eBay Is this a piece of Snooker / Billiards paraphernalia?

[Banzai]

Found in a cupboard in a snooker room, a wooden box with 15 numbered slots and boxed sections with an opening front door and lock.

Box with numbers 1.JPG

Box with numbers 2.JPG

Thanks for looking and for any info received.

[jrc750]

Looks intriguing

[maryfield]

100 upper will give you the correct name and info on this. But we know it as a till box which would sit below one of the old fashioned life pool marking boards. The slots were where money was inserted when playing gambling games such as 'Life' where players paid a sum to play game and Fines for penalties sometimes known as stars. Hence the stars found behind the sliding panels on life pool marking boards. I haven't seen one with as many slots though.

[Banzai]

100 upper will give you the correct name and info on this. But we know it as a till box which would sit below one of the old fashioned life pool marking boards. The slots were where money was inserted when playing gambling games such as 'Life' where players paid a sum to play game and Fines for penalties sometimes known as stars. Hence the stars found behind the sliding panels on life pool marking boards. I haven't seen one with as many slots though.

Thanks Maryfield, looking forward to hearing what 100 upper can add as even with your info I'm not finding much on Google.

[maryfield]

Search for life pool marker board with Google and select images. You find some links like this http://www.hamiltonbilliards.com/pro...coreboard.html

[100-uper]

Found in a cupboard in a snooker room, a wooden box with 15 numbered slots and boxed sections with an opening front door and lock.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15699[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15700[/ATTACH]

Thanks for looking and for any info received.

This has some of the characteristics associated with a coin-box for (Life) Pool, but it has a number of important features which are incompatible with this use.

Firstly, the "coin" slots are numbered - Although numbered balls were used in the earliest form of Pool (pre c.1830), coloured balls where universally used after this, and every coin-box I have ever seen has stained ivory buttons to differentiate the applicable pool balls.

Secondly, it has a lockable front panel - Having a lockable access requires a keyholder, and this indicates to me that whatever the contents might have been, they were left unattended for a significant period.

You would also need to consider the type of marker board which would have sat on top of this box, if it was indeed for use in that game. Its width would indicate a combined billiards/pool marker, the design of which dictates an even number of pool slides. This box has 15 slots.

I'm reasonably sure that the purpose of this item is not connected with any game I know which is played on a billiard table, although though I'd be as interested as yourself if you could find out what it was actually used for.

[andy carson]

looks like a starting gate for racing ants or snails

[Banzai]

This has some of the characteristics associated with a coin-box for (Life) Pool, but it has a number of important features which are incompatible with this use.

Firstly, the "coin" slots are numbered - Although numbered balls were used in the earliest form of Pool (pre c.1830), coloured balls where universally used after this, and every coin-box I have ever seen has stained ivory buttons to differentiate the applicable pool balls.

Secondly, it has a lockable front panel - Having a lockable access requires a keyholder, and this indicates to me that whatever the contents might have been, they were left unattended for a significant period.

You would also need to consider the type of marker board which would have sat on top of this box, if it was indeed for use in that game. Its width would indicate a combined billiards/pool marker, the design of which dictates an even number of pool slides. This box has 15 slots.

I'm reasonably sure that the purpose of this item is not connected with any game I know which is played on a billiard table, although though I'd be as interested as yourself if you could find out what it was actually used for.

Our club moved location getting on for 80 years ago (club is 130 years old) and I wonder if this was moved at that time but never re-used and was tucked away in a cupboard. We do have quite a nice looking scoreboard I found at the same time which we now use as a waiting list board - I will snap that and post the photo when I next visit the club which should be either tonight or tomorrow.

Our oldest and longest standing member is about 80 so I will ask him if he recognises it and if it was ever in use what it was used for.

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply.

[itsnoteasy]

This has some of the characteristics associated with a coin-box for (Life) Pool, but it has a number of important features which are incompatible with this use.

Firstly, the "coin" slots are numbered - Although numbered balls were used in the earliest form of Pool (pre c.1830), coloured balls where universally used after this, and every coin-box I have ever seen has stained ivory buttons to differentiate the applicable pool balls.

Secondly, it has a lockable front panel - Having a lockable access requires a keyholder, and this indicates to me that whatever the contents might have been, they were left unattended for a significant period.

You would also need to consider the type of marker board which would have sat on top of this box, if it was indeed for use in that game. Its width would indicate a combined billiards/pool marker, the design of which dictates an even number of pool slides. This box has 15 slots.

I'm reasonably sure that the purpose of this item is not connected with any game I know which is played on a billiard table, although though I'd be as interested as yourself if you could find out what it was actually used for.

Pool balls still had numbers on them though even though they were coloured.

[DeanH]

Pool balls still had numbers on them though even though they were coloured.

Life Pool (not American Pool) used standard Snooker balls or a set of Life Pool balls which has dot balls of the same colours as snooker.

To me, the item, with numbers and lock could be something like a tip-jar? Each number being allocated to a staff member (bar/cloakroom)?
If it did not have a lock, I would have guess cockroach race starter

[itsnoteasy]

Ah sorry, my ignorance knows no limits.

[Geoff Large]

http://gclbilliards.com/wp-content/u...enny-clots.jpg

http://gclbilliards.com/wp-content/u...rd-610x457.jpg

here is one with the penny slots

[Banzai]

Our club moved location getting on for 80 years ago (club is 130 years old) and I wonder if this was moved at that time but never re-used and was tucked away in a cupboard. We do have quite a nice looking scoreboard I found at the same time which we now use as a waiting list board - I will snap that and post the photo when I next visit the club which should be either tonight or tomorrow.

Our oldest and longest standing member is about 80 so I will ask him if he recognises it and if it was ever in use what it was used for.

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply.

Apologies for the delay, forgot to take a snap on my previous visits.

Here is the scoreboard, no idea if they are connected with each other or not:

Scoreboard.jpg

[100-uper]

Interesting old scoreboard. I can't say I've seen exactly that type of pool scorer before. I assume that the outer slides pull right out to reveal the three lives, and the inside one only moves a short way to reveal a "star."

You will notice that it is designed for up to 12 players using coloured balls, so I would suggest it has no connection with a coinbox having 15 numbers.

[Banzai]

Interesting old scoreboard. I can't say I've seen exactly that type of pool scorer before. I assume that the outer slides pull right out to reveal the three lives, and the inside one only moves a short way to reveal a "star."

You will notice that it is designed for up to 12 players using coloured balls, so I would suggest it has no connection with a coinbox having 15 numbers.

Hi 100,

Yes, you are quite correct, outer slides reveal 3 dots and inners a single star.

I will continue my quest to identify the purpose of the box with slots and update you when (if) I find out anything more.

What is a real shame regarding this scoreboard is that it won't quite fit between the windows where our scoreboards go so we decided to use it as a simple chalkboard. I wonder what gems were thrown away in years gone by.........