Can you tell me more about this Titlist?

Does definitely appear to be an early titlist based on veneer colors. Prices are market driven but I would price them between 3-600 depending on wood type, straightness and condition. Brazilian Rosewood, Purple heart, ebony, and oak bring a premium. Lighter brown Rosewood, mahogany, and walnut are less rare. Nice find! I would be interested in a darker Rosewood one that is at least 0.85 at 29" from the bottom and straight.

question

does it have the willie hoppe signature ?

Titlist

Early Titlist, probably missing the screw in bumper. From 1942-45 likely. After that they had a big bumper, like a buttcap that extended up the butt a few inches. The early ones are the easiest to convert, tend to be a bit fatter and may even be enough for a wrapless cue.

Looks to be made of palm in the second photo that heavy, pourous appearing grain looks like it. A less desirable hardwood. If straight $200-300 value.

Take a close look at the other cues, if they are rosewood, brazillian or purpleheart, worth double. If ebony, well just call me and you got $800.

Any of them are easy sellers at 200-250

No Hoppe Signature?

If that's the case it could be pre 1941, which is when they started Hoppe Titlist cues.

I am not certian, but it wouldn't surpise me if there were cues that were sold without the Titlist label and Hoppe signature, maybe a buyer's preference. They made about a billion of these!

This site discusses 4 point spliced cue history at Brunswick. http://www.belltownvintage.com/OldCues.html

bankoutallday said:

If that's the case it could be pre 1941, which is when they started Hoppe Titlist cues.

I am not certian, but it wouldn't surpise me if there were cues that were sold without the Titlist label and Hoppe signature, maybe a buyer's preference. They made about a billion of these!

This site discusses 4 point spliced cue history at Brunswick. http://www.belltownvintage.com/OldCues.html

Click to expand...

Yep...runscott is definitely an authority on these old cues....has had a ton of them run through his hands. He is a wealth of knowledge on the subject.

Woof Biscuit said:

Thanks. I just sent him a PM.

Click to expand...

Not sure how often he comes to AZB these days. If you don't get a response, try emailing him from the Full Splice site. I lost his email addy when my computer crashed and I hadn't logged into my Yahoo Mail for over 6 mos. Best of luck!

special order

Yea, they were probably a special order without the signature. I just had one converted with the same wood (I think) as yours by Bob Frey. It came out awsome! Here is a link to pics in the gallery: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=320473
As far as price goes, that is a tuff one. If you look at comlpeted listing on the bay, they go from $125 to $450 depending on wood and condition. The one I had converted and another were sold to me by a friend who lucked into a bunch of them. He sold me mine basically at his cost, He bought 27 of them for $2500, and sold me mine at $100 apiece. I got a great deal because he got a quantity discount (and my friend didn't care about profiting off of me). But, I would say if there priced right, buy as many as you can afford. You probably can't lose $ on them. And for the right price, I might be interested in one or two:wink:.
Tom

someone else with great expertise who can help you with these would be azer Manwon, Craig Rittel.

best,
brian kc

Definitely an early titleist, from where I've seen them trade the value is probably between $200-$300

Thanks for the kind words, Lisa.

I would expect a smooth bottom splice if it were a 26 1/2 - also, those usually had the weight stamp on the butt. On the other hand, it would be surprising to see a Titlist with the 'Willie Hoppe' signature missing.

This page gives a good example of how the bottom-splice looked on older cues (the top one is a 1970's 'Signature', and shows how bad the splicing got):
http://www.belltownvintage.com/OldCues.html

I plan to update the website 'soon', adding a page on ebony Hoppe Pros and their variations - if anyone has good pics they would like to submit, I would like to see them.