Abe Rich
- Thread starter Boxcar
- Start date
Ain't they all.
That's a Model 76U in the 1976 catalog.
It became the Model 25-140 CHEQUEMATE in the 1979 catalog, essentially the same cue, but without a window.
I have the case from that 1976 catalog, as well as at least 3 of the cues, as well as one from 1973 (I believe, still looking for the proof).
Very cool cue.
Sorry to dig up an old thread but I am on one of my cue research journeys and ran into this.
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Never too much Rich talk. My favorite cues.
When I visited Abe he had a big bundle of blanks from the 70s that were never finished. My guess is those pointed blanks came from those. I think you are right that they were probably from his relative's shop from back when he worked there, before going out on his own.
Cueman... you being a cue maker how would you rate Abes work. As for looks/workmanship his cues seem to be as nice or nicer than a lot of other cues. Rich cues have held up for years and I mean years. The value should be greater than it is.... Why is the value so low when they should be worth 2 - 4x's what they go for. Thanks
It looks like their values are increasing since I was last looking. I took a few years break from cues. Before I left, there were brand new ones on Ebay, leftovers found in his shop. That availability kept the prices down.
Now those are apparently gone and the prices are climbing.
Supply and demand.
To me, part of the secret to why his cues were good was their simplicity.
I loved his work. Our room had a rack of them for sale. All of us have said... I regret parting with it.
He did on rare occasion sign a cue. He wouldn't do it unless he was specifically asked to do so.
He purchased his pointed blanks from a company overseas that he used in any cues that had points in them. That's why some of his cues will get misdiagnosed as not being one that he built.
He also had a closet full of inexpensive overseas cues that he used as something to try and sell you if you thought his cues were to much for your wallet. LOL! In his earlier days he wasn't going to let you walk out without buying something if he knew you had some cash!
Abe always referred to himself as a wood turner. He never would say he was a cue maker. The lathe he is standing next to was a wood lathe.
It had no gages or micrometer readings on it. It was merely a chuck with a thru hole large enough to fit a cue in and a tailstock.
He dipped all of his cues in a dip tank he built for his finish that he used.
Gotta love this picture, thanks for sharing.
I was fortunate enough to visit with Abe right before his passing. He was in story telling mode that I wish I had recordings of.
After his passing I met with his nephew at the shop and was able to acquire the sign that hung outside above the doors of his shop.
Unfortunately because of some ungrateful bastard that sign got thrown in a dumpster that was picked up before I could retrieve it.
The only memory I have of that now is a picture somewhere of me on a ladder taking it down.
Was so FN po'd and still to this day irritates me to think about it.
The thought of living in a prison cell for an extended period of time was the only thing that kept me from strangling the person.
The years of patina and flaking paint on the sign was priceless. I was going to coat it with a clear satin finish to try and preserve that history as much as possible and hang it in my shop.
I have no idea why his cues bring so little. When I bought my cue from him I paid about $800 for it. He showed me a picture of a Balabushka bringing thousands in the Blue Book and said what do I have to do to get that kind of money? I guess I will have to die first he said.. He showed the Bushka with knurls in a window and said George's and his were basically the same cue and that George was not even a real wood turner. Even death could not get his cues Bushka money. But then again nobody else's could either.
There are likely are variety of reasons I would think.
I did mention the simple idea of supply and demand before. I think that's one place to start.
How many cues did George make? 1,000-ish How many cues did Abe make?
Then there is the fact that Abe made mostly merry widows and that many if not most were grossly indistinguishable from the "other" Rich cues.
For fun I just Googled Balabushka merry widow and the first result was an Adam reference, the second was a Meucci, the third was a Rich Q reference! There was Tasc and others, but Abe wasn't on the fist page of results while Rich Q was third. I thought that was interesting.
While George never spliced a cue, I have never seen a George merry widow either. (Of course, I could be ignorant.)
I have sometimes wondered about this. George didn't sign his cues. Maybe he made a merry widow or two. Maybe early on, when he was starting out? Maybe they would be very difficult to identify? The earliest cues of a maker often have little resemblance to their later work when they got their methods down.
So, yeah, there is all that. At the same time I get it, Abe should have drawn more attention and value in the past and today.
I still want an Abe Titlist conversion. I missed one on Ebay a few years back that went for about $200. It still stings.
For Abe's fans, I took this picture shortly before the sign came down. I can't help but wonder if it was the original sign from the 70's.
Here is a Brazilian Rosewood blank from Abe's shop that deserves the right project someday. .880 at the joint and 1.440 at the other end with what looks like phenolic and Iv. rings in the middle. 28.5" long. Was acquired from Lucky after he bought much of the contents of the shop. It will be at the Expo next month.
todywayne
Member
What a piece of history...! I'd love to have this in my collection...!
todywayne
Member
What an awesome piece of "Rich" Family History... It's sad that it's gone... To answer your questions though... No it's not the original sign from the 70's... The original painted sign faded, so Abe's great nephew made this one in High School.
you are correct
it is not the original
it is not the one i saw in the early 1980's