Slightly for fun and as a guide to new collectors, we have put together a list of the cues that might make up the ideal cue collection. As you know we specialise in the era from 1880 to 1950 so our guide focuses on this era. These cues are in our view the main ones that should be sought out by a serious collector along with any others that you like or that are even more obscure.

In our view, here at cues n Views the essential cue collection should contain at least one each of the following or a search for each of these cues should be started:

We will begin with the cues that carry the name of a specific player:

• William Cook
• Melbourne Inman
• John Roberts
• George Gray
• Joseph Bennett
• Joe Davis
• John Roberts Junior
• Sidney Smith
• Charles Dawson
• Horace Lindrum
• W J Peall
• Clark McConachy
• W M Green
• Cecil Harverson
• Edward Diggle
• Fred Davis
• H W Stevenson
• Willie Smith
• Walter Lindrum
• Tom Reece
• Claude Falkiner
• Tom Carpenter
• Sidney Lee
• Albert Brown
• Tom Aiken

If you can get hold of a hand-spliced version of each of the above, then your collection will be quite impressive. Be aware that there are several Tom Newman cues and several Peall cues, so you might like to start with the basic champion cues and work up to a facsimile or a dated cue.

Other cues that many collectors value, include the following:

• The J P Mannock Anti-Grip Registered cue
• The J P Mannock Patent Anti-Grip cue
• The Burroughes and Watts Burwat Champion cue
• The Burroughes and Watts Ye Olde Ash Cue
• The Burroughes and Watts Eureka cue
• The Burroughes and Watts Mascot cue
• The Professional Champion cue
• The Cannon Match cue
• The Orme Match Cue
• The Parker Match Cue
• The Tom Taylor Balanced cue
• The E J Riley Signature cue with full Snakewood Butt

Perhaps you could also seek out cues by major manufacturers and suppliers from the past, such as:

• Raper and Sons
• E A Clare
• Hixon
• Tom Taylor
• Dawson and Co
• Murton
• Smith and Nelson
• Wm Sykes
• Herbert Holt
• S M Wainwright

Older cues by still existing companies can enhance a collection too, such as the older cues by E J Riley and Thurston, and the rest of the Burroughes and Watts range.

As stated above, many players had more than one cue designed with their name on the badge, such as Tom Newman and Walter Lindrum. To begin with, one of each of these cues may be all that you want. Joe Davis cues in both machine-spliced and hand-spliced versions are still readily available, so there is plenty of scope to collect Joe Davis cues, you might like to seek out the earlier snooker break cues, below the hundred.

Another mini collection might be the Reece cues, I can think of four, these cues are all interesting, containing little variations that enhance their desirability.

The Riley range is quite large and ranges from machine-spliced cues to very nice hand-spliced cues containing snakewood and a variety of interesting badges.

Whatever you decide to collect, good hunting. The main thing is that your collection should give you pleasure and a sense of achievement. Many people turn their nose up at machine-spliced cues, and yet they are now becoming a little more scarce, perhaps they are the collector’s items of the future.

David Smith
Billiards and Snooker cue collector.

© Copyright March 2002 David Smith

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