E. Hénin Aîné & Brunswick (France):
Hénin
Ainé
(Paris). Originally,
the specialty of this firm founded in 1830 was the ivory billiard ball.
It then extended its activities to other billiard accessories (see
HENIN Aîné, Grande Fabrique de Billes de Billards, Catalogue,
Paris, France, ca. 1889, 35 p.).
Advertisement
of the early 1900s...............................................
Catalogue of 1925.
1
Macassar
ebony and maple.
2
Carved
rosewood and maple.
3
Maple
and Brazilian rosewood shaft and butt have two opposite '4-point'
splices.
For
more details about 1 to 3, see Section B.
Butts
4 to 8 below are 'La VICTORIEUSE' ones with adjustable weight (see Section
A).
4
5
6
7
covered
with an embedded rubber wrap.
8
uncommon (*) because in four parts instead of three,
The part adorned with a large inlay has a particular shape and
is also carved, as shown on its back side.below
.
9
...
Very old '2-piece'. The ebony and maple butt is adorned with mother-of-pearl, ivory and floral carvings. The letters M and T are engraved in the large dot probably made of abalone shell, more colourful and rare than mother-of-pearl.
10
Carving similar to previous one.
11
Dates
from before 1940.
12
Old amaranth carved butt, inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
13
Carved rosewood butt 13 is inlaid with a big mother-of-pearl motif.
Butts
14 to 17 below are provided with the 'Hénin Aîné
Paris ' decal.
14
15
Extensively
carved.
16
'Bottle'
shaped, '2-piece' and carved.
Brunswick (Paris).
.....
.....
Left to right: advertisements of 1910, 1912 and 1934.
Here are some cues manufactured between 1900 and 1940.
1
'8-point' made of ebony and maple, inlaid with mother-of-pearl
and finely carved. Its two opposite triangular plates are surrounded
by red, yellow and black wooden veneers and its large escutcheon is
monogrammed. Gilt Brunswick signature is engraved on the butt. The
last picture shows a simulation of the butt-end based on some fragments
of its white collar.
............
.............
The diameters of the butt-end, the joint collar of the butt and the ferrule of the shaft with a wooden screw are 36, 20.5 and 12 mm, respectively. The weight is 640 g.
2
'4-point', richly decorated, too (inlays,
carvings and coloured veneers on points).
3
Without
points, made of amaranth and maple, adorned with mother-of-pearl
inlays and several carvings.
4
to 10
Various
cues. The typical type 2 thin screw (see Section L 1 b screw) of shafts
4 and 5 is made of wood and that of 6, 8 (also see Section B) and 10
is of aluminium. Cue 9 is signed. The origin of the carved ebony 7 is
hypothetical. Note that the service tree and amaranth shaft of cue 8
is
a '4-point' one.
11
and 12
Two Gallias with decals from the early 1900s (see Section A) with very narrow joint collars (19 mm in diameter).
13
14
15
Three
different Monarch (see Section A).
16.
No. 134 with 'hexagonal' butt (for more details see Section J.
4).
17
Signed (propeller, see Section L 2 h) '2-piece' Nr. 146 with a thin
brass joint screw. Made of Brazilian rosewood and maple, it is 'bottle'
shaped, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and covered with an embedded
rubber wrap.
18
Carved '4-point' cue signed Brunswick, probably manufactured
by Proust.
19
....
An
inlaid cue, with gilded signature and its box.
Finally,
four cues probably made in the U.S.A.
20
Brunswick
Nr. 18 with American decal dating from about the 1921-1925 period (for
more details, see Section B).
21
and 22
Two
'one-piece' cues with
rounded 'Vignaux' style splice, the Nr. 18 Brunswick with two veneers
and a probable variety of the Nr. 10 with two such splices.
23
A
more recent cue (1960s) provided with a brass joint and covered with
a dark textile thread 'grip'.
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(*)
Probably produced in small numbers around 1980.
