Unfortunately, we cannot buy this cool item today. The In-A-Cane Display Co. made these in 1940 for attendees of the American Legion National Convention in Boston.

Today, it belongs to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, where it was donated by John B. Scholz in memory of Walter Scholz.

The plastic-coated map, in a wood-and-metal cane, pulled out from its spring-loaded holder to guide conventioneers to 21 hotels and 43 historic sites and monuments.

Walking sticks and canes were an essential element of a gentleman’s wardrobe from the mid-seventeenth century well into the early twentieth century.

“System canes,” such as this map cane, incorporated items ranging from the practical (weapons, medical tools), to the urbane (whiskey flasks, opera glasses). The latter was sometimes called a “city cane.”