Book Review - The Mandel Cane Collection

An exciting new volume has recently appeared on the scene for the pleasure of antique cane collectors and enthusiasts. A part of the excitement is due to the fact that there are relatively few books on the subject that remain readily available. The short list found in the bibliography section of this website, though not complete, does represent much of what is out there and available to the collector. Some of the titles are scarce or out of print, and can often be obtained only at high price and through an auction venue.
So, when a new book, of good quality, is published, it is cause for celebration. When that new book attains the degree of quality represented by The Mandel Cane Collection, the level of celebration must be doubled.

Noting on the frontispiece that the publisher of The Mandel Cane Collection is listed as Richard Mandel, (the owner of the collection,) it may be tempting, for some, to dismiss the project as a "vanity" publication. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. On the contrary, it is far more just to regard the volume as a wonderfully generous gift from Mr. Mandel to his friends and fellow enthusiasts in the cane collecting community. We, at Canequest, recognize in Mr. Mandel's motives an unbridled passion for the special beauty and history that can be drawn from the world of antique walking sticks. It is a passion we share and the sole reason for the existence of Canequest. Beyond just sharing with us his spectacular collection of sticks, Mandel has generously underwritten the cost of producing a lavish volume of superlative quality, beautifully printed and bound by the Munich firm of Peschke Druck.

For the photography and accompanying text, Mandel wisely engaged the services of Mr.Youssef Kadri, a passionate cane enthusiast, himself, for more than forty years. A partial list of Mr. Kadri's professional credits include much of the photography found in Ulrich Klever's Walkingsticks, all of the text and photography for the sixteen catalogues associated with the Canes Through The Ages auctions, and writing, editing, photography, and layout credits for the renowned German cane periodical, Der Stocksammler.
The “maker’s mark,” so to speak, of Kadri's photography can be identified in the meticulous care he applies to capturing the heart and soul of the object at hand, as he transfers its image to paper for the reader’s benefit. Although the primary success of this volume is in showcasing the privately held collection of Richard and Deanna Mandel, the author brings so much to the table of his own encyclopedic knowledge and ardent love for his subject, that an owner of the volume finds himself the beneficiary, as well, of a great wealth of general information on the history of canes and walking sticks. Mr. Kadri is particularly adept at forging and bringing to life the human connection between these beautiful pieces of craftsmanship and their original makers and owners. It is this same thread of human connection that fuels the interest and enthusiasm of so many contemporary collectors.

The approximately 240 pages comprising the central text and photography of The Mandel Cane Collection features around 250 examples from the collection, divided into five distinct categories or types. All examples are of the very finest quality and each could well represent the stand-out pinnacle piece of any individual collection. An interesting portion of the Jewelry cane section has been devoted to a small selection of exquisite canes whose contemporary manufacture was commissioned by Richard Mandel. These sticks, designed and created by celebrated European artist, gemologist, and goldsmith, Ruvel Perelman, are among the loveliest in the book. At the end of the main body of text, the creators have thoughtfully provided, in the manner of an addendum, a complete traditional cataloguing of all of the canes featured in the book.

It would seem impossible that a collection of this magnitude could be hunted down, procured, and amassed by one collector without generating a great number of fascinating tales to accompany and illuminate the process. It might have been nice to have been treated to a glimmer of that process which produced the collection featured in this volume. But perhaps that is another book altogether, and one to which we may look forward. In any case, all of the principle players whose combined efforts have created this volume for our pleasure and edification, can congratulate themselves for forever raising the bar, in terms of quality, for all future antique cane publications.

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The Mandel Cane Collection can be purchased by contacting:

Canes Through The Ages
http://www.canesthroughtheages.com