Wimbledon circa 1900
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3 available £360 to £440 (used)
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The "Wimbledon" are named after the Wimbledon Tennis Tournaments. This
tournament is considered one of the oldest and most prestigious in the
world. These rackets are in exceptional condition and some were actually
purchased by players during the Wimbledon Tournaments between 1898 to 1905
and remained. The rackets have double main strings
and trebling at the head and throat. The rackets made by Henry Craven and
his assistant Joseph Ward of Surrey Tennis, Reigate Road, Burgh Heath, Surrey.
£550 used
The racket
originally designed in Sweden in the 1980s and manufactured by Neoxxline, a
German company. Although it looks weird the designers say the grip shape
helps ease pressure on the wrist on serves and volleys and the head shape
generates more spin because of the angle the strings are at on contact with
the ball. The racket has been marketed under several names and has been
popular with players suffering from tennis elbow problems. This racket has
been used with a few small chips on the frame. Please view photographs for
condition.
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A unique collectors item, but equally
suitable for playing.
Excelsior Tilt-Head with Fishtail
handle c1894
£2,850.00 used
Unique Excelsior Lopsided tennis racket with Fishtail Handle c1894. Lopsided
rackets were popular and made to order until the early 1900s. Many players
believed the shape of the racket helped with hitting a low ball in garden
(lawn) tennis. This racket was made for a local family in Surrey and has
remained in the family for several generations. This may be the only tilt
headed racket ever made with a fishtail handle. The racket is 27ins long and
is named after the Excelsior Ash tree that the head was made from. Further
information and photos at
www.surreytennis.etsy.com
Antique Queens
Club Mahogany Tennis Racket Press
£650
used
One of only 6 racket presses
ordered by the Queens Club for tournament prizes. Made in solid mahogany
with 3 dividers, enabling up to 4 rackets to be held. Brass fittings
engraved with "Queens Club" on one side. The Queens Club. established in
1886 is one of the most prestigious tennis clubs in the world, where tennis
championships continue to be played.
Further information and photos at
www.surreytennis.etsy.com
MacGregor Bergelin Long String
£580 used
SOLD
Considered
the most unusual tennis racquet ever produced, the MacGregor Bergelin
LongString with its heptagonal head and diagonal strings is a must have for
vintage tennis racquet collectors. Up for sale is the most beautiful version
of the LongString with a graceful curved bridge to create a larger racquet
face and a symetrical throat.
The MacGregor Bergelin LongString tennis racket was notable not only for its
diagonal string pattern, but for its unique adjustable tensioning system.
The Bergelin LongString System was designed and patented in 1986 by German
aeronautics engineer Herwig Fischer, used by Lennart Bergelin, the Davis Cup
winner and former coach of Bjorn Borg. The tensioning system comprised a
series of 64 very small nylon pulleys built into the six-sided graphite
head. The face was strung with two 28-foot lengths of string that looped
around the pulleys and converged in the handle. The ends of the string were
inserted into an aluminium block only visible through an opening in the base
of the handle. The strings were tightened by an allen key devise. The racket
can be restrung by hand. Grip 4
3/8. The racket has been used with some superficial marks on the top of the
frame. The racket comes in its original case with players manual and tension
adjustment knob.
SOLD
The Surrey was the first racket to be made by Surrey Tennis at H. J.
Craven's workshop at Burgh Heath. The "Surrey" was also made for several
sports shops and department stores in London and often branded under
different names. The Surrey was made between 1874 until 1910 with slight
modifications. In 1879 the Surrey Club was introduced, an identical racket
with a fantail handle.
£280 used SOLD
The Demon was Slazengers most famous racket made from 1888 through to the
1920s. This racket is their special edition to the Demon family and with
their fishtail handle is a very sought after collectors item. It has
original natural gut strings for mains and original red natural gut cross
strings. Only one broken cross string. The racket was sold by the Whiteley
Department Store in Westbourne Grove and has their gold stamp on one side of
the neck. The other side displays the Demon trade mark and on the head
stamped "Special Demon". (please click
on image for photo page)
£340 used
A very nice example of a Fishtail racket with double main strings purchased
by Ethal Woodcraft from James Shoolbred, a department store in Tottenham
Court Road, London. Ethal Woodcraft
was a tennis enthusiast playing at several local tennis clubs including
Heydon Basin, Maldon and Danbury. This tennis racket remained in the family
for 3 generations. The racket has the original natural gut strings, mains
with the red cross strings and no warps or cracks in the wood. Only one main
string is broken. (Please click on photograph to go to the photo page). This
fishtail is stamped "Premier" on the Head and "Jas Shoolbred" on the neck.
£250
SOLD
Snauwaert, an Italian business, was founded in 1928 by the brothers-in-law
Valler Snauwaert and Eugeen Depla from Belgium. The "Ergonom" is one of the most unusual rackets
ever produced, featuring a rotating head. It was designed and patented in
the 1980s by Carlo Gibello.
A rare and very unusual tennis racket. Superb unused condition with original
strings and case and no marks on frame.
£320 used
SOLD
A very interesting and rare, well balanced light weight badminton racket measuring 21.5ins long
by 7ins wide. It is stamped "London" at the head and is attributed to John
Holden of Upper Baker Street, London NW. A very well constructed racket with
no warping, cracks or splits in the wood and one of the best examples of
this period. Badminton
is derived directly from poona, which was played by British army officers
stationed in India in the 1860s.
Badminton became popular in England in the 1870s when British army officers
returned from India. John Holden was a Society Racket Craftsman producing
rackets for Royalty and the famous including Ernest Renshaw, who together
with his twin brother, William won the mens doubles at Wimbledon 5 times. He
also supplied rackets to shops including the Army and Navy stores with the
familiar "London" stamp on the head of the racket. In 1872 he opened his
tennis racket shop at 10 Upper Baker Street which at that time was a
prestigious London Street close to Regents Park where a small area in the
park was available for playing tennis. The business later
moved to nearby 68 St John's Wood Road in the 1880s and opened its own
indoor tennis court.
The racket incorporates an Ash frame and three other types of wood appear to
have been introduced into the making of this racket. Strung in natural sheep
gut. This
is one of the earliest UK made badminton rackets we have found. (please click
on image for photo page)
£180 new with head cover and strung. grip 4 1/8
PRO-SPEED tennis rackets were developed to meet the exacting demands of
players internationally and created with quality materials and the finest
graphite in the 1990s. They became fashion icons with limited edition
designs and are in demand by collectors. The frames were identical. The
racket design above is called "The Lady" in metallic pinks and silver. It
still has the original protective covering on the handle.
£260 used SOLD
A Slazenger Demon strung in natural sheep gut. There is no warping and no
broken strings and appears to have the original collars. It is embossed on
one side of the neck with the Demon motif and on the other indicates a faint
dealers decal with the word "Manchester" just visible. Fishtails have become
one of the most sought after rackets for collectors. (Please click on photo
to see more pictures.)
£540 used SOLD
One of the finest and rarest tennis rackets of this period sold by John
Philip Browne and the eccentric Arthur Huggins Heppell "Professor Cyril".
Made in a high gloss quality frame with original strings and leather strip
around top of frame to protect the racket. Only one string brake
at the frame edge. Stamped "The Premier" at the top with the Browne and Heppell sports logo at the neck.
"The Premier" was one of Brown & Heppells finest
rackets to be sold and possibly the first tennis racket to retail at the price of one
guinea (twice the price of many other quality rackets of this period). The
racket was actually "The Surrey" which was branded and sold by Browne &
Heppell as "The Premier".
Features of this racket include the finest natural gut golden
coloured strings supplied by importers, Heymans of Finsbury Square, London.
Original red trebling, one of the first 19th century rackets seen with
coloured trebling and the racket still retains the beautiful gloss wood
finish.
Browne and Heppell manufactured and sold sports equipment to the highest standards
and had sports premises at Arlington Square, Islington and at Old Street and
Finsbury Pavement in the City of London. Arthur H. Heppell retired from the
business in 1897 and moved to the South Coast to live. Sadly his eccentric
lifestyle came to an end when whilst entertaining people cycling off
Brighton's West Pier into the sea, his bicycle toppled off a ramp and he
struck his head.
£125 USED
SOLD
The Doherty Brothers dominated tennis from 1897 to 1906 capturing 9
Wimbledon single titles between them and the Davis Cup four years in a row.
Slazenger produced a special edition Doherty tennis racket. This racket
although well used has no warps or broken strings. It still shows the
Doherty name in gold on the neck and the usual Slazenger brand and patent
mark impressions. A very rare racket to find
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Surrey Tennis & Racket Stringing Services,
Registered Office: Surrey Studios, 21 Nork Way, Nork, Banstead, Surrey, SM7 1PB.
Tel. 07871 552551 & Leatherhead 01372 453135