A Royal Lawn Tennis set for 4 players, made by Jefferies, Woolwich, ca. 1875, comprising 4 Spharistikè-style rackets; one india-rubber ball; the net; 2 wooden net posts with onion finials having extra sections for badminton play; centre weight; guy ropes; 4 metal pegs and 3 canes; one reel of marking tape; and rule book, all contained in original pine box with manufacturer's label (width of box 42in; 1070mm.). See cover illustration . Although it probably contained more balls, this set is without question both remarkably complete and, apart from the one ball which is no longer useable, in a state of preservation that is altogether exceptional for this early period -- between 2 and 3 years after the appearance of the first Spharistikè sets. The four rackets providing for doubles play are made of a light ash frame, with the protective leather strip still preserved on the tilted head, and strung in gut with real tennis gage (length 26¼in; 670mm.). Other features are the walnut throat with fibre inlay between throat and frame to assist bonding, the original sheepskin grip and leather-covered butt. Each racket is stamped with the maker's name and the arms of the Prince of Wales. Importance must be attached to the colour-printed wood-engraved label (10 x 18½in; 255 x 470mm.) inside the box lid ( illustrated above ). This depicts a lawn tennis game in progress surrounded by vignettes of four other sports -- football, racquets, badminton and cricket. The court narrows towards the center, bystanders stroll casually along the square path around it, while other spectators watch the game from small tents in a scene that very much emphasises the social rather than the competitive nature of the game at this early period (the label is a little dampstained at edges, slightly affected by minor cracks in the box lid and with a small hole to the lettering). No less important is the presence of the rule book entitled Rules of Lawn Tennis and Badminton , Woolwich and New York: Jefferies & Co., [n.d.], 8°, 54 pp. with one full-page wood-engraving of lawn tennis in England and a half-page engraving of badminton in India, two court diagrams, one leaf of advertisements at end, and decorative wrappers printed in brown and green ( front cover illustrated above ). The wood-engraving of Lawn Tennis in the book is a smaller version of that shown on the lid, with the caption "Improved Lawn Tennis." The historical introduction (pp. 5-19) claims a supriority for the "Royal Game of Tennis" over Pall-Mall, Bowls and even Racquets "now that it is adapted to playing on a lawn, and without the provision of a special and costly building or 'court.'" One attraction is its comparatively small cost: "In the times when Tennis was exclusively a royal game, it cost 3,000 to 7,000 to build a Tennis Court ... but now a few racquets, a few sixpenny balls, a net or even a length or two of cord, a little whitewash, or white tape to mark the ground, are all the materials required to prepare for play." Another is the fact that the game is suitable for both sexes: "Cricket and racquets are men's games, Court Tennis for the wealthy, Fives and Football for sturdy youths, but Lawn Tennis is for men and women, for youths and maidens; encouraging that frank sociability which is the most delightful feature of any sport." Special tribute is paid to Major Wingfield as the originator of the Lawn Tennis game: "It would be an unpardonable omission if we were not to give all honour to Major Wingfield, to whom the present popular position of the game is chiefly due, and it is with no little pleasure that we are able to say we have from the first been identified with his system of play as manufacturer of the implements which he had adopted" (Jefferies had participated in the making of Spharistikè sets, see Kuebler Buch der Tennisrackets , 1995, p. 153).
A Royal Lawn Tennis set for 4 players, made by Jefferies, Woolwich, ca. 1875, comprising 4 Spharistikè-style rackets; one india-rubber ball; the net; 2 wooden net posts with onion finials having extra sections for badminton play; centre weight; guy ropes; 4 metal pegs and 3 canes; one reel of marking tape; and rule book, all contained in original pine box with manufacturer's label (width of box 42in; 1070mm.). See cover illustration . Although it probably contained more balls, this set is without question both remarkably complete and, apart from the one ball which is no longer useable, in a state of preservation that is altogether exceptional for this early period -- between 2 and 3 years after the appearance of the first Spharistikè sets. The four rackets providing for doubles play are made of a light ash frame, with the protective leather strip still preserved on the tilted head, and strung in gut with real tennis gage (length 26¼in; 670mm.). Other features are the walnut throat with fibre inlay between throat and frame to assist bonding, the original sheepskin grip and leather-covered butt. Each racket is stamped with the maker's name and the arms of the Prince of Wales. Importance must be attached to the colour-printed wood-engraved label (10 x 18½in; 255 x 470mm.) inside the box lid ( illustrated above ). This depicts a lawn tennis game in progress surrounded by vignettes of four other sports -- football, racquets, badminton and cricket. The court narrows towards the center, bystanders stroll casually along the square path around it, while other spectators watch the game from small tents in a scene that very much emphasises the social rather than the competitive nature of the game at this early period (the label is a little dampstained at edges, slightly affected by minor cracks in the box lid and with a small hole to the lettering). No less important is the presence of the rule book entitled Rules of Lawn Tennis and Badminton , Woolwich and New York: Jefferies & Co., [n.d.], 8°, 54 pp. with one full-page wood-engraving of lawn tennis in England and a half-page engraving of badminton in India, two court diagrams, one leaf of advertisements at end, and decorative wrappers printed in brown and green ( front cover illustrated above ). The wood-engraving of Lawn Tennis in the book is a smaller version of that shown on the lid, with the caption "Improved Lawn Tennis." The historical introduction (pp. 5-19) claims a supriority for the "Royal Game of Tennis" over Pall-Mall, Bowls and even Racquets "now that it is adapted to playing on a lawn, and without the provision of a special and costly building or 'court.'" One attraction is its comparatively small cost: "In the times when Tennis was exclusively a royal game, it cost 3,000 to 7,000 to build a Tennis Court ... but now a few racquets, a few sixpenny balls, a net or even a length or two of cord, a little whitewash, or white tape to mark the ground, are all the materials required to prepare for play." Another is the fact that the game is suitable for both sexes: "Cricket and racquets are men's games, Court Tennis for the wealthy, Fives and Football for sturdy youths, but Lawn Tennis is for men and women, for youths and maidens; encouraging that frank sociability which is the most delightful feature of any sport." Special tribute is paid to Major Wingfield as the originator of the Lawn Tennis game: "It would be an unpardonable omission if we were not to give all honour to Major Wingfield, to whom the present popular position of the game is chiefly due, and it is with no little pleasure that we are able to say we have from the first been identified with his system of play as manufacturer of the implements which he had adopted" (Jefferies had participated in the making of Spharistikè sets, see Kuebler Buch der Tennisrackets , 1995, p. 153).
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