Museum Collections
Luce Center
Walking-stick
This cane was donated by James Hazen Hyde, a member of the New-York Historical Society and the son of Henry Hazen Hyde, the founder of thr Equitable Life Assurance Society. James was well-known for his tremendous financial and social success, exemplified by the lavish costume ball he threw in 1905 made to evoke the court of Louis XV. Hyde never recovered from a scandal ignited as a result of rumors that charged he billed the entire party to the company. In December of 1905 he sailed for Paris to live in self-exile until 1941, when he returned to New York.