Calling his book “the definitive guide to (perhaps) the world's first fashion accessory,” Moss identifies the mid-19th century as the peak of the walking stick’s golden era in U.S. and the U.K.

The €300 umbrella had a chestnut shaft, usable as a walking stick, and a handle that unscrewed to reveal a storage space for either a flashlight, a cigarette lighter, mosquito repellent or a ...