tennishistory.com.au

At the start of the year we decided to change the way the site could be accessed in order to build a database of interested tennis enthusiasts. Quite frankly we are really impressed with how many new people have joined up and thankyou for doing so.

Today, I just want to show you some pics just added to the site.

Just in today courtesy of Rolf Jaeger is a racquet which shows how unusual stringing patterns were tried way back early in racquet production which includes pre-tennis.

This is handmade and for those with a more recent MAD RAQ you will see how the patent granted for this stringing design probably should not have been.If you wish to see more visit the page title racquet stringing on the website. It is now owned by Tennis Australia.

Some months ago we received this great little pic of UK c1910 bowl. Definitely up there for an Australian flavour. Koalas playing tennis. This pic is hidden away under the OTHER menu button and the OTHER sub menu button. Most of you probably haven’t been to this page so you will find some interesting pics there also.

Due to some good luck we found some additional pictures of Edward Dewhurst and most recently we added a section about Wilberforce Eaves. Who, I can hear you ask (not all of you)? Well I dare say he probably was the first Australian born player to travel back to the UK to enter Wimbledon in 1890 and then return to Australia on a few trips to play local Interstate tennis for Victoria, the state championships, and guided local players on some of the tactics and playing techniques he had experienced in the UK and the USA (runner up 1897 US Open). He had a major impact on Norman Brookes before he went to the UK in 1905 & 1907.

Current projects are to complete an article about 1947 Australian Championship player and Davis Cup team member Dennis “Dinny” Pails. Some exciting phone calls over the long weekend found Dinny’s family and they seem delighted to assist us, so stay tuned.

Regards for now from the Team and feel free to email us with any suggestions or contacts.

Before heading off on holiday around spectacular New Zealand, I started to think about the wonderful vistas that some lucky tennis players must enjoy. Obviously, there will be some sensational private courts but equally there will be some terrific club courts. So from this point I am very keen to receive photos of your favourite tennis courts with a view. This is a global search, and yes we know about the heli-pad court in Dubai!!

Now, back in New Zealand, what better place to start than Whataroa and Queenstown both located in the South Island. We didn’t make it to Nelson, but I hope some of our New Zealand comrades will be able to organise some additional pics. Queenstown is really an amazing ski resort area with plenty of activities.

I don’t think these photos do justice to actually being there, but believe me the surrounds are very picturesque. Enjoy………and can’t wait to see some court pics from Switzerland…..Rod

Whataroa Tennis Courts

Whataroa Tennis Courts

Queenstown Tennis Courts

Queenstown Tennis Courts

Queenstown Tennis Courts

The Alexander Patent Racquet Company as they were known back in 1926 produced two flag ship models, The Cressy and The Lismore.

This is the earliest example of an Alexander racquet we have seen which clearly shows the patented laminated timber construction. Additionally, the shoulders have been made stronger via a lamination which keeps the wedge in position.

Very high quality workmanship is displayed throughout including timber plugs to hide the screw holding the wedge in place. This example has a leather grip which looks like an after thought as it runs past the normal grip length as if hiding a grooved wooden grip. Yet, trying to peek under the grip seemingly doesn’t reveal the expected finish. Maybe this is a later, early 1930’s model but the graphics treatment by this stage were much more sophisticated.

We know Cressy was a town, and so is Lismore, yet the connection to Lismore at this point remains a mystery.

Rod

While collecting Tennis memorabilia is still quite affordable, items are definitely on the increase or at the very worst holding up well in the current economic crisis. This doesn’t just apply to racquets, balls, presses and other equipment maintain strong demand. There are still plenty of low cost woodies from the early 1900’s around to keep values at under $50 but when something special comes along you can bet the collectors come out in force.

This very nice Slazenger Demon Fishtail has just sold for AUS $786 plus freight and is consistent with the Hazell Streamlines of similar high quality.

While many might believe that value is in the older racquets, let me assure you that the unusual graphites and odd shaped racquets are also bringing huge dollars. Recently a Wilson Javelin sold for $350 US.

If you own a collection of old or unusual racquets hang on to them since they continue to rise in value.

I have been amazed at the way you can buy and sell tennis memorablia for a profit as long as you understand the global demand for various brands and specific collectible items.

Collecting tennis memorabilia is great fun. There is plenty of items around and normally the prices are pretty average.

Another interesting facet is that many collectors have varying parameters. Some like memorabilia by decade, player, manufacturer and materials ( metal,aluminium etc). Please visit the links on www.tennishistory.com.au and see other interesting collections from racquets to tennis balls.

Good luck hunting out some bargains………… Rod

This week was I was very lucky to find a 1981-85 Head String Lock Edge. Having never seen one before, I thought what an interesting stringing system. Each string is independent, allowing an owner to simply replace the one string which had broken. I jumped on the phone to my stringer and he recalled the system as being quite a good idea. I realise that many players hold the view that when one string goes they all should, but that was never the way. In the 1900’s they used to replace strings when they looked like breaking but never did the full restrings like they do today. One can’t imagine Norman Brookes explaining he needed 7 racquets strung on match day to whatever exact requirements and this included yesterdays unused racquets which had to have their strings cut out and replaced. I kid you not this standard practice today. Anyway the Head String Lock is a very rare example of an unusual stringing system which may well have been ahead of its time.

Head String-Lock Edge

While there can be little doubt that 1874 and the launch of “Sphairistike” by Major Wingfield, marked the starting point for the global spread of the modern game of Lawn Tennis, many other racquet and handball sports were tried over the centuries. A great book on this subject is Tennis by Gianni Clerici which was produced in the mid 1970’s. Specifically in the UK, mention is often made of an early form of tennis being played on the estate of Harry Gem at Leamington in 1872, however we have just received the illustration below from a book produced in 1837 (Games and Sports, by Donald Walker) showing what appears to be a typical doubles style game on a court, divided in two, with racquets and even is described as “Long or Open Tennis”.

Since the book is very rare this illustration is not widely known amongst tennis historians and does seem to pre-date the aforementioned variations. Clearly a difficulty with early forms would be the poor bouncing capabilities of the ball whereas the 1874 period saw the development of the rubber ball and lawn mower which both permitted the modern game with relative ease.

I will run this past Wimbledon Museum for a comment.

Please see the Book Section of website for reference by photo of Clerici’s book.

Games and Sports by Donald Walker Published by Thomas Hurst, St Pauls Church Yard 1837 1st Edition.

Thanks to Sebastiaan van Hoorn (Netherlands) for the photo.

Under the “Unusual Racquets” sections on the site you will see a couple of racquets which provide the user the option to remove and replace the string sets. The Tretorn version is a very unique collectible and so here we would like to present some additional photos which show how this racquet works.

This is the racquet ready to play.

Undo the butt cap which screws into the handle. Then this allows the handle to pushed forwards. The Butt cap can then be removed with a simple sliding action and the handle can then be slid off the frame.

Then you undo the spindle nut connecting the two frames. This has a long wire effect which stretches out as the frame opens.

And here you have the string set out of the frame ready for replacement and simply re do all the above steps.

It takes only a couple of minutes.

Back in 1906, Anthony Wilding from New Zealand was forging a name for himself with other Australian players not only at Wimbledon but also at the Davis Cup. At this time Australasia permitted players from NZ and Australia to compete together at the Davis Cup and at Wimbledon the dominance of Australian Norman Brookes and Anthony helped cement public interest in the development of tennis in the lands down under.

Norman (pictured right) won the singles in 1907 and 1914. Tony (left) won it four years straight from 1910 -1913 plus they won the doubles together in 1907 and 1914. In 1908 and 1910 when Norman didn’t play, Tony won the doubles with M Ritchie. In addition, Tony won the mixed doubles in 1906 and 1908.

Tragically, in World War 1, Tony was killed in action at Flanders. As with so many other sports, who knows what may have been had the war not taken so many talented young men.

In honour of Tony’s life and to celebrate his success at the elite levels of tennis one hundred years on, a relative, Anna Wilding has set up a charitable foundation.

The press release reads as provided:

Anna Wilding Launches Charity- the Wilding Foundation Melbourne May 2009 – A new charity has launched, the Wilding Foundation, that aims to fill an overlooked gap in the charity and non profit marketplace. www.wildingfoundation.com The founder, award winning actress director and producer Anna Wilding said it is “a diverse, exciting and contemporary charity that is also couched in history”

Anna Wilding, a supporter of humanitarian and environmental issues as well as a gifted filmmaker, has personally experienced what it is like to miss out – of not being able to pursue a chosen direction due to financial factors. Ms Wilding, tipped to go to Wimbledon and join the professional circuit herself as a youngster could not afford the required training overseas.She hopes that this charity will help bridge a gap for those impoverished who display talent and cannot afford the training, travel, study or equipment.

Tennis History is pleased to support this foundation in honour of a truly inspiring contributor to the development of tennis.

Cheers Rod

Just for subscribers I have just updated the site with some pics of these two racquets.

The Rival is a very unusual shape and the Orbitech is also being a perfect circle. Both have a very wide throat design to accommodate the width required.

In the 1920’s racquet manufacture took a giant leap forwards with the introduction of metal racquets. In the USA it was Dayton and in the UK it was a Company called the Birmingham Aluminium Company. Their first racquet, was the all metal “BIRMAL” which I think you will agree would not look out of date lined up against many of the 1970’s metal derivatives.

The first grip option was the (pictured) cord wrapping which was then followed by a traditional leather grip variation. The strings as per Dayton were also piano wire. They are highly sought after by collectors and come up rarely on the international market and this photo was kindly supplied by Joe from www.woodtennis.com in the USA. A UK patent was granted in 1922 so it would certainly appear to be one of the the first all metal racquets produced at least for the mass market, remembering that Dayton were principally a wood handle steel head/throat combination. In Jeanne Cherry’s book Tennis Antiques and Collectibles, she lists a company in Scotland called the Metallic Racquet Corp. advertising a metal racquet with standard gut stringing in 1887, so quite a few attempts may have been made in this area.

Do you think we might find one of these Birmal racquets as originally supplied to Australia? Well amazingly, we might and maybe moreso in Queensland/NT. In a moment of good luck we spotted this advertisement from March 1924 which clearly points to the Birmal’s unique qualities of aluminium and the steel strings. The ad was published in the Northern Territory Times where heat extremes may well have been a factor in choosing a racquet. We are yet to find any advertising in the southern states, so perhaps the tropical areas (Toowoomba, Townsville etc.) were the prime targets.

If anyone has more information about the Birmal racquets please contact us.

And if you do find one, hang onto it. It will go up in value faster than any superannuation scheme. Approx. value $ 450-$1000 depending on condition.

If you don’t find one, fear not, Tennis Australia have a couple in their museum collection which will only be a few years away from being displayed.