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Cues n Views by David Smith, a collector of
Cues, Books and other related memoabilia and a keen observer of Snooker and
Pool, is dedicated to Snooker memorabilia collecting and celebrating the worlds
of Snooker Billiards and Pool.
Navigate the site using
the Menu to the left to go to the item of your choice, or use the menu above to
find the desired section. Most pages have a row of links below the Banner, use
these to check the headlines for the latest additions under each
heading.
Use the FreeFind
search facility below to search the site for references
to something specific.
Cues n Views - Interactive -
An interesting side of creating a Web Site such as Cues n Views is the number
of people that get in touch and either ask questions or share
information.
Special Sections
Collected Writings - By Andy Hunter, Dominic
Dale, Norman Clare, Mark Wildman, David Thomas Lyttleton and Harry Smith. There
is also a Competitions section.
Advertorial
Features - Features by David Smith reviiewing the cues produced by modern
cue makers.
Buying an old cue - When
buying an old cue to keep as a collectable item, even if you do not intend to
sell it, requires you to buy with care so that you are not disappointed with
your acquisitions. In this article I have recorded some guidelines that are
intended to help you buy with confidence; (includes a tip on how to tell the
difference between hand-spliced and machine-spliced cues). |
Featured Articles
Cigarette Cards In More Detail
- I have gathered together a few examples of the variety of cigarette cards
that are commonly available, these cards are of course related to both
Billiards and Snooker collecting.
The Cues n Views archive
Cues n
Views is about saving old cues for future generations to enjoy and a service
that aims to inform those of you that are interested in old cues about their
history, their design peculiarities and their current market value as a
collector’s item or for insurance purposes.
Where are they now? - As
both Snooker and Billiards are now recognised as young men’s games, I find
myself wondering what happened to certain players who graced our television
screens only a few short years ago.
Mike Russell; is he the last of a
dying breed? - Mike Russell, along with a small group of devotees has kept
the game of competitive Billiards going over the past few years. Along with
holding down a day job, he has also managed to maintain his skills and travel
the world in search of competition.
The Ladies Game - In searching
out the roots of both Billiards and Snooker it would be remiss of me not to
include a little something about the women’s or as it used to be known in
gentler times, "The ladies game".
Interview with Dominic Dale
- For those of you not familiar with Dominic Dale he is currently ranked well
inside the top thirty-two Snooker players in the world. His biggest success on
the pro-circuit to date was winning the 1997 Grand Prix, defeating John Higgins
in the final. |
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What do you
want?
Perhaps I should be more
explicit; I collect old Billiards and Snooker cues as well as other items that
take my fancy.
I have most of the cues
that I want so am offering a kind of matching service to you as readers of this
site.
I don’t want to make
a profit but would take great pleasure in helping you to find what you want.
I also collect books and
here again, have mostly what I want, in point of fact I believe that I have the
books that I can realistically afford, however I have a network of friends who
have items that they consider surplus due to duplication that they might
consider passing on should the right circumstances present
themselves.
If you are awaiting a
reply to an enquiry for information on collecting old cues, please be patient
as the number of enquiries has dramatically increased since our
launch.
If you have items for sale
or are looking for something please let me know I’ll do what I can to help
you out.
All that I would ask is
the cost of postage.
Billiards & Snooker Exchange Pages
Billiards Masterclass 2004
Video for sale
New
Articles
Collecting:
Mike Hallett Cue - In 1993 Mike
Hallett the former world number five from Grimsby commissioned Glover Cues to
make him a matching pair of custom made cues to suit his playing needs.
Cigarette Cards In More Detail
- I have gathered together a few examples of the variety of cigarette cards
that are commonly available, these cards are of course related to both
Billiards and Snooker collecting.
The Cues n Views archive
Cues n Views is about saving old
cues for future generations to enjoy and a service that aims to inform those of
you that are interested in old cues about their history, their design
peculiarities and their current market value as a collector’s item or for
insurance purposes.
Buying
an old cue - If you are buying a cue to use as your own “playing
cue”, the decision is quite a simple one, however if you are buying a cue
in the hope that it will one day appreciate in value, the decision is a little
more complicated. (includes a tip on how to tell the difference between
hand-spliced and machine-spliced cues).
Interview with Dominic Dale - For those of you not familiar
with Dominic Dale he is currently ranked well inside the top thirty-two Snooker
players in the world. His biggest success on the pro-circuit to date was
winning the 1997 Grand Prix, defeating John Higgins in the final.
A Spaceman came calling or 85
under the shade without his own cue - Imagine my surprise if you will, a
few short days ago. I picked up my messages the other day and recognised the
voice included amongst these messages as the voice of Dominic Dale, former
Grand Prix Champion and in past times a rather eminent cue collector
himself.
Travelling for a
Purchase - I recently embarked on a trip to Mansfield to look for a Read's
Champion cue and came back with an early machine spliced Horace Lindrum Picture
badged cue as well.
Picture &
signature cues, can they make a comeback? - I am often disappointed with
the badges that are used on modern cues, little round discs are more than
adequate to let the buyer know who made the cue and what model it is, however
something a little more creative would be appreciated from time to time.
Big break for George Chenier - I
recently received an e-mail asking for a valuation and a little additional
historical information concerning a George Chenier cue. For those of you who
are unaware of who George Chenier was, well he was a Snooker player from Canada
who was invited to England in 1950 by the legendary Joe Davis.
Walter Donaldson the Flowing
Scotsman - There is, to my knowledge, only one type of cue that bears the
name Walter Donaldson. They were made by Peradon Limited around the time that
Walter was winning the World Snooker Championships.
Joe Davis Cues - There are so many
Variants of the Joe Davis cue that I could create a whole web site about them.
Having said that I will try to give you a flavour of what to look out
for.
Cues I Rarely Mention
- These cues feature the names of some of the founders of modern cue sports,
Joseph Bennett, William Cook, John Roberts, Charles Dawson, Cecil Harverson, W
J Peall, H W Stevenson and of course John Roberts Junior.
Fifth Sidney Smith Cue
- Until recently, I was only aware of four Sidney Smith badged cues, then last
week I discovered a fifth.
The Essential Cue Collection - Slightly for fun we have put
together a list of the cues that might make up the ideal cue collection.
Rare Old Books - Some of the
rarer books that you might like to track down include, such titles as the
Badminton Library, this book was first published in 1896.
One Cue - Some people play snooker
with one cue, all their lives. It is not necessary to change your cue once you
find one that you are comfortable with.
Older Books - I have many of the older books including
William Duffton’s book "Practical billiards" from 1868 and John
Roberts’s book, Roberts on billiards from 1873.
Interactive Museum - We
will show the pictures of many items on this site, in the hope of creating a
kind of interactive museum. Where you can eventually look at a catalogue of
items that are around and enjoy a more detailed appreciation of days gone by in
the field of both Snooker and English Billiards.
What's Yours? - Where you one
of the people that sent a Burwat Champion to Alex Higgins, in the hope of
helping him to win a third world championship? Do you own a matching pair of
custom built "Eureka’s", do you use a John Roberts cue to help your
Tomatoes to grow straight? Let me Know.
Norman Clare - Norman Clare gathered together a wonderful
collection of Snooker and Billiards memorabilia that is kept at the Liverpool
offices of Thurston. Includes link to the Cues n Views
Norman Clare Retrospective.
Modern Books - It is
interesting to note that 2001 is the 20th anniversary of Steve Davis
winning his first World Snooker title. This means that his two book
autobiography is virtually 20 years old, these books are worth reading as they
capture moments in time that are long gone now.
Future Collectibles -
To start a worthwhile cue collection is not as difficult as you might think.
Some of the more modern cues are quite attractive and will no doubt appreciate
in value over the coming years.
Cigarette Cards - I am just starting to learn a little
something about the very interesting subject of Cigarette Card collecting, this
subject is new to me. Includes link to
Cigarette Cards In More
Detail.
Temptation to Sell - The down side of owning a rare billiard
or snooker cue is that the temptation to sell it can come upon you quite
suddenly and after selling the feeling of loss can be quite long lasting.
W J Peall - I
sometimes wonder what kind of Snooker player Peall would have been if either
the game had taken his interest or, if he had been born twenty years
later.
The Lindrum
Selection of Cues - Walter and Horace Lindrum were Uncle and Nephew cueists
from Australia. Between them they won many snooker and billiards
tournaments.
Collect or
Tinker? - I recently received an e-mail asking what should he collect and
where should he start. Tinkering with cues yourself, is not in my opinion a
good idea as it often results in the cue becoming unplayable.
Balls - We collectors are
a weird breed, you know, I have even gathered together a small collection of
balls.
Autographs - Some people only collect non mass-produced
items, such as personally autographed items; perhaps they feel closer to the
subject of their collection by owning things that their subject has
touched?
Books -
Collecting early books has become quite expensive in recent years; I first
started collecting mine in second hand shops paying on average £5.
Unfortunately, this situation didn’t last long but I suppose that
I’ve had my fair share of bargains.
Peradon Limited -
If you see an old cue with a player’s name, face or record break on the
badge with no other maker’s name included, chances are that Peradon made
the cue. Now includes My Peradon
Cues.
Opinion:
2004 Grand Prix - I spent
a great day at the Grand Prix Snooker on Saturday 2nd October 2004 as a guest
of my friend Dominic Dale.
U.K. Professional Snooker championships 2003 - Visiting the
UK Championships in York this week has been a very great pleasure, not only did
my friend Dominic Dale win his first match but I also saw a number of good
players in action.
Arenas - On a visit to the
qualifying competition for the Powerhouse United Kingdom Professional Snooker
championships 2002 in York I was struck by the situation that the top and
former top players find themselves competing in.
Where are they now? - As
both Snooker and Billiards are now recognised as young men’s games, I find
myself wondering what happened to certain players who graced our television
screens only a few short years ago.
Mike Russell; is he the last of a dying breed? - Mike
Russell, along with a small group of devotees has kept the game of competitive
Billiards going over the past few years. Along with holding down a day job, he
has also managed to maintain his skills and travel the world in search of
competition.
The Ladies
Game - In searching out the roots of both Billiards and Snooker it would be
remiss of me not to include a little something about the women’s or as it
used to be known in gentler times, "The ladies game”.
Competitions News n Views
Index Page - Articles by David Smith on current and past competitions. The
2002 Benson & Hedges Masters is the latest Snooker competition to be
covered. An impressive Billiads tournament is the first competition of 2003 to
be covered.
Cue Stories -
Cue stories abound from the early days of billiards until today.
Spectacles - I was born with
cataracts and later developed Glaucoma, an eye disorder that means that fluid
normally found in the eye does not drain away and so builds up destructive
pressure unless medication is administered.
The Nineteen Eighties - As shocking as it may seem the
1980’s are fast becoming historical times for the game of Snooker, the
players of this era are considered by the youngsters in the clubs to be from a
totally different time.
Scoring Power - What concentration must it have taken for
players like Newman, Davis and Lindrum to allow them to make Billiard breaks
numbering in the thousands?
World's best player? - Many people have recently begun to say
that Ronnie O’Sullivan is the best player ever to pick up a cue.
Outsider? - Perhaps it is a good
thing that I don't know all the internal wrangling that plague my favourite
sport.
Convention? - If
this event was promoted effectively and run for the fans rather than purely for
business people I think that it would bring the game back to the people.
Epic Matches - When you watch
a Snooker match, what are the things that stick in your mind long term?
Snooker Etiquette - I don't
think that we need worry too much about the state of the game at grass roots
level, but I would like to do my bit to keep things this way.
Questions & Answers:
The Cues n Views archive
Cues n
Views is about saving old cues for future generations to enjoy and a service
that aims to inform those of you that are interested in old cues about their
history, their design peculiarities and their current market value as a
collector’s item or for insurance purposes.
About
Cues n Views - Background information about Cues n Views and David Smith,
cue collector.
Answers - If you have a
question about Billiards and Snooker, this site will attempt to answer it. We
would prefer that you do not ask us to go into the technicalities of the rules
or to begin to discuss theoretical situations like if player A pots all fifteen
red balls and then has a bacon sandwich what would the referee do?
History Page - Billiards &
Snooker timeline - This chronology does not claim to be complete but it
does intend to give some idea of what occurred during the pre Snooker boom era,
right up until the 1960’s.
History Page - Billiards Championship records - Here is a
table of Billiards Championship results from 1870 to 1934 to put into context
some of the players that we talk about throughout the Web Site.
Links:
Links - Cues n Views Recommended
Links to other cue sports Web Sites.
Just for Fun:
Picture Gallery:
Picture Gallery - New for Cues n Views, our Gallery
includes pictures of cues by proffessional photographer Viv Welsh, Balls and
Cards.
Quiz:
Snooker Quiz One - Just for fun! David Smith's
first Snooker Quiz for Cues n Views. Test your knowledge, updated March 2002,
now interactive.
Poetry:
On Spring Bank
Holiday Monday 2001 David and John Smith called at Borders book shop in Leeds
where they decided to stop for a cup of tea and a snack, it just so happened
that it was "Open Mike" poetry reding night. David decided to have a go at
poetry himself.
Yesterdays Players
Collecting Bug
Remembering Tom
A Pool Players Luck
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