The Table Tennis

Collector November 2013

70

Table Tennis philatelic history reached a new milestone with therelease of a joint issue by China and Sweden on 27.9.2013, featuringtwo great superstars, Deng Yaping and Jan-Ove Waldner. This notonly marks the first time a foreigner has been featured on a Chinesestamp, but the occasion also spawned some 40 different TableTennis postmarks! See pages 26-31 for the full story.

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The Table TennisCollector

From the EditorDear Friends,Welcome to issue 70 of the Table Tennis Collector.

Our cover story announces an historic event in Table Tennisphilately, a joint issue of two stamps, from China and Sweden …along with 40 different Table Tennis postmarks!

Great Shots salutes the prestigious Swaythling Club, whosewebsite and magazine are always packed full of historic photos.

Master researcher Alan Duke (ENG) concludes his series on earlypioneers, as well as a report on intellectual property. TangGanxian (CHN) shares some photos of his recent exhibition at theChina Open in Suzhou.

We welcome back David Hughes (ENG), with another piece aboutBarna bats. Gunter Straub (GER) also returns with an articleabout the pen-hold grip. Gerald Gurney (ENG) sends a 1937article about the 1929 World Champion Fred Perry (ENG).

Our Philatelic Update is dominated by many celebratorypostmarks from China! Special thanks to Tang Ganxian for hishelp in identifying these postmarks, and sending the photos.

Some good activity on eBay, with interesting rackets andmementos that have survived over 110+ years.

The Back Page features a rare illustration from 1901 Shanghai,with some new details, thanks to Zhang Zhe (CHN).

Hope you enjoy the issue!Editor and Publisher:Chuck Hoey, Curator

ITTF Museumwww.ittf.com/museum

museum@ittf.com

Publishing Schedule:May 1 Submit articles by April 15Aug 1 Submit articles by July 15Nov 1 Submit articles by Oct 15Feb 1 Submit articles by Jan 15

In this issue …

Auction Action33-40

BackPage

44

Great ShotsSwaythling

Club3

PhilatelicUpdate26-31

GeraldGurney

FredPerry 20-21

Alan DukeResearch:

4-7,22-25

No. 70November 2013

DavidHughes

on Barna12-17

GunterStraub

PenholdGrip18

TangGanxianExhibits

8-11

German medallion for the1988 Seoul Olympic Games:“Sie kämpfen für Deutschlandin der Diziplin Tischtennis”

Chuck

1952Hollywood

Open19

Great Shots: Historic Photographs

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The prestigious Swaythling Club International wasformed in 1967 by 22 former World Championshipplayers. Victor Barna was elected as foundingPresident.

Their recently published SCI Booklet 1967 - 2013states the aims of the Club:● To develop the game● To foster international friendship● To help each other whenever possible● To meet frequently● To encourage younger players● To help the younger generation under-stand

the importance of sportsmanship

The main principles of the camaraderie Club arefriendship and mutual respect. The late ZarkoDolinar as Acting President in 1972 beautifullysummarized the Club:“I am sure our Swaythling Club is a uniqueorganisation in the world of sport. I hope that itwill continue to develop and promote that whichmoney cannot buy: friendship, health, love,faithfulness, loyalty and tolerance.”

Your Editor was kindly invited tojoin the SCI by newly electedPresident Eberhard Schöler, oneof my most favorite people, atop player and a wise andtalented leader who has givenso much to our sport.

I strongly recommend youcheck out their website, which can be reached viaittf.com, then Home Page and then look for SCI /WVC on the horizontal menu bar, or directly by:

Ittf.com/_front_Page/ittf7.asp?category=s_club

The SCI publishes a fine magazine twice yearly,and each issue can be viewed as a pdf on theirsite. They are packed with ‘Great Shots’, historicphotographs, tributes to former champions, theWorld Veterans and other tournament reportsand interesting articles.

Always remember that veterans are thefoundation of our sport.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTYby Alan Duke

� PATENTS (continued) - Abandoned Patent ApplicationsMany Applications for Patents never make it through the entireprocess to completion. There are probably many reasons forthis, but the procedure itself can be lengthy and costly. Inaddition to the costs of Search Fees and Renewal Fees, a largeproportion of applicants find it best to employ the services of aPatent Agent, in order to ensure that the wording of theirapplication is precise and will thus gain the invention theprotection required. Whilst a wise move, it is not cheap! (Theaddress provided in the examples of initial announcementsincluded within the table may not be that of the Applicant, butcould alternatively be that of the Agent.)

It may also be that after the rush to submit the ProvisionalSpecification (and hence register that all-important date), theapplicant decided that the invention did not satisfy the criteria,or there may have been commercial interests involved where itwas beneficial that the application, and the details, were notpublished.

The  vast  majority  of  such  ‘Abandoned  or  Void’  applicationsfailed because the Complete Specification had not beensubmitted within 10 months of the initial Application. They arethen declared ‘Abandoned’. This applies to all the examples inthe table, with one exception. The odd one out is 4616, whichfell  into  the  ‘Void’ category. This applies where  the CompleteSpecification was not accepted within 15 months of the date ofapplication. Once declared  ‘Abandoned  or  Void’,  allcommunications are destroyed to protect the confidentiality ofthe information, leaving the only record in the hands of theapplicant. The only official publication of any details thenremains the original announcement of the application in thePatent Office Journal, plus a date when it was accepted. Somelocal newspapers also published such announcements forapplications from their local residents.

The most notable example in the field of table tennis is that ofJames Devonshire in 1885, a story covered in depth in TTC 66.

But to give an idea of the numbers involved, in a busy 12-month period for table tennis inventions, from July 1901 toJune 1902 inclusive, out of approximately 28,000 PatentApplications in total, there were 322 for table tennis/ping pongrelated items. Of these, 70 were published, 252 abandoned.

In compiling the list for this period, although none of thePatents were granted, some, or indeed many, may have seenthe light of day without such protection. Although I have hadto leave out some details from the table (date abandoned,some of co-inventors’  names,  and  some  of  the  already briefdescription originally provided), there is still much of interestto be derived from the information.

Date ofApplicn No. Applicant Description

188509 Oct 12012 J Devonshire Parlour lawn-tennis (table tennis).1901

24 Jan 1637 F H Ayres, H Gale Apparatus for scoring games.20 Jun 12559 H O and J O Roberts Captive ball.26 Jun 13020 E Farr, S A Walker Bats or racquets for table tennis.

19 Jul 14726 A E L Slazenger Picking up or collecting balls.30 Aug 17409 F H Ayres Apparatus for collecting balls.05 Sep 17795 J R Mally Lifting balls from the ground.

11 Sep 18128 A L Neumann "Alman" ping pong "ball" lifter.21 Sep 18856 P L Best Picking up table tennis balls.23 Sep 18938 E Cornish Collecting device for balls.30 Sep 19446 W Sykes Picking up celluloid balls.01 Oct 19523 J A Wood "Picker-up" for ping pong.05 Oct 19894 H Bolton Table tennis fittings.05 Oct 19905 H E Hughes Bats, racquets or battledores.07 Oct 19980 Sir A Altman Apparatus for supporting nets.14 Oct 20495 W Sykes String rackets for table tennis.16 Oct 20730 P A Altman Retrieving table tennis balls.19 Oct 20954 J D Prior Apparatus for supporting the net.21 Oct 21042 J Quick Ping Pong ball collector.26 Oct 21494 J A Wood Attachment of the net posts.01 Nov 21995 R G Lewis The self-acting ball lifter.04 Nov 22206 H J Deslandes Picker up for ping-pong balls.12 Nov 22792 W G J Cooper et al Picking up the playing balls.12 Nov 22869 F H Fraser Racquets for table tennis.15 Nov 23112 F Tolkien Balls for playing ping pong.22 Nov 23688 H E Cohen Picker up for use in ping-pong.23 Nov 23814 S Nicholls Picking up table tennis balls.26 Nov 24034 J Jones Manufacture of table tennis rackets.28 Nov 24155 C C Bryan Attachment to tables for balls.03 Dec 24636 R R Greenhow Rackets for playing Ping Pong.05 Dec 24777 A E L Slazenger Bat or racket for playing table tennis.

05 Dec 24857 W Jenkinson et al Ping-pong tables.

09 Dec 25079 J G Renvoize Bats, racquets and the like.10 Dec 25124 J Turner Table tennis net attachments.10 Dec 25149 A K Craufurd Ball-lifter for use in ping-pong.10 Dec 25211 C F J Lock Table-tennis and like games.10 Dec 25224 J H Chandler Table tennis apparatus.11 Dec 25293 T G Fulkes Picking-up "ping-pong" balls.12 Dec 25326 J H Howell Game tables.12 Dec 25383 H E Hughes Rackets or bats for table tennis.13 Dec 25485 J Cutler Appliance for use in Ping Pong.13 Dec 25503 J A Baker Table tennis racquets or bats.

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13 Dec 25504 A Barnes, H Luff Racquets for use in table tennis.14 Dec 25567 E J Durham Table tennis nets.16 Dec 25649 C W Faulkner et al Contrivance for picking up balls.17 Dec 25721 S P Chapman Bat or racquet for Ping-Pong.19 Dec 25914 E Fleming Supports for nets used in ping-pong.19 Dec 25927 A Morriss Table tennis ball lifter.19 Dec 25930 J W S Seccombe Picker-up for balls, attached to racket.19 Dec 25973 J A Baker Table tennis racquets or bats.20 Dec 26013 E Moxham et al Racquets for playing table tennis.20 Dec 26050 E Banfield Picking up table tennis balls.21 Dec 26094 H O and J O Roberts Racquet or bat for playing table tennis.21 Dec 26114 E C Blakley et al Ping pong bats or rackets.23 Dec 26186 W Sykes Drum boards, bats or rackets.27 Dec 26423 W Fletcher Balls for indoor games.28 Dec 26515 G Schreiner Securing of nets used in "ping pong".30 Dec 26581 F C Upton et al Appliance for practising "Ping-Pong".

31 Dec 26637 F Cooper et al Adjustable supports for ping-pong.31 Dec 26652 J Paterson Ball lifter for household games.31 Dec 26672 J Tourtel Racquets for table tennis.31 Dec 26688 A H Mitchell Racquets for table tennis.1902

02 Jan 119 J F Gowans Improvements in table tennis.03 Jan 214 J Quick Ping-pong picker ups.04 Jan 293 A C Parker Bats for ping-pong.

04 Jan 294 G F Pascoe et al Device for collecting balls.06 Jan 327 A H Bendall Bats and rackets for indoor games.06 Jan 388 H Ferris et al A combined bat with ball pick up.07 Jan 410 W L Fleming Folding table tennis board, folding net.07 Jan 430 W B Sweeting Racquets or bats for table tennis.07 Jan 431 E J Durham Table tennis bats or rackets.08 Jan 547 John J Shaw Self-tightening apparatus for nets.09 Jan 620 J Howell, Jun Ping Pong racquet.09 Jan 630 M Lamb Racquets for table tennis.09 Jan 637 J R Mally Table tennis nets.09 Jan 657 R McCaskill et al Appliance for ping-pong or table tennis.09 Jan 660 T H Gibb Method of covering bats and rackets.

10 Jan 719 C P Rogers Perfection table tennis poles and net.14 Jan 948 E Beard Ping-Pong racket or bat.14 Jan 957 A W Hitchin Ball catching nets for Ping Pong.15 Jan 1089 L Denham Picking up table tennis balls.16 Jan 1169 G F Whitmore Ping Pong boards and tables.16 Jan 1179 J Plenderleath Supports for parlour tennis nets.16 Jan 1203 T Mortimer Bats for "Table Tennis" or "Ping-Pong".17 Jan 1317 F P Borkett Clamp for table-tennis.17 Jan 1321 T H Tuite "Self-fielding" table tennis ball.

For example, whilst most applications were from homeinventors from all walks of life, a number were from well-known manufacturers such as F H Ayres, A E L Slazenger, J RMally, Jefferies and Co, John Jaques, and Charles Dunlop. Lesswell-known are three who had also registered Trade Marks fortheir products: Pollard Wilkinson (Ledia), Edward AugustusJeffreys (Ejeff), and Edmund Gormly (Coro). But the big surprisewas to find one from Arnold ‘Ping Pong’ Parker (No. 293).

It was also interesting to break down the applications intosubject matter. Of the 252, it was not really surprising to findbats in the top spot, with 71. There were 48 for nets andfittings, 20 for tables, 11 for scoring machines, and 8 for balls.But perhaps the biggest surprise was the apparent obsessionwith inventing devices for picking up balls from the floor (andalso probably reaching under and behind the furniture) – 62!

Also of interest were the terms used to describe both the gameand the racket. The most popular name for the game was‘table tennis’, with 176 entries (both with and without capitalsor a hyphen). ‘Ping pong’ came second with 108, with ‘ParlourTennis’ and ‘Gossima’ (or Gossamer!) each mentioned twice.For the ‘racket’, that name came third with 23 uses. The mostpopular was ‘bat’ with 52, followed by 32 for ‘racquet’, and‘battledore’ used three times. And if you have spotted that thefigures add up to more than the total number of applications,you are correct. On many occasions, more than one term wasused per application.

17 Jan 1329 F H Ayres et al Tables or surfaces for table tennis.

18 Jan 1419 W R Wilson Bats or rackets for Ping Pong.20 Jan 1467 R Gardner et al "Ping Pong ball retriever".20 Jan 1476 E B Ormerod Bats for table tennis.20 Jan 1484 A E Trimmings Tennis racquets for use in table tennis.20 Jan 1531 Jefferies & Co. Bats, racquets.

20 Jan 1532 J S S Brame Bats for table tennis.21 Jan 1594 J R Watts Adjustable table tennis standards.21 Jan 1646 J. B. Hole et al Automatic ball pick-up for table tennis.21 Jan 1677 T A Dumbell Apparatus for table tennis.21 Jan 1689 J Jaques Drum bats.

22 Jan 1715 C T Powell et al Bats or racquets for table tennis.23 Jan 1808 C D Rankin Table tennis rackets.

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24 Jan 1903 W Gilyard Bat or racquet for table tennis.

24 Jan 1971 J Salmon Table tennis nets.24 Jan 1997 H Jewson et al Bats for table tennis.25 Jan 2046 E Ostlere Tables used for "Ping-Pong".25 Jan 2051 J Crabtree Fittings for use with table tennis.27 Jan 2103 A Rudall Marker for table-tennis.27 Jan 2110 S E Walsh Table tennis appliances.27 Jan 2127 J E Parker "Ping-Pong" rackets.28 Jan 2213 M H Smith Rackets or bats.28 Jan 2222 R Edmeades A pick-up for table tennis balls.28 Jan 2311 E C Fleming Table tennis rapid ball lifter.29 Jan 2369 M M Dessau Racquets and similar articles.29 Jan 2392 J Salmon Table tennis nets.30 Jan 2423 T Bishop Ping pong or table tennis nets.

30 Jan 2499 D Hardy Method of passing ball to the server.31 Jan 2534 F G Barnes Ping Pong and table tennis screen.31 Jan 2582 F J Cox Bracket for supporting Ping-Pong net.01 Feb 2636 J S Taylor Bat for playing table tennis.01 Feb 2663 F J Bullows et al Appliances for use in table tennis.04 Feb 2809 E Stone Picking up ball used in ping-pong.05 Feb 2895 H C Braun Posts for nets for table tennis.05 Feb 2979 W C Pepper Vellum or other similar bats or rackets.06 Feb 2997 F Grainger Rackets or bats for table tennis.06 Feb 2998 J and G Burrow End supports for table tennis nets.06 Feb 3000 A Wilkinson Table tennis bats or racquets.06 Feb 3029 P F Butterfield Game-ball retriever.06 Feb 3048 G A Nokes Fixing apparatus in ping-pong.07 Feb 3127 S P Lehmann et al Net-supports for table-tennis.

07 Feb 3131 A Dunhill The collection of table tennis balls.07 Feb 3148 J Salmon Table tennis nets.08 Feb 3222 F Garwood Receptacles for holding ping pong balls.10 Feb 3317 J R Mally An improved table tennis game.

10 Feb 3319 S G Laskey Manufacture of table tennis bats.10 Feb 3352 E I Pool Portable table tennis tables.11 Feb 3433 J E S Barnes Net standards for "Ping Pong".11 Feb 3501 W S Simpson Improvements for playing ping pong.12 Feb 3573 A W Samuel Bats for playing ping pong.12 Feb 3593 T W Hayes et al Table or board for ping pong.13 Feb 3666 J J Anderson Bats for parlour games viz. ping pong.13 Feb 3673 R B Gibson A net holder for table tennis balls.13 Feb 3678 B W Stevens Securing table-tennis nets.13 Feb 3681 G W Parker et al Ping-pong or table tennis net.14 Feb 3765 B C Parsons Picking up balls in ping pong.14 Feb 3767 J R Learoyd Magazine for delivering balls.15 Feb 3941 H G Banks et al Stands and supports or fittings for nets.

17 Feb 3979 G S Howell "Pickup" for table tennis balls.19 Feb 4183 H E Taaffe Indoor tennis, etc, table.19 Feb 4202 F E Willcocks Score marker for table tennis.19 Feb 4203 W J Roberts "Plunger" table-tennis ball retriever.19 Feb 4235 W Hartley Bats for table tennis.19 Feb 4252 J Hannah et al Tables or boards for ping pong.19 Feb 4292 E I Pool Portable table tennis tables.20 Feb 4313 W & J Starkie Wire nets for "table-tennis".20 Feb 4321 J Stoddart Picking up table tennis balls.20 Feb 4337 J Wilson Table tennis nets and posts.20 Feb 4338 J Wilson Tables or boards for table tennis.22 Feb 4487 W G Oakes Scoring arrangements for ping pong.22 Feb 4490 J N Harrington Ping pong or table tennis racket or bat.22 Feb 4538 A Gilmour A guard or fence for table tennis.24 Feb 4574 P Butterfield et al Racket handle ball holder.24 Feb 4613 A Friedheim Table tennis clamp.24 Feb 4616 M M Dessau Racquets for playing games.24 Feb 4639 W T Robertshaw Table tennis racquets.27 Feb 4934 P Wilkinson Table tennis table or board.28 Feb 5051 C E Corbitt Device for practising ping pong.28 Feb 5076 H Gale Picking up table tennis balls.28 Feb 5099 F Mousley Manufacture of bats for ping pong.01 Mar 5166 P Lankester Combination table tennis net and table.01 Mar 5217 P Umney et al Net post and automatic table clamp.03 Mar 5235 J E Atkinson Apparatus for holding balls.03 Mar 5269 S P Lehmann et al Standards for table tennis.03 Mar 5313 H W Cox Table-tennis rackets.04 Mar 5379 W Cutler Bats for ping pong or table tennis.04 Mar 5411 H S Eckworth Securing net supports to the tables.05 Mar 5432 A and H Thorpe Removing dents in ping-pong balls.

05 Mar 5501 H Shackleton Picking-up device for table-tennis.05 Mar 5513 O F Westrup Rackets for table tennis.06 Mar 5544 C H Stradling Picking up ping pong balls.06 Mar 5554 T J I Craig Manufacture of "Table Tennis" racquets.06 Mar 5569 G B Latham Score registers for table tennis.06 Mar 5591 A L Hellyer A racquet or bat for table tennis.07 Mar 5658 J B Hole Picking up table tennis balls.07 Mar 5671 C Eggleton Clamp clip and hinged post holder.08 Mar 5739 H R Chesterton Mechanical device for picking up balls.08 Mar 5765 G J Orme Self adjusting clamp and net pillar.08 Mar 5813 W H Duckworth et al Racquets for table tennis.10 Mar 5825 T Palmer Ping-pong score indicator.11 Mar 5955 M J Alexander Table tennis markers.12 Mar 6044 J H Pettigrew Ping-pong or table tennis racket or bat.12 Mar 6045 C S Johnson, R Wylie Ping pong post or upright.12 Mar 6053 C W Ellison Balls used for table tennis or ping pong.12 Mar 6055 A W Barton Ping pong ball-lifter.12 Mar 6168 C Dunlop Pneumatic ball lifter and ejector.13 Mar 6188 N Whitehouse Ping-pong marking board.

14 Mar 6243 W T Ashplant Ping pong posts.14 Mar 6266 E E Pugh Portable self-closing table for ping pong.14 Mar 6294 T Norton Net for table tennis.15 Mar 6375 R G French Ping-pong scoring board.18 Mar 6585 G H Butterfly Appliances for table tennis.18 Mar 6597 W W Pellett Tables or table tops for table tennis.

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18 Mar 6620 J R Mally Table tennis balls.

19 Mar 6668 E Gormly Self adjusting and self supporting net.20 Mar 6824 J Pullman Bats for "ping-pong" or table tennis.21 Mar 6913 D C Beggs Balls used in the game of table tennis.22 Mar 7023 A S d'Humy Appliance for picking up balls.25 Mar 7223 A S d'Humy Improvements relating to table tennis.26 Mar 7306 H C W Beeching Side net and corner pockets.26 Mar 7332 E E Wetherell Ping-pong or table-tennis ball retriever.27 Mar 7396 P Wilkinson Table tennis racquet or bat.27 Mar 7404 R and C Wallwork Appliance suitable for lifting balls.27 Mar 7467 G H James Portable frame for table tennis nets.27 Mar 7492 J Stewart, Jun. Table adapted for ping pong.27 Mar 7508 G Veall Appliance for picking up balls.29 Mar 7551 C B S Webb Apparatus for picking up balls.01 Apr 7632 W R Smith Bat or racquet for ping pong.01 Apr 7685 H Sell Appliance for picking up balls.02 Apr 7710 C E Corbett Apparatus used in table tennis.03 Apr 7854 F J Prince Apparatus for scoring ping pong.04 Apr 7903 J W Lea, J Perrins Cages for picking up balls.05 Apr 7998 O F Westrup Table tennis nets.07 Apr 8058 G H Powell Battledores or bats for table tennis.08 Apr 8159 C Williamson Appliance for picking up balls.10 Apr 8317 C E and A K Clarke Ping-pong net and poles.10 Apr 8320 J Quick Ping-pong ball retriever.11 Apr 8418 W Carr Appliances for use with table tennis.11 Apr 8450 H G Plunkett Ping-pong bat.

11 Apr 8470 J Boyd Nets or partitions for table-tennis.15 Apr 8732 E Rowbottom Racquets or bats for table tennis.17 Apr 8895 A H Varian Palate bat for ping pong.17 Apr 8932 E A Jeffreys Apparatus for playing table tennis.18 Apr 9001 E E Wetherell et al Picking up table tennis balls.23 Apr 9365 J P Bradley Picking up table tennis balls.23 Apr 9389 F R Baker Table receptacle for ping pong balls.25 Apr 9573 C Duncan Bats or racquets for ping pong.30 Apr 9942 W R Edwards Score indicators for table-tennis.01 May 9999 H M Platt Displaying advertisements on racquets.

02 May 10127 T Sanders, Jun et al Brackets or standards for table tennis.02 May 10128 C J Gilson Ping-pong ball picker-up.06 May 10390 C H and A Johnson Nets for use in table tennis.06 May 10391 C H and A Johnson Bats for use in table tennis.06 May 10392 C H and A Johnson Means for attaching game apparatus.07 May 10517 F Sale-Barker Apparatus for picking up balls.10 May 10749 F J Willmott Ping-pong picker ups.12 May 10835 J Howarth "Pickers-up" for table tennis.12 May 10838 T McClelland, Jun Manufacture of bats or racquets.12 May 10839 A H Wilkinson et al Apparatus used in table tennis.14 May 11006 L P Asbury et al Ball for table tennis.16 May 11247 C H and A Johnson A new or improved game.20 May 11461 T R Watson Fielder for use in ping pong.21 May 11562 T R Cattell Picker up for ping pong balls.27 May 12004 G T Denyer Ping pong ball picker-up.27 May 12012 H O and J O Roberts Ball picker-up.28 May 12146 F W Smith Scorer for "ping-pong".16 Jun 13623 K S Ramsay Stand for holding ping pong apparatus.

20 Jun 14053 J B Oakley Table or table fittings for table tennis.23 Jun 14175 J M Macintosh Ping pong or table tennis bats.25 Jun 14353 A Daniels Tables for playing table tennis.

08 Sep 19662 G France-Hayhurst Game for parlour tables ["Pipso"].

Returning now to the mention of HamleyBrothers and the Barker Patents [TTC 69,page 12],  this  sketch  of  the  “Smasher”  bat(Plunkett’s Patent) was published in October1902 in an advertisement for Hamley’s NewGames. Whilst the bat obviously went intoproduction, it was not accompanied by thePatent (see left, No. 8450).

Apart from the expected items of equipment for which PatentApplications were received over this period, there were a fewother unusual ones, worthy of mention! The commercial aspectwas already in some minds, if No. 9999 is any guide. And Iwould really have liked to have seen the process described inNo. 5432  for  ‘removing  dents’ in the obviously valuable balls(costing, per dozen, approximately a third of the price of avellum racket).

This sketch, from The  Lady’s  Realm of June1902, illustrates the type of bat that I suspectPatent 8895 would have described.

But the prize goes to No. 6188! This is obviously not designedfor use at a multi-table venue! And I should imagine that evenon the dining-table at home, there might have been complaintsfrom other parts of the household, with buzzers or bells goingoff all the time! It would keep the players awake though!

Having started researching this busy period for Applications, Iwas surprised as I went on at just how many were abandoned.But the list, unless I missed the odd one or two, is complete forthe period July 1901 to June 1902, and is further proof of justhow big a craze the game was at the time.

With thanks for their help and co-operation to DougStimson and his colleagues at the Science Museum Library,Wroughton.

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Tang Ganxian Exhibition2013 China Open, Suzhou

Our friend Tang Ganxian recently staged a largeexhibition at the GAC Group ITTF World TourChina Open in Suzhou. He kindly sends somephotos to share the experience. CongratulationsTang - well done! Suzhou will host the 2015World Championships, 26 April - 3 May.

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Ping Pong Diplomacy Souvenirs

Philatelic items

Ceramics

Tang with Mr XU Yinsheng, Honorary ITTF Life President(left), and fellow collector YAO Zhenxu.

Quite an impressive photo gallery! 11

Programs & magazines

The Curtains Eventually Ease Back

by

David Hughes(ENG)

It appears that historical situations which becomelost in the mists of time continue to elude us,sometimes indefinitely. Years go by and we oftenremain in the dark with some things remaininghidden forever it seems. But eventually, and insome instances, it is remarkable how missingpieces of a jigsaw can suddenly turn up when weleast expect it. It is as though the stage curtainshave been jammed in a half open position fordecades and try as we might, we cannot seem todraw them back any further to reveal theinteresting activity taking place just out of our lineof vision. Until - - - - - - !!

In the world of historic table tennis, we have comea long way in recent times as a result of fascinatingnew revelations about the origins of the gamedating back to 1884, and other incrediblediscoveries such as the 1913 English OpenTournament (earlier thought to have neveroccurred) to name but one. One of my ownfavourite subjects is no different. Much is knownand has been written about the life and playingtimes of the legendary Victor Barna since hissudden passing in Peru in 1972. We know he wonfive world singles titles and there’s no doubt abouthow many other victories he notched up in doublesand mixed doubles and how he became the keymember of the Hungarian men’s team in 1929which secured nine victories from 1926 to 1938,seven of which were partly down to Barna’sbrilliance. In addition, we know why he leftHungary for England and what an innovativeequipment developer he was, even from the youngage of nineteen. But various bits and pieces of

interesting information remained in the shadowsfor a very long time, refusing at any point to showus the full hand of cards. Issues such as the WalterBriggs years, the type of racket Victor first used ata high level, and how he came to apply externalpimpled rubber to his rackets in his very early days– all these have remained shrouded in uncertaintyfor over eighty years. And furthermore, his famousbackhand technique may not be as fullyunderstood as people might first think when theywatch the old film footage. We are still not ahundred percent certain about any of these, andmaybe that final element of surety will continueto elude us. But a number of things are clearer nowthan they once were and they perhaps warrantbeing mentioned at this time for the benefit of allthose members of the historic table tennisfraternity.

When we watch the vintage black and whitefootage of Victor’s unique style of game (such asthe fleeting moments from the 1949 English Openfinal) we might quickly conclude that he had anamazing backhand flick which is what made himbetter than anyone else. That is true of course andthere is no doubt about it. It also has to be saidthat he was well past his best by this time (aged38) but he still demonstrated how effective hisamazing backhand continued to be. A few pointson the other side of the score board and thetournament may yet have been his despite the facthe was up against a feisty eighteen year oldAmerican who was similarly brilliant and knew nofear. The best film evidence however can beviewed on British Pathe where an amazing clip

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from 1933 shows Victor knocking up against theprominent English player, R.D Jones with thecommentary coming from the then well knownSports Editor of the Sunday Express, Charles Eade.A very young looking Barna had explained to Eadehow tightly he gripped the racket and Eade makesthis fact known to the viewers during the clip. Thisis somewhat contrary to the modern game wheresoft hands are the order of the day, especially whenshort backspin dinks are being delivered.

Some of this would have occurred in the goldenera also, bearing in mind that many players used alot of sliced defence where gentle touch wassimilarly called for. But Victor Barna was notespecially one such player, though he did possess amarvellous defence along with the incredibleattacking elements of his arsenal. He clasped theracket with a vice-like grip and more often thannot, hit into the ball fiercely on both wings. Hisbackhand was truly remarkable and its full fluencyand beauty can clearly be seen on Eade’s 1933presentation of Barna and Jones. Victor almostcertainly had a very firm three-point hold on theracket – the forefinger ran almost parallel to theright corner of the forehand side whilst the bottom

of the ‘V’ shape (made between thumb and firstfinger) pushed up tightly against the timber edgeof the opposite corner. Most important of allthough was the positioning of his thumb. On thebackhand side of the racket, the palm and the fullyextended thumb ran vertically up the handle andvery high onto the pimpled surface itself, makingalmost a straight line. In the Pathe clip, Barnaconspicuously shows us much of his thumb gripwhilst Eade comments he holds the racket sotightly that he wears out the rubber surface. Theshot is fleeting and we see the thumb half turnedover and then being completely bent over atninety degrees. The reason Victor moved histhumb in this way for the camera was to enable usto see the mark of the thumb impression. Theworn area on the rubber demonstrates his thumbwas invariably positioned in a vertical location.

Today, we tend to sit the thumb down on top of thethird finger running parallel with the rubber whereit meets the handle at the bottom end of the blade– we often don’t touch the rubber at all with thethumb. Victor however placed his thumb high andto the right of the backhand side which amountedto a full ninety degree difference between the

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Victor Barna’s dazzling backhand flick, with an extreme follow through. (

modern, comfortable placement and where hewanted to position it. It is my strong belief that thisthumb position was instrumental in the delivery ofthe incomparable back hand flick that Victor was ableto exercise with such power, fluency and accuracy.He turned his wrist right over each time he made thestroke as though to almost dislocate it in the process.There was always a considerable follow-through andthe playing hand would then finish deep into his rightside. Sometimes the racket ended very high up andother times (depending on the angled flick hedelivered) low down, alongside his hip. Barna had agreat attacking forehand as well, but frankly, hisbackhand flick was quitesomething else. He pioneeredit of course and it tookeveryone by surprise when itfirst appeared. No one couldhandle it or emulate it! Reidsays this, “By now (1930)Victor had developed hisbackhand flick to its classicbest and it was later tobecome the most famous ofall his shots. No player, beforeor since has produced abackhand of that type withthe same deadliness andconsistency.”

Victor Barna was well knownto be a true gentleman whowould encourage every tabletennis player he met andwould always do his best tohelp wherever he could. Thiseternal kindness and the veryhigh position of his thumb onthe backhand side of theracket reminds me of a story that is worth telling herethough I hasten to add that the full facts are neverlikely to be substantiated. An Englishman by thename of Ivan Slade relocated to the United States inthe mid fifties from England. He was himself a veryable table tennis player and in 1938 he entered atournament in Europe and made it to the final. Hisopponent in that final proved to be a very seriousobstacle indeed for it was none other than the worldfamous Victor Barna. In his advancing years, Ivanoften recounted the tale of how he gave Barna oneof the best matches of his life. One game of 21 went

to Ivan and another to Victor. Everything rested onthe third and deciding game where both playersthrew everything they had at each other. The scorein that third and final game concluded around the38:36 mark – to Barna. (These two figures may wellhave steadily increased over the years, along withIvan’s own grand old age, but it must have been agreat tale to listen to in person nonetheless).

Victor was so impressed with the ferocious andunexpected opposition he encountered in this finalthat he handed Ivan the bat he had been playing withas a token of gratitude and kindness. This was

seventy five years ago whenIvan was about 21 and Victor,27 and Ivan kept the racketsafe in his own possessionthereafter. It must beremembered that Barna wasonly three years beyond hisfifth world singles title andwas still a truly exceptionalplayer. If the story isessentially true, then what abattle Ivan must have put upagainst the most formidableof all opponents. Barna hadbroken his playing arm in acar accident in 1935 whichmaybe why he was neverquite so strong in the yearsthat followed. But he was stillextremely good and this wasclearly borne out in that wellknown English final in 1949,fourteen years later. In hismid nineties, Ivan Sladedecided he would like Victor’sracket to go to a good home.

He was told about me and my interest in Barna andagreed that I should get Victor’s racket. I was verykeen to see the racket to try to locate theunmistakable high thumb impression on the backhand side. I later found out that Ivan had stripped offthe original rubber and had used the racket with areplacement rubber. Eventually, he took that rubberoff as well and the bat was to be passed to me, barebladed. I was a little disappointed that I would notget to see the original rubber but taking Ivan at hisword was good enough for me and I looked forwardto receiving the bat. Regrettably, a few days after I

14

The prestigious St. Bride Vase for the WorldSingles Champion, hoisted 5 times by Barna.

had made personal contact with Ivan, he passedaway in his mid nineties and the racket disappearedoff the radar.

We know that Victor had a liaison with Walter BriggsLtd of London whose company manufactured BriggsBarna rackets for a number of years and we alsoknow that Barna joined Dunlop in 1946 and becameresponsible for a whole range of Dunlop Barna tabletennis rackets thereafter. But what racket did Victoruse in 1929 to play the men’s team matches andwhat type of racket did he use to win his first coupleof world singles titles? The accurate answer is – wedon’t know for sure. However, another remarkablestory surfaced a few years ago. A Romanian man hadalso been given a racket by Victor many years agoand he too kept the racket until his final days till hisdeath aged one hundred and seven years. It wasthen that this other Victor Barna racket came tolight, but it was no ordinary Barna bat. It was asingle-ply racket with a cork tip at the far end of thehandle. But like all other Barna rackets, it hadsomething special and that something was theunmistakable and genuine logo of Barna’s ownname. The racket found its way to the display of thewell known collector, Mike Babuin who later passedit to the ownership of our other friend and collector,Fabio Marcotulli. Fabio featured this remarkableBarna racket in edition 67 of the magazine so a lookat this edition would reveal much about this racketfor those who might not have seen it before.

But when did this racket first appear? It is generallythought to be dated from about 1928 and is likely tohave been used by Victor as a teenager and possiblyused to great effect in 1929 and perhaps in thecouple of years that followed. If it wasn’t this actualracket that was used by Victor to play his first men’steam event, it would have been one of a very similartype. It is said that Victor passed the racket to theRomanian in the early nineteen fifties, anothersignificant sign of Barna’s great generosity bearingin mind he gave away what might have been his firstdecent racket and one which put him on the road tostardom. It is also worth noting that Victor musthave had some sort of embossing stamp made, sinceall early Barna rackets have the identical Barna logo.This clearly shows that Victor was well in control withwhat he wanted to achieve with his rackets (andother equipment) and that he implemented all suchthings himself in the early years. And as we will seevery shortly, he never relinquished that control infavour of other, independent manufacturingcompanies who later agreed to use his famousname.

A further question that always haunts and taunts meis what type of rubber did Victor deploy and when.In the mid nineteen thirties, it was almost certainlyLeyland and we will soon understand a little moreabout his rackets of that time. But again, in the lightof the title of this feature (the curtain slowly butsurely opening more and more) another interesting

15

Early Barna racket,with signature logoand cork tip.Marcotulli Collection.

tit-bit of information about rubber has just emerged.Fabio’s friend and former Venezuelan international,Denis Gaal (born a Hungarian) recently informedFabio that Victor had once told him that the firstpimpled rubber he glued to his racket was from thecash till of a cinema – a device designed to preventcoin slippage. Barna must have thought – ‘that looksuseful - - - I’ll glue that on my bat.’ And of course itharks back to the tale of 1902 when E.C Goode wassaid to have done a similar thing when he too stuckon a piece of stippled or pimpled rubber, and it isthought he was the first person to have done so. Butwhere did it come from – who knows? But we nowknow it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility thatall such rubber came from the Leyland andBirmingham Rubber Company, since it has quiterecently been shown that L and B were well in to tabletennis as early as 1902. The feature in edition 62demonstrates that L and B made pimpled rubber forthe grips of horses reins. But early (Goode-style)rubber and non-slip surfaces for cash tills - - - we don’tknow, but very possible.

This last section is perhaps the most interesting of allin terms of a more obvious revelation coming to light,although the cash-till rubber is also fascinating. A longstanding question in my mind has been – when didBarna allow Walter Briggs Ltd to commencemanufacture of table tennis rackets using his name?The incomparable researcher, Alan Duke, has recentlydiscovered an answer. And to cut straight to thepoint – it appears to be 1�� August, 1934. Alan firmlybelieves that no patent was ever established for thisnor indeed was there ever any design registration.But from his studious insights to the relevant archive,he discovered the number for a Briggs/Barna TradeMark (576359) which was registered by Walter Briggs

Ltd in 1937, though the company claims usage from1�� August, 1934. For me, this is a grand and

fascinating discovery for it seems to pins down theBriggs/Barna commencement date to the summer of1934. In edition 62, I stated that it was unlikely thatBriggs manufactured Barna rackets in 1933, but 1934was a real possibility. It’s marvellous to find therecently discovered Trade Mark (576359) appears tosupport this thought. But having said this, first glancescan be deceiving and whilst I am delighted to hearabout some concrete information from Briggsregarding this matter, I feel it begs a further questionand casts doubt on my earlier statement. In the worldchampionships of 1935, 60% of all rackets used wereBriggs/Barna rackets. I now know that championship

was held in the February of 1935 so how did well overhalf of the world class entrants get hold of a BriggsBarna racket, become acclimatised to it and use itconfidently only six or seven months later? To me,this doesn’t seem possible. Alan suggests that Briggsmay have cited this 1�� August date, 1934 becausethere may have been unquestionable proof on thatparticular date that the company was producingBriggs/Barna rackets. I agree – that’s a strongpossibility. My feeling though is they would havecommenced such production, earlier, purely based

16

on the very short period from 1�� August 1934 to thedate of the world championships in February 1935.

Victor was already twice world champion by 1932and a close runner up and his input to the Hungarianmen’s team by then was enormous. And he neverrushed things. By this time there were a number ofcompanies seeking the rights to his name but herefused them all. The biggest likelihood is Victorresponded to Walter Briggs after he won the worldsingles of 1932 – maybe even after his third worldwin of early 1933. The first (or perhaps the secondeven) would give Briggs a realistic time scale (withVictor’s slow but steady direction) to turn out thefirst Briggs/Barna rackets some time in 1933.Therefore, by February 1935, that same 60% wouldhave had time to get hold of them and use them well,and Walter Briggs Ltd would later have been able toadvertise the fact (as it did) that 60% of rackets usedat the Worlds of 1935 were Briggs/Barna rackets. Asalready mentioned, it doesn’t seem remotelypossible this would have happened if the firstproduction occurred only on the 1�� August, 1934.Moving on to the end of that decade, the tail-end ofthe Briggs story is the fact it submitted wind-uppapers near the outbreak of the second world war.A few months later, the body responsible forapproving company closures, served a compulsoryclosure order on Walter Briggs Ltd. Alan and myselffeel sure that ‘compulsory’ is merely a legal term thatis used to describe a formal closure of such acompany and is not likely to mean anything morethan that. No one knows exactly why Briggs closeddown but it might have been a simple matter of themhaving been around a long time, and they had cometo the end of their reasonable company lifeexpectancy. Perhaps there might have been theprospect of selling on in better times, but with warlooming, they chose to pack up and have done withit.

But close they did – so out went Walter Briggs and incame a second world war, and everything ground toa halt. But I firmly believe that Victor Barna remainedin ultimate control of all elements of his table tennisracket, throughout. As there was no patent, heprobably allowed commencement of commercialproduction on a handshake and the nod of his head,but the only real change made to his logo (almostcertainly as a result of his own design or strongapproval) was that it was placed on an ovalised

ivorine disk. The appearance of the name itselfremained essentially unchanged. Then, seven yearslater, Victor joined Dunlop and took with him, so tospeak (as if Briggs had just borrowed it for its limitedproduction with Barna’s approval) the same, nearidentical logo, this time placed on a maroon ovalisedindentation in the handle rather than an ivorine inset.

But once again, the word Barna remained largely thesame as it had first appeared in the late 1920s – therewas simply the addition the word Dunlop on theother side as well. It was clearly all Victor’s own ideaand he remained fully in control throughout theentire period – 1928 to 1972 when he sadly passedaway in Peru.

David

References:

Philip ReidAlan DukeMike BabuinFabio MarcotuliDean NormanWalter Briggs Ltd, AdvertisingBritish Pathe

17

The idea to hold the table tennis bat like a penholderhistorically resulted in two grip and racket variations,as is well known: the Chinese version which isappropriate to play near the table with fast and directcounter-strokes and blocks and the Japanese versionwhich is more suitable for forehand topspin-shots orloop-drives, respectively, from mid-distance. Despitethe fact that the penhold grip has been mainly used byAsian athletes, and despite the analogy to eating withchopsticks, this grip style is not an inventiondistinctively made in Asia. As early as 1902, there wasa grip called “spoon” in England featured in the Britishteenage magazine „The Boy´s Own Paper“ [3].According to the article, following the spoon methodmeant holding “the racquet exactly like a penholder”.Doris Gubbins (Wales) and Zoltan Mechlovits(Hungary), both placed second in the singles events of

the first world championships in 1926, were penholdplayers [5], as well as some top-class athletes fromEastern Europe which were well-known in the 60s, 70sand 80s of the last century (Rudnova, Magos, M.Karakasevic, Kalinic). However, for long periods, thepenhold grip was not necessarily linked to a playingstrategy which is decidedly offensive: Hiroji Satoh(Japan), who became famous for using a bat exclusivelycovered with thick sponge, won his 1952 world singlestitle by mainly playing defensively [5]. Throughout the1950s, 1960s and 1970s “penhold retrievers” fromChina became famous using one and the same(forehand) side of their bat to perform long-range

forehand and backhand chops (Chiang Yung-Ning,Zhang Xielin, Ge Xinei) [4]. In order to chop penhold-grip defenders put four fingers of their playing hand onthe reverse side of the paddle. The penhold player

Annus (Anna) Sipos won the world women´s singleschampionship in 1932 and defended this title one yearlater, but now using the shakehand grip [5]. In China,the idea of applying the reverse side of a penholdracket to hit the ball was publicly put in words for thetime at a national coaches conference towards the endof the 1980s by the later ITTF president Xu Yinsheng[2]. Inspired by Asian players of the 60s, East Germancoach Lothar Rönsch taught penhold play to youngathletes. He already incorporated the notion of areverse penhold backhand loop towards the end of the1970s [1].

References:[1] Geisler, M. (2004). Penholder in Deutschland – Interviewmit Lothar Rönsch. Tischtennis Lehre, 19 (4), 14-15.[2] James, H. (2008). Aus Schülern wurden Meister.tischtennis, 61 (6), 34-35.[3] Robinson, C. M. (1993 [1902]). Ping Pong. The Boy´s OwnPaper. The Table Tennis Collector, 3, 11-14.[4] Straub, G. (2012). In the beginning was the half-volley:the history of defence play in table tennis – part II. The TableTennis Collector, 64, 12-16.[5] Uzorinac, Z. (2001). ITTF 1926-2001 Table TennisLegends. Zagreb: Skaner.

The Penhold Gripby Gunter Straub (GER)

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Table Tennis Hollywood style! This unusual souvenir program promoting the FirstAnnual Hollywood Open in 1952 not only has a glamorous cover, but is packed full ofinteresting articles: The Use of Table Tennis in Visual Training; Sponge Rubber Bats orUnity? by Si Wasserman; Excerpts from Modern Table Tennis, by Jack Carrington;Defense or Attack?; European Table Tennis Report; The Saga of Muscle Beach(Tournaments) … The future 1956 World Mixed Doubles Champion Erwin Klein wonthis Hollywood Open. Did he also win a kiss from cover girl Cleo? 19

FRED PERRY, king of lawn tennis, has an unwrittenpage in his life - his table tennis days. I recall quite clearly Perry’s debut intointernational table tennis competition. It was inStockholm in 1928 where players from 20 nationshad gathered to take part in the worldchampionships. Prior to the singles and doubles competition, thevarious countries compete annually for theSwaythling Cup, symbolic of the world’s teamchampionship. Hungary, the defending champion,met an unexpected defeat at the hands of theEnglish team. One player in particular stood out on the Englishteam, he was a thin, tall, handsome chap with asparkling personality and an ever present smile - itwas Fred Perry. The name Perry didn’t mean muchat that time. In this tournament he defeated thedefending world’s champion, Doctor Jacoby, butfollowing this victory he didn’t fare so well. Whenthe world ranking was made, Perry was listed at No.7 position. However, it was in 1929 that the Englishyouth reached his greatest heights. In 1929 the world championships were held inBudapest, Hungary, the home of the championHungarian players, who ruled the table tennistournament. Perry came to Budapest as anabsolute outsider. The Hungarian spectators wereimpatiently awaiting another local victory. It wasn’ta question of what country had a chance to capturethe singles title, it was merely taleked of by thespectators as to which Hungarian would triumph.

The night of the final arrived and 5,000 fans wereenthusiastically watching the final between nativeM. Szabados and the youthful Englishman FredPerry, who had gained the final, much to thesurprise of all. Though he had scored severalbrilliant victories in his march to the final, Fred wasnot expected to be able to hurdle the obstacle ofone of Hungary’s outstanding players. The match started and the enthusiastic andcheering crowd suddenly quieted. The Englishmanwas taking the lead. Oh, well, they said, it wouldonly be for a short time. But they were wrong, theEnglishman continued to produce brilliant play andhe scored repeatedly against the Hungarian. Thefirst game went to Perry. Then something unusualhappened. The crowd realized that they werewitnessing a match in which an outsider wasactually trimming one of their native sons, but theoutsider’s dashing play, brilliant tactics and his everpresent smile caught their fancy. The silence thathad existed as the Hungarians had realized theirfavorite was on the road to defeat, turned to cheersfor the Englishman as he continued to play inmasterful manner. Fred Perry won the secondgame of the match but dropped the third. In thefourth game, leading at 20 to 16, Perry was unableapparently to gain the point that would give himthe coveted title, the score became close and finally20 to 19 and it looked as if Szabados would snatchvictory from apparent defeat, but on the nextservice Fred flicked a beautiful backhand for thepoint, game and championship. The crowd literally

20

Founding memberGerald Gurney sendsthis 1937 article bySandor Glancz, starmember of thelegendary HungarianTable Tennis team, whoreminisces about the

World Championships and 1929 WorldSingles Champion, Fred Perry.

went mad, rising to its feet and giving Perry anovation that lasted more than 10 minutes. As he stood in the middle of the floor receivingthe plaudits of the crowd, it was apparent to this18-year-old youth that he was enjoying one of theoutstanding moments of his life. In fact I recall in1933 when Viktor Barna, 5 times world’s champion,and myself were touring England, we met Fred inLiverpool. He had just returned the night before from amonth’s sea voyage from Australia, and hearing wewere to play he immediately made arrangementsto go to Liverpool to meet us. That evening afterthe exhibition when we were eating together, hetold us that although he had been to practicallyevery part of the world and had many grandmemories, the night he won the world’s tabletennis championship in Budapest still lingers in hismind as the most enjoyable moment of his life. Perry was until 1936 the only non-Hungarian toever win the men’s singles title of the world. It isan interesting fact to note that his great triumphwas the first tournament he had ever won in hislife. What a start ! After this he scored numerous victories. He alsostood out as a fine doubles player, teaming withCharley Bull to win the English championship in1928, 1929, and 1930 against the world’s best. He intended to defend his world’s title in 1930,but the sudden death of his mother made itimpossible for him to play. Up to this time he hadalready achieved some fame on the lawn tenniscourts as a fine junior player. This very same yearhe earned the right to play at Wimbledon wherehe scored a stunning upset by defeating the Italianplayer, Baron de Morpurgo, who at the time wasone of the world’s finest players.

This victory marked the start of Perry’s rise inlawn tennis heights and at the same time the lossto table tennis of one of its greatest players. Therest of Perry’s story is well known to all. Before concluding I would like to express theopinion that Perry’s startling victory at Budapest

in 1929 made him aware of his ability and gave himsuch a great confidence that he realized he couldprobably do the same in lawn tennis as he haddone in table tennis - and you all know he did.

This article was originally published in the USATable Tennis Association’s news monthly, TableTennis Topics, October 1937, Vol. 5, No. 1Reprinted courtesy of the USATT

21

Editor’s Note: This photo shows Fredand the statue that was erected in hishonor in 1984, the 50�� anniversary ofFred Perry’s first of 3 consecutiveWimbledon singles titles.Perry was ostracized by the tennisestablishment after turning pro in1937; he was not allowed to play infurther Grand Slam events.For more information about thisremarkable man read his biography,The Last Champion, by Jon Henderson(Yellow Jersey Press, 2009)

The Early Table Tennis Patentees: No. 4

Charles Barterby Alan Duke

The Patent Office received this Application just a weekafter that from Charles Witchell. It came from a youngand enterprising Electrical Engineer called CharlesBarter, from Blockley, a village in the Cotswolds, nearthe Gloucestershire-Worcestershire border.

His application was for a modified form of lawn tennisplayed on a table, using cork balls and covered mill-board racquets.

Charles Barter was born in 1866 in Lambourn,Berkshire. He was the secondchild of Henry Barter (born inSarsden, Oxford, c.1836) andElspeth Catherine néeMoberly (born Winchester,Hampshire, 1843). Henry wasVicar of St Michael and AllSaints Church, Lambourn,from 1862-68. The family livedin the Vicarage, a fine 17th

century house, which must

have been getting a bit worse for wear, as in 1884 it wasdemolished, having been condemned as uninhabitable.Soon after the birth of a second daughter in 1868, thefamily moved to Shipton-under-Wychwood, where Henrytook up the position of Vicar ofthe parish (1868-99). By 1881the family had increased withthe addition of three furthersisters for Charles, who wasthen away at boarding schoolin Winchester. It was therethat he met Nigel Warburton,more of whom later.

In 1887, Charles Barter was elected a Student Memberof The Society of Telegraph-Engineers and Electricians,having been “articled as pupil for over three years and isbeing  educated  as  an  electrical  Engineer” withWoodhouse & Rawson, “The Electric Supply Co. of Gt.Britain” (who manufactured ‘incandescence lamps’ on alarge scale, very appropriate for his next venture!). Hewas the first of his family for seven generations not to

enter the Church. The Society had beenre-named The Institution of ElectricalEngineers by 1890, when Charles wastransferred from his StudentMembership to that of AssociateMember “because he is engaged as anElectrical Engineer, and is now over theage of 21”. He remained a member until1908, and worked as an ElectricalEngineer in Blockley from about 1888-1892, where he joined his old friendNigel Warburton as fellow Director in a

new company, supervising the harnessing of waterpower to produce electricity.

Blockley is a lovely village in a valley in the Cotswolds,and has long been well-known for its streams flowingdown the hills and through the valley. This source ofwater power was the reason for the large number ofwater mills in  the  village,  and  for  Blockley’s  importantrole during the height of the silk trade in the 18th and firsthalf of the 19th centuries, as a silk-throwing centre(washing and spinning the silk fibres). By around 1880

The Vicarage, Shipton

22

The Early Table Tennis Patentees: No. 4

however, most of the mills were inactive or had been putto other uses.

One of those other uses was to generate electricity forthe village. Blockley has a very good claim to be “one ofthe first villages in the country to have electric lightingfrom the natural water power sources” (Charles Barter).This was in 1888, not far behind the introduction toLondon of this new-fangled invention! The firstgenerating plant in the village had been installed atDovedale Mill in around 1885, and provided illuminationfor Dovedale House. These properties were owned byLord Edward Spencer-Churchill (1853-1911), youngestson of the 6th Duke of Marlborough. Lord Edward was aFellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and listed oneof his other interests as electricity. Blockley was thusfortunate in having the power source, and a residentwith the knowledge and means to utilise it in the latesttechnology, albeit to begin with on a small scale.

A much larger venture was the formation of the BlockleyElectric-Lighting and Manufacturing Company on 12December 1887.

Among the signatories to the Memorandum and Articlesof Association were Edward Spencer-Churchill(Dovedale), Henry Barter (Vicar of Shipton-under-Wychwood), his son Charles Barter (ElectricalEngineer), William P Warburton (Canon of Winchester),and his son Hugh Nigel Warburton (Electrical Engineer).

The site for the new generatingplant (to be known as the AstralWorks)  was  Edwin  Smith’s  Millin Mill Close (built as a mill in1843, and owned by LordEdward). There is also a familyconnection amongst thesignatories, as Nigel Warburtonwas  a  cousin  of  Lord  Edward’s

wife, Augusta Warburton. I think it safe to assume that itis  this  family  connection  that  brought  Charles’  schoolfriend, Nigel Warburton (then also an Electrical

Engineer) to the village, and consequently also led toCharles’ involvement.

The heavy plant wasinstalled in thebasement of the mill,with accommodation above for the Engineers. NigelWarburton [on left in photo, taken at the mill], CharlesBarter [on right], and one of theirapprentices are all listed as living inThe Close at times during theirperiod in Blockley. Electric lightcame to the village in stages in1888, with the church, grocery shopand nearby streets being the first tobenefit. It was whilst in Blockley in1891 that Charles submitted hisPatent Application for “A  NewGame”. There was obviously plentyof room in the large building for himto practise and perfect his invention,as in later years the southern part of the building wasconverted into an Institute, equipped with a stage anddressing rooms and the other amenities of a modernvillage hall, where billiards and ‘other games’ wereplayed (my italics). He did not restrict himself to just theone Patent application, as there were also others for anelectric lamp, a golf club, and a trestle (the trestleapplication later being abandoned, but did he perhapshave this in mind for table tennis tables?).

During his years in Blockley, Charles immersed himselfin the life of the village e.g. appearing in amateurtheatrical performances, playing football (outside right)and cricket (slow leg-spin bowler) for the village teams,even joining the cricket committee. He also served in the2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment.It was whilst in Blockley that he met his future wife, oneof the daughters of Canon Houghton (pronouncedHorton), living at The Vicarage, just the other side of thechurch from Mill Close.

In 1893, Charles moved to Birmingham, at the timedescribed as the workshop of the world, and the heart ofthe Industrial Revolution. He also switched specialities,working with William Fowler Carter as HeatingEngineers, based at 41 Banbury Street. But heremained a Director ofthe Blockley LightingCompany until it ceasedbusiness in 1896, whenall plant and stock wasauctioned off to meet allits liabilities. NigelWarburton had returnedto Winchester tocontinue working as anElectrical Engineer, but

The Astral Works was located in the building on the left

23

The Early Table Tennis Patentees: No. 4

Charles, of course, also had another interest in Blockley,and often during his engagement cycled the 35 miles ofunsurfaced roads from Birmingham - on a tricycle!Luckily though, he was fortunate in having a veryconvenient alternative means of transport between thetwo locations. Blockley Station was just 1½ miles northof the village, and was on the GWR line toWolverhampton, whilst in the other direction it passedthrough Shipton (his family home) en route to Oxford.

Charles married Mary Cecilia Houghton at the ParishChurch (St Peter and St Paul) in Blockley on Thursday30 April 1896, with his father officiating (the local vicarbeing busy giving his daughter away!), and NigelWarburton as best man. Mary was born in 1869 in

Redditch, Worcestershire, toCanon Edward Houghton andHannah Maria née Walford. Sheattended boarding-school inWorcester, and went on to gain anAssociate of Arts (Oxon). Thewedding was a big occasion in thevillage, and the parishioners haddecorated the churchyard witharches, the vicarage entrance with

flowers, and the square with flagsand greenery. A thunderstorm hitthe village shortly before the 2.15ceremony, but fortunately the rainstopped in time for the wedding,and later in the day the sun shonebrightly. The church was filled withguests and parishioners, includingLady Edward Spencer Churchill(one of the witnesses on theMarriage Certificate), andfollowing the service, all adjournedto the wedding breakfast served ina marquee on the Vicarage lawn.The newly-weds departed later in the afternoon for theirhoneymoon in Rye, Sussex.

They set up home in Edgbaston, the then up-marketresidential area of Birmingham, and Charles continuedin business as a HeatingEngineer (although describinghimself as a Civil Engineer in1901) until his retirement. Formost of that time, theCompany was at the samepremises, 121-122 SuffolkStreet (far right in photo, nowdemolished and used as aparking area), although itwent through a few changes

in that time. AsManaging Director(and Secretary)until 1922, Charlessteered thecompany through

difficult times, always supported by his wife (often aDirector herself), employing her organisational andtyping skills in the office. Charles continued to submit

many Patent Applications, almost all concerned with histrade, and often in collaboration with colleagues.

By 1904, his family had increased to five, with the birthsof Charles junior, Arthur and Elspeth. Whilst not well off,

the children enjoyed a happychildhood, with seaside holidaystaken at Seaview, Isle of Wight,where Nigel Warburton had ahouse, and later at Littlehamptonvisiting  a  friend  of  Mary’s. The twoboys also spent time at Blockleywith their grandparents during theschool holidays, having cycled therewith their father (the roads stillunmade, causing many punctures!).Through theyears, theirhomes inEdgbaston

also served as home to variousguests and relatives, until in1947 Charles and Mary movedto Walton-on-Thames, Surrey,to live with their daughterElspeth and her family.

TIMELINE

7.7.1866 Born in Lambourn, Berkshire1866-1868 Lived at The Vicarage, Lambourn1868 Moved to The Vicarage, Shipton-u-Wychwood, Oxon1881 Boarding at school; 18 Edgar Road, Winchesterc1883-1887 Woodhouse & Rawson, 11 Queen Victoria St, London10.2.1887 Elected as Student Member to The Society of Telegraph-

Engineers and Electricians; Living at 62 Iffley Road,Hammersmith

c1887-1892 Astral Works, The Close, Blockley

1.9.1888 Blockley Church lit by electric light23.1.1890 Elected as Associate Member to The Institution of

Electrical Engineers; Living in Blockleyc1893-1897 Heating Engineer at 41 Banbury Street, Birmingham30.4.1896 Married Mary Cecilia Houghton at Blockley Church1897 Living at 152 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham13.12.1897 Company taken over by Benjamin Parker Ltd (Directors

Charles Barter and Thomas Taylor)

1898 Elected to Institution of Heating & Ventilating Engineers29.4.1899 Birth of Charles Moberly (‘Carol’) Barter, Birmingham6.11.1900 Birth of Arthur Reginald Barter, Birminghamc1903 Moved to 107 Gough Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham1st Qtr 1904 Birth of Elspeth Claire Barter, Birmingham21.7.1904 Presented paper to IHVE summer meeting in Liverpool:

‘Smokeless and economical burning of fuel’1907 Company wound up; re-incorporated, still Benjamin

Parker Ltd, 122 Suffolk Street, with C Barter as Directorc1913 Moved across the road to 122 Gough Road27.4.1923 Effects sold by Receiver to Mr S Bagley1923-1932 Technical Manager at Bagley & Parker, 122 Suffolk St.

(‘Successors to Benjamin Parker Ltd’)1933 Life Member of IHVE1947 Moved to The Chantry, 51 Ashley Road, Walton, Surrey29.11.1954 Mary died (Walton-on-Thames); cremated 1.12.195416.6.1958 Died of prostate cancer at Weybridge Hospital20.6.1958 Cremated at Woking Crematorium; ashes dispersed

Walton

24

The Early Table Tennis Patentees: No. 4

However, that is not quite the end of the story as far asBlockley is concerned. When in his 80s, Charles didmake a pilgrimage to the scene of the momentousevents of his early life, and also to his childhood homeat Shipton, having been taken on the grand tour by hisson, Arthur. [Brigadier A R Barter, BA (Hons), had avery successful career with the Royal Artillery, servingas Military Attaché in Rome and Lisbon during theSecond World War, despite being badly injured inaction. In later public life he employed his linguistic skillsto obtain a degree in Modern Languages, and went onto teach in schools, and to write a number of books onthe teaching of languages.]

Charles Barter died in 1958 at Weybridge Hospital. Hewas remembered as a mild man, who never swore orlost his temper. He, along with Mary, performed inamateur dramatics (in Birmingham, as well as Blockley),and enjoyed watching Gilbert and Sullivan productions.Charles had a beautiful voice, performing many of thegreat religious works as a solo chorister. He was also akeen gardener and talented artist. His sense of humourwas demonstrated in his introduction to a paper hepresented to the IHVE. For example, he apologised forthe paper being of a sketchy nature rather than atechnical document, as  he  was  “an  extremely  busyheating  engineer,  …  not  able  to  go  to  the  office  onMonday morning and wind up the mainspring of my

department, thereafter leaving it to itself to work till thefollowing Monday”.

Thanks for all their help to Sue Roach (Blockley), Sarah Hale (The IET), Jamie Symington, Anthea Redmond, andFrank Ferris and Brian Roberts (IHVE / hevac-heritage group). With acknowledgements to “Out of All Character” byA R Barter (1978), and “Blockley through Twelve Centuries” by H E M Icely (1988).

The Early Table Tennis Patentees and Inventors:

Updatesby Alan Duke

With the completion of both these series of articles, it is perhaps an opportune moment toinclude a few items which have inevitably been discovered since the original publications.

David Foster’s association with the Wesleyan Methodists is now known to have continued untilat least 1912, when he was involved in the renovation of theBurn Chapel (near Selby). More recently, local newspapershave supported the research, with a short piece in the Selby

Times of 16 December 2010 requesting information, and then a full-page feature (see left) in the Selby Post of 17February 2011. Selby Civic Society have included the Micklegate address in a forthcoming Heritage Trail leaflet.

Much new information has been discovered about Emma Barker, some of which was included in the article in TTC69featuring her husband and son, for example her description: “With her jet-black hair and dark blue eyes, she describedherself as half-Irish by descent; vivacious, but moody, and although conventional in the Victorian way, she couldsatirise the typical social traditions of the period.” Emma was naturally of a sunny and affectionate disposition, but hergrand-daughter Mabel had described her in later years as ‘sad and resigned’. The reason for this is likely to be that, inaddition to losing two young children soon after arriving in New Mexico, her deep respect and admiration for herhusband had been replaced by bitterness for “the lack of active affection and sympathy” displayed towards her. Thiswas confided to her daughter Millicent, visiting her mother for a few days during her final illness.

A reference (admittedly from 1949) to James Gibb, in connection with the introduction of celluloid  balls  in  “about1900”, is of particular interest because of its specific reference  to  Gossima:  “He  was  a  keen  player  of  ‘Gossima’,probably the most popular of these table games, and on a visit to America discovered these celluloid balls in use astoys.” (Sunday Pictorial Sports Parade). The updated version of the original article on James Gibb has recently beenpublished in the Spring 2013 edition of The South London Harriers Gazette.

Finally, a couple of minor additions: Practising at the Stroud family firm, Charles Witchell operated mainly from theirCainscross office; and Vivian Johnstone was buried on 25 May 1931 in Gap Road Cemetery, Wimbledon (C/C/386).

Patent ApplicationsYear No. Description1891 6491 Trestle for tables (abandoned)1891 6492 Lamp holder1891 6993 Golf club1891 19070 A New Game1902 11715 Water heating apparatus 1

1903 27129 Castors for tables, chairs, etc1904 23310 Steam heater and boiler 2

1905 8339 Apparatus for heating water1905 8340 Apparatus for heating water1905 15570 Warming of buildings 2

1905 16343 Heating by steam circulation 2

1906 6031 Steam traps1907 11588 Air release valves 3

1910 6285 Apparatus for heating water 4

1921 183981 Hot water heating systems 4

1921 184919 High pressure valve devices 4

1932 401093 Hot water heating systems

1 With Thomas Taylor2 With Thomas Taylor and Joseph Westwood3 With Joseph William Westwood4 With Samuel Bagley

25

26

Philatelic Update27.9.2013 was certainly a big day in the history of Table Tennis philately,celebrating two stamps jointly issued by China and Sweden, along with 40Table Tennis postmarks from cities around China. The blue stamp,showing Jan-Ove Waldner, a well-respected legend in China, marks thefirst time a foreigner has been featured on a Chinese stamp. Special thanksto Tang Ganxian for all the images and city identifications.

Special thanks to Hans-Peter Trautmann, Winfried Engelbrecht, Tang Ganxian, and MarcTemplereau for their helpful inputs.

Ningbo, Zhejiang Henan Jiyuan

Jiaxing Shanghai Liaoning Province, Shenyang

Tianjin Nanjing, Jiangsu Province Beijing

27

Beijing

Changzhou, Jiansu Province

Fujian, XiamenYangzhou, Jiangsu

Jianzhou, Liaoning Province Huzhou, Zhejiang

Fujian, Fuzhou Harbin, Heilongjiang Province Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province

Wuxi, Jiangsu ProvinceHebei, QinhuangdaoGuiyang, Guizhou Province

28

Shenzhen GuangdongProvince

Henan Province Pingdingshan Jiangmen Guangdong Prov.

Henan Province Pingdingshan

Dalian, Liaoning Province Tongzhou Jiangsu Province Shandong Province, Jinan

Xining Qinghai province Beijing philatelic collection Expo - Sportsphilatelic collection day, Beijing

Wenzhou, Zhejiang

Changshu, Jiangsu Province Jiangsu Province Changshu China Open August 14-18Suzhou, Jiangsu Province

Asian Youth Games; Table TennisAugust 16th, Jiangsu Province

12th Chinese National GamesTable Tennis Sep. 1-10th2013, Anshan, Liaoning Prov.

6th East Asian Games tabletennis Oct.5th-15th, Tianjin

The Swedish souvenir sheet and first day postmarks from both China and Sweden.

29

30

Beijing

Beijing

Souvenir sheet for the joint issue. Sweden, 27 September 2013Sweden 28.09.2013Free Markets Day.Arboga, & Vaggeryd

This German card was available only at the the China InternationalCollection Expo in Beijing, 26-29 September 2013

This postcard from Croatia celebrates 40 years of a lottery that benefits sports

31

South Africa 29 July 2013, for theWorld Transplant Games. Issuedin sheets/10 self adhesive stamps.Art by Peter Sibanda.

These maxicards show photosthat were used in the design ofthe joint issue stamps. Theabove photo of Deng Yaping isexactly the same form as usedon the stamp.The Waldner serving photo issimilar to the stamp, but notexact, with several differences:hair, eyes, shirt, racket & ball,hand position. Does thissuggest a private issue? Foundon both ebay and delcampe.

32

33

This season has seen a good variety of early boxed sets andrackets. It is quite remarkable that 2 “Gossima or Ping-Pong”sets should surface nearly at the same time. This name wasin use only for a brief time before Jaques reversed the nameorder to Ping-Pong or Gossima, so they are rather scarce. Aset of the latter was found with Hamley’s address in place ofthe more usual “causing immense excitement …” (left)

It is rare to find a Gossimaor Ping-Pong set in a woodbox. Includes 3 cross-hatched rackets from the1920s-30s game of TAB-TEN (see issue 69) plus aplain wood bat with thinhandle, “The King”. Labelworn. Sold for £265

Above: Upper right corner of Ping-Pong or Gossima set in wood box,“To be obtained at Hamley Bros. …”instead of the usual “causingimmense excitement …”

Right: Gossima or Ping-Pong setwith bright box top lithograph, and6 plain wood rackets, probably notall original to the set. In a spiritedauction the set sold for a verycompetitive £532.

Auction Action

34

175 Euros seems a bargain price for this French Ping Pong set in wood box withsliding lid, pair of strung rackets, folding free-standing net (wide mesh) and rules.Was this a pirate, or did the maker have an agreement with Jaques & Hamley?

Pair of netposts with “Hamleys Ping Pong”stamped into brass fixture. The posts haveextra holes for net extensions. Sold for only£15. Hamleys first had the ‘Ping Pong ‘ trade-mark, then became ‘jointly concerned’ withJaques. Was this made & sold before thatarrangement with Jaques, or did Hamleysmake the posts & retain rights to use onlytheir name?

Jaques TEMA 12-balltube, £49

More often found as Table Tennis, this Tischtennis set by JW Spear of Bavaria sold for an amazing lowprice of only 13 Euros. The box top lithograph is in beautiful condition. Pair of plain wood bats.

Pair of Jaques net extensions, a bargain at $10

Pair Spalding bats, suede wrapped handles, with 1902 booklet & white net.This ensemble sold for a very high £350, then immediately re-sold for £345 !?

35

Fine pair of early sandpaper covered woodrackets with rounded heads. A 3-waybidding war pushed the price up to anastounding £145 for sandpaper rackets.

36

Ice cream mold in shape of an earlyPing Pong racket, only $22

Japanese ceramic, c.1950, $30. A racket ineach hand!

German beer stein, pewter lid engravedPing Pong Doubles 1�� prize Santa Barbara,July 1903. $22

Hand-held advertising fan, one of 4designs in the series, 1904. $16

Stereoview, Ping Pong on the deck of a PacificMail steamship, 1904., Fine condition. $27

37

Lawn Tennis and Croquet, the OfficialOrgan of the Lawn Tennis Association,the Badminton Association, theCroquet Association, and the TableTennis Association. Dated 5 November1902. How many issues included TableTennis articles, and can someonekindly share some copies for ourmagazine?

“Le Ping Pong” from theFrench Femina magazine, April1902. Note the roundedcorners of the table. 7.50 Euro

Be sure to check all magazines,from 1902, the peak year ofthe new game. Many arelikely to have engravings withPing Pong motif, especially inEngland, France and Germany,but likely most all of Europe -we saw a beautiful example ina Hungarian magazine in TTCissue 63.

ption

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caption£82 for this beauty, a Jaques Ping Pong drumracket with red leather wrapped bulbous grip.Pencil sketch of a man’s face on the vellum.

£90 for a Jaques plain wood PingPong racket !?

“The Prince” wood racket withnice short bulbous grip. £102

Very well preserved pair of vellum battledores, found in a set of PingPong or Gossima. £99

39

Coleman Clark boxed hardbat, wrapped handle, rulesbrochure, $123.50

Hardbat with leather trim & wrapped handle, £10

Pair of familiar vellum battledores, average condition. £49 Two plain wood rackets, rather highprice for these at £72.

Pair of Mally Bulldog bats faced with vellum.Two determined bidders pushed this to £170

Pair of 1902 era Jaques Ping-Pong vellum battledores.Sold for a surprising £117, quite a high price for relativelycommon rackets.

40

Stiga Alser in original box, $71

Michel Haguenauer (FRA) racket with photodecal & signature,fine condition. 203 Euros.Cor du Buy RUBIN, in original bag,

Unsold at $250

Beautifully preserved Hock bat, No. 74. $127.50 after46 bids! Your editor used this style racket during hishardbat days. They had a beautiful baritone sweet-spot sound.

Modern “8bat” with unusual grip £33.50

Swedish STIGA poster, 70 x 50 cm. $180

41

Looking forward to this work, “PingPong Diplomacy - the Secret HistoryBehind the Game that Changed theWorld” by renowned author NicolasGriffin. It will be published on 14January. Advance orders available viaamazon.com

Noted veteran Dean Johnson (USA) teamedwith the amazingly prolific Tim Boggan tobegin a new series of in-depth profiles of“World Class American Table TennisPlayers of the Classic Age.” Volume Ifeatures 1936 & 1937 World SinglesChampion Ruth Aarons, and JimmyMcClure, who won the World Men’sDoubles title 3 consecutive times, 1936-38,and founded the ITTF Hall of Fame.Volume II is also soon to be published.

Tantalizing title, but only 28 pages?!That’s not much to say about thegreatest ever players. Available onamazon.com

Günther Angenendt ebay thorin2001Langacker 10a 44869 Bochum, Germany+49-2327-77117 ttanpp@gmx.dePre-war World Ch Programs; all TtitemsGerman boxed sets & bats; TT pins

Jorge Arango jharango@une.net.coCl. 10 No. 25-103 Ap.116 Medellin ColumbiaPhilatelic & general TT items Ebay: nofrah37

Michael L. Babuin, PhD USAPO Box 3401 Cary N,c. 27519 ebay: sirculesmike.babuin@townofcary.orgPre-1905 books, old film copies, programs

Oliver Born Germanyborn4TT@freenet.de www.old-butterfly.deOld Butterfly rackets, especially Korpa

Keith Bowler14 Ewell Street, Balmain, N.S.W.2041 Australia (02) 98104128Old magazines, publications up to 1961

Fabrice Chantriaux France10 Rue des Chevrefeuilles F-45130 Saint-Ay02.38.88.82.11 Fax: 02.38.45.94.29F.chantriaux@wanadoo.fr Stamps, cancels,Postcards, posters, old papers on TT

Colin Clemett colin@clemett.demon.co.uk7 Brookmead Way, Havant PO9 1RT UKHistorical documents

Fabio Colombo Italy drfabioc@gmail.comhttp://drfabiocolombo.ilbello.com/Table Tennis books, World Rankings. AuthorSeeking STIGA Stipancic rackets

Ron Crayden (ENG) in Memoriam

Andre Demeure Belgium 02/770.55.29Place de Mai 10 B-1200 BrusselsA.m.demeure@skynet.be Cancels, coins, redmeters, stationeries, color proofs, artistsheets, stamps (perf+imperf), postcards

Jean Devys Residence La petite vigne,20 rue Edgar Quinet, A16 F-59100 RoubaixFrance 33.320828444 Fax: 33.320650849 TTphilately, cycling jean.devys@orange.fr

Axel Dickhaus GermanyAtzienbacherf Str. 88 D-51381 Leverkusen+49 (0)2171 32108 Fax: 49 (0)2171.731478axel.dickhaus@freenet.de TT balls, phone cards

Alan Duke alan-duke2@talktalk.net2 Shapwick Close, Swindon WILTS. EnglandSN3 3RQ UK +44 (0) 1793 531234History, music & photo record of TT items

Sergio Durazzano durazzano@aruba.itVia Girardini 8, 33100 Udine, Italy0432.21105 Stamps & historical books

Winfried Engelbrecht GermanyVirgiliastr.21 D-45131 Essen 49.201.78.6795winfried.engelbrecht@imail.de Philately:Stamps, FDCs, Sheets, Postmarks, books,phonecards, tickets, stickers, W.C. Programs

Romualdas Franckaitis LithuaniaRfanckaitis@gmail.com

Gao Yi-bin gaoyibin2008@hotmail.com2-202 Lakeside Apartment, Jiangning,Nanjing, P.R.China 211100+8625 5212 3334 TT stamps, FDC, postcardsphonecards, coins, medals, pins, cancels

Roman Gelman rgpinman@aol.com24 Taverngreen Court, Baltimore, MD. USA21209 410 602 0267 Pins,,badges,medals

David George Scotland 01236 872350rhona@jonathangibb.co.ukTT items for sale, list available.

David Good dgood42@yahoo.com710 N.Waverly, Dearborn, MI 48128 USA+1 313 278 5271 c.1900 sets, equipment,ephemera, memorabilia

Scott Gordon USA sgordon@hardbat.com5340 Shelato Way, Carmichael, CA 95608+1 916 978 0117 www.hardbat.com filmsHistoric films,classic era hardbats, old books

Gordon Gotal mim-borovo@zg.htnet.hrMeduliceva 23 Zagreb 10000 Croatia+3851 4848 687 Exch: TT pins, medals, post-cards Acquire: WC & EC official badges

Steve Grant NY, NY USA authorNyman455@yahoo.com ebay: prompt101Ping Pong Diplomacy, Early 1900s TT

Esko Heikkinen esko.heikkinen@diacor.fiVainamoisenkatu 9 B 17 Helsinki 00100Finland +358 50 62532 Stiga bats, TT history

Gerald Gurney +44.1206.230330Guildhall Orchard, Great Bromley ColchesterESSEX CO7 7TU England. All racket games, Allequipment, ephemera. Historian, author.Worldwide exhibitions. Swimming items.Exch: boxed sets, postcards, books, rackets

Rex Haggett rex.haggett@ntworld.com27 Meadow Close, Stratford-upon-AvonWarwickshire, CV37 9PJ England+44 (0) 1789 269352 Philately

Barry Hayward UK19 Little Hardwick Road, StreetlyWest Midlands WS9 0SDbarry_hayward@LHRstreetly.freeserve.co.uk

Chuck Hoey Curator, ITTF MuseumChemin de la Roche 11, RENENS 1020Switzerland museum@ittf.comArt bats, unusual bats, historic photos,Important medals, museum quality items

Martin Holland mjh44now@yahoo.co.uk44 Victoria Road, Barrow-in-Furness, CumbriaEngland BA14 5JU TT postcards & trade cards

Rolf Jaeger USA Tennisheritage@aol.comTennis and Table Tennis itemsCustom jewelry: www.tennisboutique.com

Dean Johnson USA3404 Holly Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23451(757) 478 3605 djab2b@aol.com

Jean-Francois Kahn France49 rue Leonardo da Vinci, 77330 Ozoir laFerriere jean-francois.kahn@upmc.fr+33 1 40779762 TT philately: imperf stampsSheets, color proofs, minister/artist sheets,errors, postmarks, meters, FDCs, specimens

Christian Klaus Möllersdorf, Austria43.664.8546343 christian.klaus@agum.netTT stamps, cancels, postcards, autographcards, FDCs, historic photos, magazines,Newspapers, score-lists, books, posters …

Jan Kleeven sjangkleeven@planet.nlMargrietstraat 63 6373 NN LandgraafNetherlands Pins, flags, pennants, stamps,Phonecards, stickers

Matti Kolppanen FinlandKollekannaksent 12E, FI-02720 Espco matti.kolppanen@kolumbus.fiTT history, TT postcards

Randy Koo NetherlandsTorenwacht 37, 2353 DB Leiderkorp+31 071 5417413 rkoo@planet.nlStamps mint, postmarks, red meters, FDC

Hans Kreischer +34965698195Avenue les Comargues 21, Busot-Allicante03111 Spain hanskreischer@hotmail.comwww.ttmuseum.nl

Kevin Lau USA kevintennis@yahoo.com7544 N.Claremont Ave, Chicago, IL 60645773-719-0860 Philatelic, pins, coins,memorabilia, souvenir & decorative items

Collector Directory

42

Caron Leff csleff@aol.com USA9201 Lalique Lane #1602, Ft. Myers, FL33919 Interest: pins

Francis Leibenguth France1 résidence des Hauts de Villebon 91140 Villebon-sur-Yvette +33951966614stanfl54-hardbat@yahoo.frVintage bats (esp hardbats), vintage setshttp://raquettes-collection.blog4ever.com

Jorgen Lindh joli@mbox303.swipnet.seEgnahemsgatan 13D S-43242 VarbergSWEDEN ebay ID: joliswede

Steve Luck, 12 Liskey Hill, Perranporth,Cornwall TR6 0ET Phone: 07860 446209steve@stevelucktennis.com racket sports,rowing, billiards, croquet, archery ...

Fabio Marcotulli Venezuelalailagalvez@yahoo.com ebay ID: zappirosBarna rackets, TT items from all eras

Hubert Menandhubert.menand@laposte.netPresident, AFCTT (French TT Collectors)

Eldon Mohler eam2@ix.netcom.com1820 E.Warm springs Rd.Suite 112 Las Vegas. NV 89119 USAFax: +1-702-453-8472

Erik Kenneth Muhr England UK2 Highgate Hill, Hawkhurst KENT TN18 4LB01580 752676 History of Table Tenniskenmuhr@btopenworld.com

Rudolf Mueller GermanyBahnhofstr. 58 D-57250 Netphen 02738-1461 Stamps, cancels, letter, error, redmeters r-mueller-netphen@t-online.de

Jan Nusteleyn NetherlandsWeserstraat 21, 9406 VP Assen 0592-356050 e-mail: nleyn@hotmail.comStamps, mint perforated FDCs red meters,cancels WC, EC, EC-Youth, Top-12

Robert Op de Beeck +03/455.41.59J.F.Willemstraat 66 2530 Boechout BELGIUM

Florian Pagel Germany flo.p@gmx.netOlder Banda, Stiga, Joola, Butterfly, Imperial

Gregory PinkhusovichApt.10, h.2 Sheshet Ha-Yamim StrAriel 40700 ISRAEL +972-54-3394739gpinkhusovich@yahoo.com TTpins, badges, medals, coins

Alberto Prieto USAalberto@valortabletennis.com

Robin Radford rjradford@xtra.co.nz16 St Edmund Cr TAWA, Wellington, NZ+64 04 232 5672TT cartoons, comic strips, clip art

Jose Ransome”Conifers” Church Lane ORMESBYMiddleborough TS7 9AU ENGLAND01642 322223 ajransome@aol.com

Geoff Reed21 Beaulieu Park, St Helier.Jersey JE24RN reedgeojtta@gmail.com44.01534.730132 Table Tennis history

Helmut ReinhardtFriedrich-Voss-Platz 19,D-24768 Rendsburg, GERMANYH.Reinhardt-Stral@kabelmail.de

Ortwin Schiessl AustriaLascygasse 14-16, A-1170 WIENortwin.schiessl@aon.at table tennisphilately: Stamps, sheets, FDC, postmarks

Lutz Schoenfeld Germanyselling Table Tennis items on ebay: pongistee-mail: rulusch@t-online.de

Martin Senn St. Gallen, Switzerlande-mail: keys@swissonline.chSeeks old Stiga blades & catalogues

Luigi Simeoni luigi_simeoni@libero.itVia Ponte S.Pancrazio 2/a 37133 VeronaItaly 0039 045 532033 TT Balls, catalog

Harry Sintemaartensdijk NetherlandsJulianastraat 8,2651 DP Berkel en Rodenrijs0031 105114621 harry.smd@kpnmail.nlTischtennis Aufklebers/stickers

Tang Gan Xian P.R.Chinatangganxian2013@163.comQing Hu 4-35-104, ChangShu 215500+86-512-52722359 TT stamps, FDC, pinspostmarks, postcards, phonecards,tickets,

Marc Templereau France tpam@free.fr16 Hameau des cerisiers 38150 RoussillonSecretary, AFCTT (French TT CollectorsAssoc) http://afctt.over-blog.comCollections : stamps, FDC, players postcards,autographs, programs

Michael Thomson1 Kinnoull Terrace, PERTHPH2 7DJ SCOTLAND UK 01738 622052thomsonmfamily@blueyonder.co.ukJaques and history of Table Tennis

Solazzi Tonino solton66@virgilio.itVia Millefonti 6 / 5 10126 Torino, Italy00393391870279 Table Tennis pins

Hans-Peter Trautmann GermanySiegfriedstr. 17 64385 Reichelsheimhpt@hptrautmann.de ebay ID: hpt146Stamps mint, perf + imperf, sheets, colorproofs, minister/artist sheets, postmarks,errors, red/blue meters

Graham TrimmingRosemount Juniper LaneWooburn Green, Bucks HP10 0DE England44 (0) 1628 529609graham.trimming@virgin.net pre-1939 TTitems, esp c.1900s. Acquire: Gossima 1891;early unusual items; early World Ch items.

Nikola Turk nikola.turk@zg.t-com.hrUlica Pavla Hatza 26, Zagreb 10000 CroatiaSport historian, Sport-recreation activist,journalist Professor of Kinesiology. Philatelic

Damir Uzorinac CroatiaPrilaz Gjure Dezelica 20 10000 ZagrebDamir.Uzorinac@pliva.hr 38598474982Books, pins, stamps, cancellations

Russ Walker4316 Irving Ave N, MPLS MN 55412 USA+1-612-522-7905 ebay ID: russw58Early 1900s equipment & boxed setsrusswalker0638@comcast.net

Yao ZhenxuRoom 401 Unit 1 Building 2No. 4 Dongsikuaiyu South StreetChongwen District, Beijing 100061, China+86-13911990508 cttayao@china.comTT stamps, FDC, postcards, coins, pins,phonecards, postal material, tickets etc

Jos Zinkstok NetherlandsNeckarstraat 8 NL9406 VN ASSEN+31 592 350486 Fax: 0031 592 355861j.zinkstok@poveia.nlwebsite: www.poveia.nlTT cancellations, stamps, vignettes, onreal used, letters/covers/cards, FDC

Anton Zwiebel In Memoriam

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Collector Directory

B a c k P a g e

Copyright ITTF Museum 2013 Published by the ITTF Museum: Chemin de la Roche 11, CH-1020 RENENS,SWITZERLAND e-mail: museum@ittf.com website: ittf.com/museum

No part of this journal may be reproduced without prior consent of the publisher

Shen Bocheng 1901, Shanghai Beauties

The best for last … This was shown in issue 45, and more is nowknown about it. The artist was Shen Bocheng, and it waspublished in 1901, Shanghai Beauties. The verse: “The vernalbreezes brush beside you, around two sides of the net, with lightbat in hand, you send the bouncing star back and forth”.Important evidence of the game in China as early as 1901. Specialthanks to Museum friend Zhang Zhe (CHN).