Antique cast iron billiard table

[CGQ]

can anyone give me any information on a antique cast iron billiard table, manufactured by D HARRIS&SON LONDON/DUBLIN dates they started manufacturing dates finish manufacturing etc

[100-uper]

Daniel Harris was advertising "metallic and slate billiard tables" in 1864. They became "D. Harris and Son" in 1870. They operated prinicpally in Ireland and supplied to India and other climates where wood tended to be looked upon as food for the local insects. They were taken over by Burroughes and Watts in 1929. Hope this helps.

[CGQ]

do you know what years they manufctured in london!

[100-uper]

I don't have definitive dates for their time in London, but have seen their adverts with a London address ranging from 1865 to 1890. They initially had a manufactory at 257 Oxford Street, which later moved to 3 Pall Mall Place.

[CGQ]

in your opinion 100-uper would this be an extremely rare antique billiard table !

[franksandellsnooker]

A table of this type is in the Clare mueum at Thurston's Liverpool premises. I found it in West Sussex after it had been exported to England from an Irish Monastery and I arranged for it to be donated to the museum. F.

[CGQ]

cheers frank i looked this up on the norman clare billiard&snooker heritage collection.The table i have has a thicker leg and does"nt have screw adjustment feet.From a fitters point a view this table is very well manufactured,the levelling system is much like a SAM K STEEL, there are 4 adjustable cross bearers,there is adjustable bolts on the sides and end rails. their is a 10x5 on hamillton billiards wedsite that was sold to a medieval castle in switcherland.other than the museum i dont know of any other 12x6 that exists.If any knows of any they have seen can you let me know please!

[philip in china]

That really is a trifle recherche! Photographs please? I wonder how much it weighs.

[CGQ]

its not very recherche at the monent phil but hopefully when it is refurbished!

[100-uper]

in your opinion 100-uper would this be an extremely rare antique billiard table !

I would say that they are very rare to find in England as they didn't really catch on with the public here for some reason. However they were much more popular in Ireland and you may well still find them there, and in countries to which they were more usually exported. I don't know why the English disliked them, as they must have been relatively cheap to manufacture, but I recall Riso Levi writing in one of his books that when playing on an iron table in Ireland, the ball made a metallic "twang" when driven against a cushion.

[CGQ]

very interesting,I wouldnt know how many was manufactured in london or dublin i also cant find any information on the tables being exported to India other than yourself mentioning it ( maybe you can tell me where i can get this information)i dare say they where any cheaper to manufacture than wood ( HARRIS also manufctured tables from wood ) someone should have mentioned to Riso Levi that the cushions where bolted to the slate not the frame so i cant see how they would have made a metallic twang!

[Geoff Large]

The sound of the rebound of a ball is amplified by certain things , one being the thickness of the slate and the framework acts like an upside down speaker amplifieing the sound , on thin slates you get ball rumble noise as well as the clunk of the impacts and rebounds , thicker slates and thicker frame work will dull the sound down , it could be that levi was hearing a sound that only metal framed tables can produce , I would say this would be a differant sound than a wood framed table even if the cushions where bolted exactley the same , Also flooring can also amplify ball rumble and rebound noise , floorboarding with a void under will also produce amplified sound , on concrete solid floors this is prob nil .

It just maybe that levi was playing on a combination of thin slates , iron latice framework , and void flooring at the moment he observed the noise .

Geoff

[philip in china]

Can I show my ignorance again? Who is Riso Levi?

[CGQ]

most sound is amplified by cushion body, bad rubbers,bolts not tightened properly,bolts missing,slate thickness etc.yes there is a different echo from any table sitting on a wooden floor as to a concrete floor,cast iron frames or a lot more of a solid frame than any wooden frame.so in my opinion it should dull the sound more,as for what levi heard i dont know!

[CGQ]

riso levi was a writer about billiards