1907 Catalogue

[philip in china]

When my father did I inherited a reprint of a 1907 Army & Navy stores catalogue. This reprint had been made in 1969 under the title of "Yesterday's Shopping" by a publisher called "David & Charles". It is a list of everything available to buy by mail order from the A & N stores. In those days they were sending out almost anything you can imagine to every corner of the world. This, of course, included snooker tables and accessories. Their best quality, hand carved oak table was £109. 10. 0. (£109.50 if you don't remember shillings). Of course you have to remember that plenty of people wouldn't earn that much in 2 years so they were actually very expensive! They have automatic combination dining and snooker tables, miniature tables for on your existing table, and all the accessories you would ever want including "The new patent double built bamboo billiard cue" whatever that was.

The book is long out of print but I have seen them in libraries. (Geoff, when last I was in UK there was a copy in Worksop library for example). It really is worth taking a look just for the snooker although the ather sections are equally fascinating.

[Mike P]

Sounds like quite the item. Are you able to take some pictures and post them?

Mike

[philip in china]

I doubt if it would work. The pictures are really old engravings and so they wouldn't really reproduce. Also the book is almost 2,000 pages so it won't lay flat enough to scan successfully.

[bongo]

I doubt if it would work. The pictures are really old engravings and so they wouldn't really reproduce. Also the book is almost 2,000 pages so it won't lay flat enough to scan successfully.

You can just take a picture with a camera and post it here if you can't scan it.

[Geoff Large]

Phillip ,I have seen a copy of this book , another book on the same lines was republished and is called also yesterdays shopping by Gamages Holborn London , gamages where a very large department store , and sold everthing from gentlemans and ladies grooming cases to full size billiard tables , not so long a go I sold a Gamages rotating swivel top Diner , it was made by George wright , or Geroge Edwards which I beleive to be the maker , they where not allowed to put their name on it as Gamages always put there badge on the table .
I would say that most army Navy airforce tables where sold in youre catalogue under the same way , prob by Thurston or burroughs and watts . the diners though if swivel would be as above .
I find these catalogues very interesting as they sold bicicyles / Tents / silver watches or gold etc , Electricity was a new thing at this time and also the first forms of vacum cleaner / shaver / even hedge shears , it was not until the late 20s early thirties that gas lighting above tables where replaced by electric shades .

Geoff