Take a look at this website, sir.

https://www.ozonebilliards.com/pool-...es/pool-balls/

One off custom sets are available... they make a nice gift but are not great playing quality in my view.

The missing ball has got to be from your set...it's too much of a coincidence. Any way to prove it one or the other when you get the ball?

Hello, Dominic.

Yes, sir. There are two versions of this Poker Ball set: later editions featured extra lettering on the ball sides in addition to the larger A, K, Q, J and 10 within the suit cartouches.

This new set recently purchased is the earlier first design minus the extra lettering. My existing set with the missing king is the variant with the letters. Therefore, if the extra King of Diamonds features the letter K on its edges (unlike all the others in its box, including the other KoD) I would say there is an excellent chance we have discovered the EXACT ball. A veritable miracle.

I'll consider myself truly blessed either way.

Best wishes.

Apologies, sir, I didn't really answer your question.

Alas, there is no definitive way to prove it is the exact ball. We could certainly prove it isn't, however, if the king turns out to be from the earlier design set.

I'll let you know in a few days.

Hello again.

I thought you guys might like to see a few photographs of the two exceptional sets mentioned a few posts ago.

I discovered the trio of Raschig pool balls pictured below in a relatively obscure German marketplace. The seller was aware of their historical importance and desirability to avid collectors, meaning I had to pay €850 for the three sets combined. A bargain, believe it or not.

The ten-ball Turniersatz set has been described earlier on this thread. Pristine examples like this are very rare and currently fetch $500 without a problem. The One Pocket set featuring fifteen 'bumblebees' and a cueball is so rare to almost be unique. Ditto the colourful Four Player set. Neither of these incredible sets was known to me prior to purchase, nor had anyone on my extensive contact list of fellow enthusiasts ever seen them before. There had been rumours of prototypes like these, but none had ever materialised on the open market.

I would never sell them, of course, but a realistic valuation would probably be something around $1,500 per set. Perhaps a bit more if sold together.

Best wishes.

Those look awesome.

bump - just now discovering this awesome thread

OP,

what do you think of this movie:

Hello, sir.

I know the movie received some rather unflattering reviews, but I enjoyed it.

Thanks for the reply. Overall I think it encapsulates gambling and hustling quite well. I enjoyed it too.

these are so pleasing to look at.

Thank you, Red.

I’ve created a new thread called Pool Ball Collecting. It has some improved photographs and descriptions if you’re interested in having a quick read, sir.

Best wishes.

Thanks Rupert, just read this and your new thread - both highly entertaining.

Do you happen to know Clive Everton?

Good morning, Banzai.

I chatted with Clive several times in the 1980s, either at my factory or when we happened to meet at a snooker tournament somewhere. He is a very amiable fellow but we haven’t spoken now in over thirty years.

I understand Clive relinquished control of his beloved Snooker Scene a year or two hence… the end of an era.

Best wishes.

Thanks for the response, yes he was Snooker Scene in essence.

A final question - did you mass produce cues or make bespoke one-offs?

Personally, I mass produced cues, more of an assembly line production.

I did, however, also sell custom cues made by other skilled craftsmen.

I sold some cues which were made in the mid 1980s by Roger Bucknall… later a world renowned luthier. Roger made guitars for Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Sting and a host of other famous musicians.

To give an example of Mr Bucknall's supreme craftmanship, take a look at the sublime work of art he created for the cover of a cue company's brochure, seen below.

To carve such a beautiful and anatomically correct human hand is an admirable skill in itself, but when one learns that the cue is part of the same piece of wood it is obvious that we are dealing with a true master of his craft.

To be clear, the cue was not simply placed into the palm afterwards. Everything you see is one solid piece of wood... note how the cue splices carry on through the knuckles for instance. It truly is an astonishing work of art. Imagine starting with a single block of timber and having the insight not only to envisage what might be possible, but to then execute those thoughts with such clarity and perfection.

The pool cue (also made by Roger) on the table with the Union Jack case was made for Alex Higgins, a very famous player over here and world snooker champion in the 1970s and 1980s.

These two telescopic bird’s eye maple cue butts were prototypes for the American pool market. Roger only made ten, and I’ve got three of them.