An extremely rare and early French racquet probably dating from The Late 18th Century

An extremely rare and early French racquet probably dating from The Late 18th Century, the racquet/racket (discovered in Lullin, south-eastern France) is bound with calf skin around the middle-piece or wedge, patina on the surface shows that this binding originally passed down the whole length of the handle, but calf skin remains at the very end. The frame of the racket is held together with early hand-made nails bent and counter-sunk into the frame (see the 18th century description below), the lateral strings are looped around each vertical each time they meet, 55cm overall

Reminiscent in style of the racket which features in the photogravure of tennis player Guillaume Barcellon from 1753, this racket is an extremely early example. Note the similar calf-skin wrapping in the photogravure, the looped stringing pattern and the position of the nails near the wedge and on the handle. A description concerning the construction of those early rackets can be found in Marshall's Annals of Tennis. p124, using hand-made racket-nails. He quotes De Garsault’s account of 1767, which said that rackets were secured by drilling, "...a hole which pierces the two sides and the middle-piece. This hole is intended to receive the ‘racket-nail’. Before placing this in the hole, the latter was counter-sunk  (as it is on this racket) with a gouge, to fit the head of the nail; and a groove was cut on the opposite side of the handle (again, see the handle from the side) to receive its end, which was turned over and clenched upon the anvil....Until recent days, the handle was always covered with a broad strip of leather, wound spirally round from the bottom to a height of about 10 ins."

Also note that the handle (in contrast to the head) has been left fairly unfinished. As originally it would have been covered with leather. The racket is almost 22 inches (55.3 cms.) in length by 7 inches wide (18.0 cms). De Garsault says that early rackets were made in three types - 'ordinary', 'demi-paume’ and ‘en battoir’, this may be a rare example of either of the latter two. Included in this lot is a small early leather-covered, wood-fibre filled ball of unknown origin. The leather cover is hand-sewn in quarters and appears to have of hand-written text on the surface. An A4 framed and glazed print of the Barcellon image is also included. (3)