A great early English gold top and malacca cane. The gold milord handle is 1 1/2” high and 1” at its widest. The top is elaborately initialed: “W.C.” for the original owner. The sides are decorated in hanging festoonery above a ring of linked gadrooning circles. The very base is London hallmarked for 1714 and “W B” for the maker, who may be William Bulford, a registered London metal-smith of the time. There are thin, oval gold eyelets with an acorn-decorated silk wristcord that may be a 19th century replacement. The shaft is tan full-bark malacca that ends with an old burnished and aged 5 1/4” long brass and iron ferrule. The overall length is 37” and the condition is very good. It is a marvelous very early example. Estimate: $3500-$4500