Ivory cue balls

Bob Jewett

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I bought an ivory cue ball last year and made me wonder? When was the last ivory ball made?
I think that A. E. Schmidt of St. Louis was selling them in the 1980s. They had someone who still knew how to turn balls after that, but he was actually retired and only came in on special order.
 

bankbusiness

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Thanks for the reply but I meant to ask when was the last ivory ball made from a factory? The late 1800's was a transitional period and I figured that ivory balls must have stopped in production around that time.
 

Bob Jewett

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Thanks for the reply but I meant to ask when was the last ivory ball made from a factory? The late 1800's was a transitional period and I figured that ivory balls must have stopped in production around that time.
Do you mean ivory pool object balls or ivory balls in general including cue balls? If the latter, A.E. Schmidt was still turning balls from tusks in the 1980s, so far as I know.

If you are asking about ivory pool sets, I think old catalogs would be a good resource.
 

bankbusiness

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I meant ivory balls in general. When were they last produced? I have an ivory cue ball and I'm tying to gauge how old it is. If the last of the ivory balls were manufactured in the late 1800's then at least I have an idea as to the minimum age of it.
 

Bob Jewett

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Staff member
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I meant ivory balls in general. When were they last produced? I have an ivory cue ball and I'm tying to gauge how old it is. If the last of the ivory balls were manufactured in the late 1800's then at least I have an idea as to the minimum age of it.

As I tried to say before, the A.E. Schmidt company in St. Louis was still turning ivory balls from tusks around 1980. I got a brand new freshly turned set from them at about that time. Schmidt is a general billiard supply company that makes and sells tables and cues.
 
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