Those strings at the top and bottom were used back then as a crude "string savers". They limited the friction of the main over the crosses. Usually they were "looping" around mains to help them "stay there" and reduce friction. They are the ancestors of "string a ling" lol!
The small decorative string was to allow you to spin the racket, have the opponent call rough or smooth, and determine who served first. When I started tennis, we all used Wilson rackets, and would spin and call M or W.
Nice😊 I found a catalogue from 1928 and better rackets cost around 6,50 dollars. 1 dollar in 1928 in todays money is around 18.45 dollars. 6,50 in 1928 is around 120 dollars today but inflation can vary in different cities. Tube of 3 Wilson "Championship" tennisballs cost in 1928 around 1,25 dollars.
If that cover is 96 years old don’t you think you should handle it with gloves? It’s got to be very fragile if it is that old. The oils from your hands are surely damaging this near antique.
Thanks for the episode! Really enjoyed viewing the rackets, and really liked the cover ❤
Those strings at the top and bottom were used back then as a crude "string savers". They limited the friction of the main over the crosses. Usually they were "looping" around mains to help them "stay there" and reduce friction. They are the ancestors of "string a ling" lol!
The small decorative string was to allow you to spin the racket, have the opponent call rough or smooth, and determine who served first. When I started tennis, we all used Wilson rackets, and would spin and call M or W.
The looped thin string trim at the top or bottom of the string bed was used to call rough or smooth.
Nice😊 I found a catalogue from 1928 and better rackets cost around 6,50 dollars. 1 dollar in 1928 in todays money is around 18.45 dollars. 6,50 in 1928 is around 120 dollars today but inflation can vary in different cities. Tube of 3 Wilson "Championship" tennisballs cost in 1928 around 1,25 dollars.
Wright & Dickson?
Don’t cut out the strings, Harry. They are probably holding the racquet together,
If that cover is 96 years old don’t you think you should handle it with gloves? It’s got to be very fragile if it is that old. The oils from your hands are surely damaging this near antique.
Could be some kind of.....en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_racquet predecessor