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 passed 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.
