A wonderful porcelain phrenology head cane. The porcelain handle is 2 2/3" high and 1 1/3" at its widest. It has a smooth white finish, black lettering, and a gold line as a highlighter. It depicts a man's skull delineated with numbers for different areas, and then at the bottom, there is a "decoder" indicating the character traits associated with those numbers. The lettering is clear and crisp. (It was perhaps originally collected as a handle but it has been skillfully remounted.) There is a 1/4" gold collar on a black-enameled hardwood shaft that ends with a 1" horn ferrule. The overall length is 36" and the condition is very good with some very minor rub damage at the bottom ring of the handle. It is probably English, ca 1880. (The controversial theory of phrenology was conceived in the 18th Century by the German Franz Joseph Gall. In America, disciples of this practice were Orsen and Lorenzo Fowler. They gained considerable fame in the 19th Century and gave readings to such people as Horace Greeley, Brigham Young, Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Brown and Walt Whitman to cite just a few.) This piece is a marvelous example of the type. Estimate: $4500-$6500.