About this episode
Matt has been raised on canes since he was ten years old, and now he is passing the tradition down by raising his own kids on folk art canes too. From snake wrapped handles to fully carved masterpieces, he walks through some of the best walking sticks in the collection and ends by seeing if Kai can spot the most valuable cane in the room. Throughout the episode he breaks down the difference between a simple carved handle and a true tip to top cane, why certain carvings reveal themselves only under good light, and how collectors can easily overlook the best details when a cane is sitting across a room. Matt gives a full tutorial on what makes a cane great, what makes one just decent, and why a few of these pieces are among the best in the entire folk art world. The episode builds toward two key moments for anyone interested in folk art canes and walking stick collecting. Matt first reveals a top tier 1904 carved cane, a true tip to top masterpiece that he considers one of the best examples of American folk art carving he has ever handled. He then moves into an Antiques Roadshow style appraisal session where he breaks down insurance values, auction estimates, and his own real world offers on several antique canes. Along the way he explains how to identify Mexican folk art canes by the eagle, snake, and cactus motif, how to recognize the hand of a single carver across multiple sticks, and how collectors can display and decorate with canes in their own homes. This episode offers one of Matt’s most in depth looks at folk art canes and why he has collected them for so long. Raising canes takes on an entirely new meaning in this one. Chapters 00:00 | Introducing the Cane Collection and Matt’s Early Start in Folk Art 01:20 | The Red Painted Hand Cane and the Skeleton Bone Cane 04:21 | Hidden Details on the Cat and Snake Cane 05:57 | The Florida Alligator Cane 08:34 | The Natural Root Cane with Folded Hands 10:13 | A Rare Cabinet Card Featuring a Basket and Walking Stick 11:58 | Comparing a Mid Level Cane to a Tremendous Cane 16:26 | Introducing the 1904 Cane and Why It Stands Out 22:04 | What the Carver Might Say if Canes Could Speak 23:45 | Insurance Values, Auction Estimates, and High End Cane Collecting 27:57 | How to Identify Mexican Folk Art Canes 32:00 | Discovering a Carver Through Matching Umbrella Canes 36:39 | The Contemporary Lee Reese Cane from Salem South Carolina 40:46 | How a Cane Grows 42:52 | Decorating with Folk Art Canes at Home 44:03 | Asking a Young Collector to Choose the Most Valuable Cane When the last cane goes back on the table, Matt is reminded how much history can live inside a simple piece of wood. The anonymous carvers of the early 1900s, the regional styles, and the newer makers like Lee Reese all show how folk art canes evolve while still holding on to their roots. Do you know a folk artist or have a picking story worth sharing houseoffolkart@gmail.com (919) 410 8002 Leave your name and where you are from and you might hear yourself on the next episode. Follow @houseoffolkart for more stories, adventures, and upcoming auction dates at LedbetterAuctions.com.