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The racquet known as The Last Witness  originates from London and dates to the end of the 1870s. It is made of solid wood with an oval striking face, typical of English racquets produced during the final decades of the nineteenth century. The manufacturer remains unidentified, though the form and balance correspond to models used in early lawn tennis. The Last Witness, 1878 The piece was part of a London household destroyed during the Blitz, the sustained bombing campaign car

Vellum-covered battledores were produced in Europe during the first half of the nineteenth century. Racquets consisted of a wooden frame covered with a stretched sheet of vellum. The material was prepared from calf or goat skin and fixed tightly around the rim with small nails or tacks. The surface created a dry and distinct sound when the shuttlecock made contact. The wood was often ash or beech. Handles were short, straight, and sometimes wrapped with thin leather for bette

Demi-Paume racquets feature a distinct lopsided head with a pronounced downward angle. The stringing follows the trebling technique, where the cross strings are looped 360 degrees around the main strings. The handle is wrapped with leather, and the solid wooden frame reflects the craftsmanship of eighteenth-century makers. Garsault’s Demi-Paume, 1767 The racquet follows the design described by François-Alexandre-Pierre de Garsault  in 1767 . In his treatise Art du paumier-raq

Antique battledore. The Indo-German Legacy Racquet belongs to a tradition of equipment used for early forms of court tennis, a game that enjoyed popularity among European aristocracy from the Renaissance onward. Such racquets were characterized by a rounded wooden head with a loosely strung gut mesh, typical of early court tennis equipment used in aristocratic circles during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Indo-German Legacy Racquet, 1648 Evidence of this distinctive racquet

The Racquet of the Majesty, dated 1583, belongs to the Golden age of Real Tennis, the sport of European kings. The game had evolved from the French Jeu de Paume and became a symbol of royal prestige. Courts were built in palaces such as Hampton Court under King Henry VIII, where the game was played indoors with refined skill and ceremony. Across France, by the end of the sixteenth century, hundreds of such courts stood in use, serving nobles and courtiers alike. In Normandy,

The tennis ball has come a long way since its inception, showcasing a fascinating journey of innovation and craftsmanship. From the traditional hand-stitched leather balls to the cutting-edge materials and designs used today, each era has contributed to the evolution of this essential piece of tennis equipment. The Evolution of Tennis Balls Early forms of the game were played with rudimentary balls made of wool, hair, or tightly wound fabric, wrapped in leather and sewn by ha