Q:I have a folding combination cane and stool from the 1939 New York World's Fair. There is a painted Tryon and Perisphere logo on the plywood seat. Branded into the bottom of the seat is "Kan-O-Seat, Pat'd May 21, 1935, Stafford-Johnson Seating Corp., Ionia, Mich." Can you tell me anything about this piece?

A:The brand on the bottom of your cane-seat gives most of the information available. Stafford-Johnson Seating Corp. received a patent in 1935 for a cane that converts to a tripod seat. It was not made exclusively for the 1939 New York World's Fair and examples can be found without the fair's symbols. One is included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, with Albin Johnson listed as the designer. One like yours, with the New York World's Fair symbols on the seat, sold at auction last year for $173.