Card of the Day: St. Edward’s Staff, Head and Foot

The thirty-second card in the 1935 Silver Jubilee Series by Churchman Cigarette Company continues the inventory of the Crown Jewels and Regalia which are employed in the British coronation ceremonies. Here, we see St. Edward’s Staff.

The Staff is four feet seven inches and a half of gold divided at intervals with collars of ornamental leaf patterns.

This magnificent piece is surmounted by a cross patée atop an orb which tradition says once held a piece of the True Cross. This regal staff is meant to guide the footsteps of the Sovereign. And, to make sure that it really, truly guides him or her well, it is tipped with a steel pike 4 ¼ inches long.