation section.

Color plates of related folk art carvings, a selected bibliography, and an index supplement the book.

(2137)