Winter Auction 2015 closing February 7
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/8/2015
Improving upon the game of billiards which has evolved since its beginning in the 1600’s would be a hard thing to do, but this is a rare patent document that aimed to do just that. Dated August 13, 1889 and issued by the United States Patent Office to Robert Alexander Paine of Richmond, Virginia, this document awards the patent for his design of a ball return as a “useful improvement” in pool tables. Paine’s two-page diagrams and three page technical descriptions detailing his design for a ball return are presented in a blue ribbon paper binding from the patent office. The formal red seal from the patent office is affixed to the front cover which is signed by “Geo Chandler,” as Acting Secretary of the Interior. Paine’s specification inside, reads in part, “…The object of my invention is to provide an attachment for pool-tables, whereby the balls, after being pocketed, may be collected or deposited in the racks or receptacles designated for the use of the different players with but little trouble, a saving of time, and without the necessity of handling or transporting the same away from the table…By the use of my improved table the expense of employing a man to remove the balls from the table as is normally the case, may be done away with.” It was only in 1859 that Michael Phelan, considered the Father of American Billiards,” won the first billiard stakes match and it is he holds many patents for table designs and cushions. Paine’s design for a ball return coincides with the rapid rise in the popularity of billiards that quickly ensued during the later part of the twentieth century and may have been the first attempt at returning balls to a position other than remaining in the pockets, representing one of the most vast improvements in the mechanics surrounding the game which remains so popular today. Comes with Gotta Have It LOA.