18th c. tennis racquet up for auction

A rare surviving tennis racquet made by King Louis XV’s racquet maker has emerged at UK’s premier sports memorabilia auction house, BUDDS. Made by Antoine Henry Masson (1735-1793), the racquet was constructed of ashwood burnished in an oven with oak sawdust, then strung with sheep gut strings.

Originating as “jeu de paume” in the 13th century, it was a form of handball played in a courtyard or cloister. Balls bounced off walls and could be hit on the rebound. The net was just a rope tied across the court. The game grew in popularity, spreading to the courts of France and Italy and from there throughout Europe to people from all walks of life. Players began to wear thick gloves instead of barehanding the ball.

Enclosed courts with bleachers were built in palaces of the nobility, aristocracy and royalty. King Henry VIII was an avid player, building a tennis court at Hampton Court Palace in 1532 which is the oldest court of its kind in the world and is still used on occasion.

By the end of the 16th century, Paris had an estimated 250 courts. This was the peak of the sport of Royale or Real Tennis, the enclosed fully indoor sport that was the direct progenitor of the lawn tennis that took over the world (and the word “tennis) in the 19th century. The racquet was invented in Italy in 1583. The head was shaped like a broader version of a palm, inspired by the handball origins of the sport. The first formal rules of the game were codified in 1599. The guild of paumiers-raquettiers (ball and racquet-makers) established themselves as a professional organization with the exclusive right to sell balls and racquets.

By the time Antonine Henry Masson began to practice, the popularity of tennis had begun to wane, but it was still played by French royalty. Masson had been an apprentice from the age of nine years old, and he seems to have been something of a prodigy. He was still a teenager when King Louis XV noticed him as a player and as a maker of racquets and balls. He played internationally, defeating the best players in England and earning him the hindsight recognition from scholars as the tennis world champion between 1765 and 1785.

The racquet coming up for auction is a demi-paume type, a lighter weight racquet made to be played with a 30 gram ball, half the weight of the standard 60 gram ball. It is in good condition, with only a small area of wood splitting on the face and a slightly separated shaft. The pre-sale estimate is £12,000-15,000 ($16,000-20,000).

* This article was originally published here