1940 Lufkin Cane Map of Boston, Massachusetts

This is an unusual cane and map prepared in 1940 as a souvenir for the American Legion Convention on 1940. The genre of the cane map was invented by the Columbian Novelty Company in 1893 during the 1893 Columbian Exposition. This map, issued by the In-A-Cane Display Company of Boston, follows the same model, with patent pending when this map was issued.

The map extends from an internal spring loaded roller mechanism in the top of the cane. The map, centered on the Boston Public Garden, covers from the Fenway Victory Gardens to Commercial Street in North End and from the Charles River Basin to Huntington Avenue. It notes individual streets with important buildings shown in profile, parks, railway stations, hotels, monuments and places of interest. An index along the bottom of the map lists important information for tourists, including hospitals, historical places, churches, public buildings, museums, etc.

A blue line marks the route of the American Legion Parade, starting from Arlington and Beacon and ending at Clarendon and Columbus Ave. This map was prepared by Richard F. Lufkin and was issued by the In-A-Cane Display Company in Boston for the American Legion Convention of 1940.