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Graphics
This category includes advertisements and prints.
These pieces make very decorative additions to one’s snooker
parlour, although regrettably the host newspaper or magazine
is sacrificed in the process of liberating the item!
Two types of advertisements can be collected,
those of billiards manufacturers and suppliers and those of
general commercial concerns employing billiards themes. The
former are of great interest because they give historical
clues about the types of equipment used (and the ludicrous
prices asked) way back when. My most treasured ad is from
E. J. Riley, 1907; it announces "Marvellous Billiards"
and provides the scores from matches between Dawson and Stevenson, while implying that any good
scores were the result of the Riley tables used in the contests.
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The general advertisements with snooker or billiards
themes, while not of as much historical interest, are appealing
because of their clever uses of billiards themes to tout their
products. My favourite from this genre is a Black & White
scotch whisky ad, illustrated with a beautiful painting of a
snooker match in progress, which reads in part: "The critics
say . . . Or rather, in the respectful hush of the snooker room,
they don’t say anything . . . " Another, from Kenilworth
Cigarettes, 1920, puns "Mind They Don’t Kiss!" as
a woman and man smoke and play billiards.
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Billiards and snooker prints are most commonly
black and white engravings from vintage newspapers and magazines.
Some are illustrated accounts of matches or tournaments, while
others are political cartoons, caricatures or portraits. All
are of considerable historical interest and, depending on
the subject, can be as decorative as the aforementioned advertisements.
A good source for these is
Postaprint,
based in England, who offer online searches and ordering.
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Cues
Billiards cues from the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries are scarce and highly collectible.
Early handmade examples by Riley or Burroughes and Watts are
sought after, as are those cues with badges commemorating
record breaks by, for example, Joe Davis or Tom Reece, or
picturing prominent players such as Melbourne Inman or John
Roberts Jr. Andy Hunter writes an excellent column on cue
history and collecting for
The
Amateur Billiard Player magazine.
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Summary
Anyone interested in starting a collection
of snooker memorabilia should begin by searching
eBay,
the Web-based auction house. On any given day there will be
a good assortment of cards, a few books and prints, and, with
luck, a tournament programme or two on offer. For some items
the bidding will be fierce and the prices realised stratospheric,
but many items can be obtained for little more than the opening
minimum bid. By paying promptly and practising unfailing courtesy
and enthusiasm you will soon make valuable contacts and widen
your circle of collecting friends.
For more information please visit my Cue
Sports Memorabilia website, where you will find links
to Epson Albums housing images of my collections of cards,
books, advertisements, programmes and matchbooks. Any questions
or comments may be sent to me at jmyoung@nni.com.
I would enjoy hearing from you!
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