Help Identify My Grandfather’s Cue
12/8/2017 11:08:40 PM
Help Identify My Grandfather’s Cue
My dad told me this was my grandfather’s pool cue. My grandfather died in 1937. I couldn’t find any markings on the cue or the case...only the chalk. Is it normal not to have any markings or am I just missing it? Would anyone be able to give me a clue on how to identify this cue? Thanks
Help Identify My Grandfather’s Cue
Replies & Comments
- billiardsforum on 12/9/2017 7:05:49 AM
Great looking cue. I am sorry though, I don't recognize it just based on what it looks like.
I do recognize the chalk though. "NBCC" stands for "National Billiard Chalk Co.".
By the way, for a cue which is potentially over 100 years old, it is in great shape. I wouldn't let it go until you fully understand exactly what you have.
- Debbie Jennings Miner on 12/9/2017 11:12:45 AM
Thanks for the reply. I added the picture of the chalk hoping it could help date the cue. Do you know if it’s normal for a cue not to have any markings? The case doesn’t have a marking either. Would the case have been sold with the cue or is that something that would have been sold separate?
- billiardsforum on 12/9/2017 11:56:19 AM
That is a common generic pool cue case, so it doesn't help. There are a million like it.
Yes it can be common for a cue not to have any markings. When it has no markings it (usually) means one of several things:
- It is a cheap generic cue or "house cue"
- It is a custom pool cue (less likely, but possible)
- It is a cue from a brand-name maker which just happens to not have a logo or name incorporated into it's design
- It may have had a logo, but the piece which had the logo was repaired with a generic replacement piece.
I look at a lot of cues every day, so I will keep my eyes peeled for you.
Also, if you figure it out before you get an answer here, please do share what you find.
The National Billiards Chalk is from the early 1900s. This photo below is a 1910 version. Yours looks perhaps a bit older?
- Debbie Jennings Miner on 12/10/2017 2:07:43 AM
Thanks for all the information. I am hoping I’ll get an answer on this forum, but if not, I will share what I find. I’m not knowledgeable at all on cues so this may be a stupid question but Is there a way to tell the difference between a house cue and a custom cue?
- billiardsforum on 12/10/2017 10:46:29 PM
Not really. The term "house cue" is just a classification applied to low-cost, usually generic, cues. They might still be made by a big name maker, but perhaps are more simple than the maker's consumer or professional lines. Brunswick Billiards was a huge supplier for pool halls and sold hundreds of thousands (probably millions) of "house cues".
If I had to guess one way or the other, I wouldn't consider yours to be a house cue.
Help Identify My Grandfather’s Cue
- Title: Help Identify My Grandfather’s Cue
- Author: Debbie Jennings Miner
- Published: 12/8/2017 11:08:40 PM
- Last Updated: 12/9/2017 8:53:53 AM
- Last Updated By: billiardsforum (Billiards Forum)