Rarest cue of them all

[sunny3909]

Hi Peter!I think u are absolutely right.All I can say is that this cue was most probably made during the early 19th century when the Richard[grandson of Robert Gillow] was incharge of the company.

[100-uper]

Hi Peter!I think u are absolutely right.All I can say is that this cue was most probably made during the early 19th century when the Richard[grandson of Robert Gillow] was incharge of the company.

I remain totally confused by the Gillow family tree. There were more Roberts and Richards in this family than you could shake a stick at! The founder Robert Gillow named his sons "Richard" and "Robert"; then Robert (the son), with nine months to think about it, named his sons Richard and Robert, both of whom had joined the company by 1796. I wonder how they identified themselves on internal memos?!

Personally, and considering that rosewood was so expensive that it was invariably used exclusively as a furniture veneer before 1860, I would have thought that to use a block of it for a mace head would indicate a much later date than early 19th century. But who would dare suggest that Dominic's most prized possession could be a mid-Victorian bagatelle mace? Not me for sure! I think it's time to leave the stage for the real experts.

[ADR147]

Personally, and considering that rosewood was so expensive that it was invariably used exclusively as a furniture veneer before 1860, I would have thought that to use a block of it for a mace head would indicate a much later date than early 19th century. But who would dare suggest that Dominic's most prized possession could be a mid-Victorian bagatelle mace? Not me for sure! I think it's time to leave the stage for the real experts.

i think your logic on the dates is totally right - i can't imagine anyone, even as a one off, making a mace from rosewood in that time frame - instinct tells me you are right but equally i don't much fancy telling dom that either!

[Micky]

How about this one?

http://www.mcdermottcue.com/IntimidatorSwordStory.asp

Love to see this pass customs

[100-uper]

This is an example of the inlaid cues which are so popular in America and frequently sell for over a thousand pounds. This one has tortoiseshell butt inlay on the side illustrated and a similar bone inlay on the other side. It also has an ivory cap on the bottom of the cue in the style of a superior mace, and has clearly been used for striking with the butt end.

I've seen all sorts of dates ascribed to these. Anyone like to take a guess on when this one would have been made?

[ADR147]

wild stab in the dark - 1935

[craigslater]

I would have guessed earlier?

[ADR147]

yes so would i but i think its a trick question!

[100-uper]

yes so would i but i think its a trick question!

O how suspicious you are ADR147!

I did forget to mention that there is a stamp on this cue which allows me to identfy not only when it was made, but where and who by. I would say though, it was made entirely within the period that these cues were normally produced. I'll give you a clue. It was between 1790 and 1890.

[ADR147]

1840 !!! - i am always suspicious!

[craigslater]

1840 !!! - i am always suspicious!

Best way to be mate

[100-uper]

1840 !!! - i am always suspicious!

As with the mace, discussed earlier, this type of cue is a problem to date from design alone. I was interested to see what the experts on here would say. Although ADR147 is the only one to have stuck his neck out, this is pretty much in line with what I would have expected.

The examples of similar cues I have seen have usually been described by their owners as early 19th century, and there also seems to be a tendency to think of them as essentially Continental manufacture. I wanted to show this cue because it demonstrates the extent to which these designs not only endured, but were widely copied in England.

You can take another look at my original image through this link:


There is a small stamp of "T. Mawson" on the butt of this cue which was purchased by me in a Yorkshire auction room some years ago. This is enough to tell me that the maker was Thomas Mawson, a small provincial billiard table maker who established his business in Leeds in 1860. The cue can therefore be confidently dated to the 1860s or 70s, much later than most people think they were being made. (Apart from ADR147's first guess -- 1935 indeed!)

It also ties into my previous comment that I suspected these cues, which fetch premium prices, might be more common than is generally thought. It is known that Thurston and other leading London firms produced cues of this design, but this example proves that even small provincial makers were turning them out the best part of a century after they first started to appear.

[ADR147]

well i can say and the reason for my silly opening guess is that i have seen one stamped with 1930 odd and i was expecting it to be a trick! when you see the designs you think georgian or very early victorian ie maybe 1780-1850 but i have a feeling that they were still being made much much later, hell in bits of the auvergne (in rural france) i would imagine if somebody needed a cue they would still make it this way! and they are not especially rare there at all its just that the quality is not as high as some i have seen.

[jimmymoller]

try HUNT AND O'BYRNE cues there are not many around and my coach has one he was offered $1500 for it

[ADR147]

will hunt is back working with robert osbourne - they are not that rare i have owned plenty of them!