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Andy Hunter, Peter Clare, and myself (Peter Ainsworth) have had some lengthy tripartite discussions about this cue, each brining a particular area of expertise and have arrived at a consensus. In addition to the comments by Peter Clare, posted above, I can add the following, on which we agree.
When Andy gave his initial opinion to Gazza147 he had in his mind a picture of a cue he once handled many years ago. He has now had the benefit of looking at the photos posted in this thread. It is important to distinguish between them, so, first:
Andy's cues
There is no link to an exhibition of Joe Davis cues in 1937. This is a total red herring and has nothing to do with the discussion. The cues Andy received were said by the seller to be from an exhibition in the 1950s. The most likely scenario is that this was a speculative retailer who may have bought the cues in bulk from Peradon, stamped them himself, and taken a stand at a major snooker event, as they did more commonly in later years, selling these to the crowd who attended. Typically, there would have been plenty of scope for this sort of arrangement at professional venues such as the Blackpool Tower, where many matches were held in the 1950s, although I would stress we have no evidence this actually happened. The evidence we do have is that the stamps were not of the type normally associated with Peradon (therefore applied by someone else), and the cues being in unused condition suggests they were unsold stock which had been put to one side by the original seller. One important point is that although these cues were stamped differently, they were done with a professional set of stamps (ie all the numbers would be grouped together and applied with a single strike.)
This cue
It is clear that whoever has stamped this cue was an amateur who did not have access to a proper set of stamps. Each number and letter is individually applied, indeed, Andy speculated that the "1" may have been done with a screwdriver! The shaft has (in the opinion of Andy) been refurbished at some time, and it would have been possible for a lightly stamped weight mark to have been removed completely as a result of sanding. The stamp now in place may well have been applied at the same time as this refurbishment, or later. The marks can neither be matched with Peradon, nor the seller of Andy's cues, for which the only link to an "exhibition" exists.
Personally, I would say that the best probability is that the side mark on this cue was applied after retail, by, or on behalf of, an owner. As such I would consider it a blemish which detracted rather than enhanced the value of the cue. That last one I would emphasise is just my personal opinion.
When Andy gave his initial opinion to Gazza147 he had in his mind a picture of a cue he once handled many years ago. He has now had the benefit of looking at the photos posted in this thread. It is important to distinguish between them, so, first:
Andy's cues
There is no link to an exhibition of Joe Davis cues in 1937. This is a total red herring and has nothing to do with the discussion. The cues Andy received were said by the seller to be from an exhibition in the 1950s. The most likely scenario is that this was a speculative retailer who may have bought the cues in bulk from Peradon, stamped them himself, and taken a stand at a major snooker event, as they did more commonly in later years, selling these to the crowd who attended. Typically, there would have been plenty of scope for this sort of arrangement at professional venues such as the Blackpool Tower, where many matches were held in the 1950s, although I would stress we have no evidence this actually happened. The evidence we do have is that the stamps were not of the type normally associated with Peradon (therefore applied by someone else), and the cues being in unused condition suggests they were unsold stock which had been put to one side by the original seller. One important point is that although these cues were stamped differently, they were done with a professional set of stamps (ie all the numbers would be grouped together and applied with a single strike.)
This cue
It is clear that whoever has stamped this cue was an amateur who did not have access to a proper set of stamps. Each number and letter is individually applied, indeed, Andy speculated that the "1" may have been done with a screwdriver! The shaft has (in the opinion of Andy) been refurbished at some time, and it would have been possible for a lightly stamped weight mark to have been removed completely as a result of sanding. The stamp now in place may well have been applied at the same time as this refurbishment, or later. The marks can neither be matched with Peradon, nor the seller of Andy's cues, for which the only link to an "exhibition" exists.
Personally, I would say that the best probability is that the side mark on this cue was applied after retail, by, or on behalf of, an owner. As such I would consider it a blemish which detracted rather than enhanced the value of the cue. That last one I would emphasise is just my personal opinion.
, he also badgered me about an old burroughs and watts cue around 17oz and if I came across one to give him first refusal .
there is distinct lack of continuation on the longer straight lines as though it has been done in one place then tried to be matched up.....
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