Empress Eugénie’s walking stick. Made of black-varnished wood with a curved knob. Brass ferrule. With a hand-written label reading: ‘One of the three canes carried by Her Majesty Empress Eugénie towards the end of her life, given by His Imperial Highness Prince Napoleon to the Marquis de Girardin on 2 August 1920’. Length: 86 cm. A.B.E. (Minor losses to the label and small chips) Fernand de Girardin (1857–1924), grandson of Ernest, a man of letters close to Prince Victor Napoleon. (Expert: Arnaud de Gouvion St Cyr)