Bihun Cue Mystery Unfolds

[Mr. Bond]

I love days like this, when a new discovery has been made and some kind of interesting historical detail is about to reveal itself...

Got an email from someone with an incredible story.
Apparently they had purchased some nice used furniture from an estate, and stuffed way down deep in one of the couches was a zippered cue case.

The cue found inside is a "rambow style" Titlist conversion, personalized with the owners name and signed by none other than Steve Bihun himself.

For those that didn't already know, Steve was an apprentice to Herman Rambow and took over production of Rambows cues when he died. But, from what I understand, a cue signed with Steve's own name is very rare, if not unheard of.

I will be spending some time with the cue tomorrow, to photograph and document its details. Stay tuned

 

[measureman]

I think this should go in the main forum. It would generate a lot more interest there.

 

[9ballrob]

Anxious to hear more about this one!

 

[BBC]

Very interesting...

A new spin on the Rambo signature!

 

[Mr. Bond]

Very interesting...

A new spin on the Rambo signature!

This handwriting sample (on the cue) could in theory,
be used to determine which cues Steve did the writing on.
(as opposed to Kimmel or Rambow himself)

Overall the cue is in outstanding condition given its age.
It was clearly not played with very much at all,
as the finish on the wood and even the wrap itself show
absolutely no signs of wear, hand oils or abrasion.
No warpage to speak of, the points are clean and tight
and the colors are still as brilliant as the day it was made.
No restoration work needed.

We've located the original cue owner's family and if possible,
will be trying to establish the cue's provenance.
We've also located and contacted Mr. Bihun's family
and will be trying to gather more information on his career as well.

In the mean time - ENJOY this beautiful piece of cue history:
(sorry the pics are so big, but aint it great to see details! )

The owner of the cue will consider selling, if the price is right,
but no promises have been made.
If you have any questions, feel free to PM or email me.

 

[Mr. Bond]

Please note:

In the first pic, the points don't seem to match up all that well, but its mostly an illusion from the angle of the photo. They actually matched up very nicely.

The writing on the cue also appears a bit darker than it really is. It's about the same as a standard pencil.

 

[Rich93]

It looks like the same guy signed Steve Bihun's cues that signed Rambow's cues late in his career. I compared the "made by" to a pic of another cue that had "made by Rambow" on it, and the "made by" was very similar, though not exactly the same. It was close enough that either it's the same guy or a guy trying to imitate him. I forget the guy's name but Freddy the Beard and Bill Smith have posted about him.

 

[BBC]

Made By Rambow 1967

I recently picked up a Fancy Inlay Rambow cue, signed with owners name and the inscription Made By Rambow 1967 from the orgional owners estate.

Rambow passed in 1967, this was made at the end of Rambows carrer, the "Made By" is clearly different than the script on Mr. Bihun's cue.

To further validate this I have another Rambow cue signed with the "Made By" Rambow script, I purchased this cue from the orgional owner who purchased it from Rambow in 1961, both cue signatures and "Made By Rambow" appear to made by the same person.

Were these cues Signed by Rambow or Charlie Kimmel, the cue with "Made By Rambow1967" Rambow would of been 86 years old, Charlie Kimmell passed in 1990 at the age of 86, this would of made Mr. Kimmell 43 years old in 1967,

Let's see more of Rambow signatures, great history!

Enjoy...

Joe

 

[Rich93]

BBC - nice Rambow cues you have!

It's all in the eye of the beholder, I guess. To me the Bihun "Made By" and the Rambow "Made By"'s are close enough to have been made by the same person, especially considering that they are being written on a curved piece of wood. But I'm no CSI handwriting expert.

 

[Mr. Bond]

We've located the original cue owner's family and if possible,
will be trying to establish the cue's provenance..

Mission accomplished.
The cue has only had one owner (prior to now). It was purchased by HG DeNormandie, who was an uncle of the current president of the DeNormandie Linen Co. of Chicago, which has been in business in Chicago for over 100 years.

Years ago, at the company's factory, there was an upstairs office that they converted into their own makeshift pool room, where several of the DeNormandie brothers would gather each day during breaks and after work to steal each other's lunch money.