Late 19th Century Provocative Ivory Globe Topper with Cane.
By: Anonymous
Date: Late 19th Century
Dimensions: Globe Topper: 2 inch diameter
Cane w/ Topper: 36 inches
A most provocative cane with globe topper of which ownership was nothing short of perilous in Victorian England. This late 19th century ivory cane topper opens to a compass, sun dial, and homosexual scene of fellatio.
According to the article "Queer in the Age of the Queen," by Savannah Dawn Powell, "In 1885 male homosexual acts, even those conducted in private, were criminalized and severely legislated against by the introduction of the Labouchere Amendment. Those convicted of sodomy, or buggery as it was called, suffered years of imprisonment with hard labor and abuse meant to break the spirit or were sentenced to death. Lesbian and bisexual acts of women were fairly common and they were not illegal."
The globe itself labels all major continent, save for Antarctica, with Australia named New Holland. Greenland, Persia, India, the Chinese Empire, and the Great Tartary are the only other terrestrial place name given. Oceans and seas are identified as follows; the Western Ocean (Atlantic), the Great South Sea (southern Pacific), Southern Ocean (Indian), the Indian Sea, and just south of west Africa, we find the Ethiopic Ocean.
Condition: Globe topper is missing components for the compass and sun dial. Hinge is original and secure. Some crack have formed inside and on the exterior of the topper. The cane itself is in very fine condition with the original brass cap that screws into the globe topper.
Inventory #12594
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