T H E D I F F E R E N T F O R M S
T H E D I F F E R E N T F O R M S
Fishtail
Fantail & Bulbous
Grips 1
Grips 2
Flat-Top
Wedge
FISHTAIL
The “FISHTAIL” or “COLA de PEZ” handle is one of the most curious found in the history of the racket.
It is designed with aesthetic criteria, it is not particularly comfortable to use, but it gives distinction to the racket
We find it in rackets manufactured between 1888 and 1925.
Due to the lack of precise documentation, the years with which the rackets are dated may have a variation of ±5 years.
Fishtail Grip Rackets
Fishtail Grip Rackets
Shamrock (1890)
Geo G. Bussey & Co., The Diamond 2 (1900)
Slazenger, The Demon (1900)
Slazenger, The Demon (1900)
Photo of a group of people with snowshoes fishtails
Clouth, Vichand (1922)
Wiliams & Co, Association (1910)
Imp (1920)
J.B. Halleys & co (About 1910)
Phyllis (1905)
Postcard 21-?-1914
Postcard August 22, 1907 (back)
Postcard 22-August-1907
FANTAIL & BULBOUS
The “FANTAIL” grip is a variant, sought after in collecting, found on some rackets from the early 20th century.
It is comfortable to use, and its different shapes give personality to the racket
We find it in rackets manufactured between the years 1900 and 1930. Some are handmade and have only engraved the name of the model but not the brand name.
Due to the lack of precise documentation, the years with which the rackets are dated may have a variation of ±5 years
The “BULBOUS” grip, in the shape of a bulb, is another of the variants found in racket collecting. Many of the most recognized brands of the time made some model.
We find it in rackets manufactured between 1900 and 1925.
As they are marketed by well-known companies, we already have more precise information.
Fantail Grip Rackets
Gardner Bros, The Lily (1910)
Sport (1920)
Perry & Cox, Spartan (1920)
T.M. Gardiner, The Paragon (1915)
Keystone (1900)
Bulbous grip rackets
Bulbous grip rackets
Ashland Cup (1917)
Ashland Cup (1917)
E Kent, Duchess (1905)
E Kent, Duchess (1905)
E. Kent, Duchess (1905-1920)
E. Kent, Duchess (1905-1920)
Draper & Maynard, Princess (1920)
Draper & Maynard, Princess (1920)
Draper & Maynard, Princess (1920)
Keystone (1900)
OTHER GRIPS 1
The leather grip that today surrounds the final section of the racket handle began to be used in the 1930s. Previously, from the beginning, the different shapes and characteristics of this part had given personality to the racket. locate the approximate time of its use:
– Rounded (round, 1870-1900)
– Cork (cork, 1880-1900)
– Square (1900-1920)
– Regular (classical octagonal, 1872-1935)
– Regular deep grooves (octagonal with grooves 1895-1933)
– Taper (with narrower and squarer end than the rest of the magician (1900-1925)
–Rounded Butterfly (1900-1905)
– Demon (fishtail variant, owned only by Slazenger 1894-1925)
– Ball-tail (ball-shaped end 1896-1905)
Racket Approx. 1880
Rounded hilt (1870-1900)
Geo G. Bussey & Co. The Tournament 1 (1896)
Ball-Tail Hilt (1896 – 1905)
Flat Top Racket, 1880
Rounded hilt (1870-1900)
Slazenger, The Demon (1898)
Demon Hilt (1894-1925)
Grays Cambridge
Square Grip (1900-1920)
Harry C. Lee & Co. Dreadnought Driver (1920)
Regular grip with grooves (1895-1933)
Geo G. Bussey & Co. Wimbledon Hexagon 4 (1908)
Taper grip (1900-1925)
Spalding & Bros. Claremont (1904)
Rounded Butterfly Grip
Wright & Ditson, Cork Handle (1892)
Square cork grip (1880-1900)
Cork Handle 1890 Racket
Regular grip (1872-1935)
Sykes (1905)
Various grips
OTHER GRIPS 2
– Checkered (engraving in diagonal intersection 1900-1930).
– Embossed depressions (dotted 1925-1932).
– Hammer-tail (can be unified with barrel-tail, 1895).
– Waistline rounded (round with smaller diameter in the central area).
– Barrel-tail (can be unified with the Hammer-tail, 1895).
– Quadrature fantail (extremely rare).
Douglas London (1899)
Rounded grip with leather protector (preceding the current grip) (1899)
Schmeltzer (1900)
Checkered Hilt (1900-1930)
Gebrüder Hammer, Tauberperle (1929)
Embossed grip depressions (1925-1932)
Hammer-Tail and Transitional Flat-Top Racket (1895)
Hammer hilt (1895)
Slazenger, Thors (1925)
Waistline Rounded Grip
The Club, Barrel-Tail and Transitional Flat-Top racket (1898)
Barrel grip (1895-1900)
The Walter Bentley Co. Queen
Square Fantail Grip
The Walter Bentley Co, Queen
FLAT-TOP
Over a short period of time, in the penultimate decade of the 19th century, rackets were made that had an inverted triangle-shaped frame, that is, the upper part of the racket was flat, the FLAT-TOP rackets (1880-1890).
In the following decade, a hybrid shape between an inverted triangle and an oval appeared, the TRANSITIONAL FLAT-TOP (1890-1900).
Flat-Top Rackets (1880-1890)
Flat-Top Racket (1880)
Flat-Top Racket (1880)
Peck & Snyder, Expert Franklin (1885)
Peck & Snyder, Expert Franklin (1885)
Advertisement Peck & Snyder (1885)
Horseman, Seabright Sp. (1892)
Flat-Top Racket (1880)
Flat-Top Transitional Snowshoes (1890-1900)
Flat-Top Transitional Snowshoes (1890)
Flat-Top Transitional Snowshoes (1890)
Army (1900)
Williams & Co (1900)
A. G. Spalding & Bros, Slocum (1900)
Anunci A. G. Spalding & Bros, Slocum (1900)
THE DIFFERENT “WEDGE”
It is the center of the racket. It is the piece that makes the transition from the frame to the handle.
The bibliography refers to 4 types, but the “three branch” can also be considered as a type to differentiate.
– CONCAVE WEDGE, used from its beginnings to the present day.
– CONVEX WEDGE, used from its beginnings until 1920.
– WAVY WEDGE, made between 1900 – 1908 by the English brand Geo G. Bussey & Co.
– OPEN THROAT, used from the late 20s.
– THREE BRANCH, as Hazell’s Streamline (1937) and Le Coq Sportif (1983).
Different wedge group
The Orion (1920) concave Wedge
Concave Wedge
Geo G. Bussey & Co (1906) convex Wedge
Convex Wedge
Geo G. Bussey & Co (1908) wavy Wedge
Rawlings, Wilding (1928) open throat
Wilson, George Agutter (1929) open throat
E. Kent, Speedwood (1930) open throat
Open throat
Hazells Streamline (1937) / Le Coq Sportif (1981)
Le Coq Sportif (1981)