Did Mosconi use his Balabushka at the exhibitions

[classiccues]

Sometimes the family moves on, and if no one is in the game, or has interest, then the best thing to do is sell the item(s) and move on. Let someone that really appreciates it, have a chance and buy it. When I am gone, my kids do not play pool, so I would not want them to keep my stuff for memories. Sell it and go somewhere nice.
It's not about not being close, or having the attachment. It's about moving past.

JV

Ken you are Right , You would have thought that his Son would have wanted to at least keep his Dad's Favorite cue and one that he was proud of and used the most. That was unique to his Dad and now one else had one. It is Sad when you sell just to make the Cash. I could understand if the Son was getting to old and sold to a Museum for all to see , But to just sell it to anyone, It would be hard to do . But then again maybe he was not close to his Dad, or maybe he does not have a personal attachment to things .

 

[WildWing]

it looks like there is a distinct compound taper in the butt. Is it actually there or a function of the photo? I don't remember noticeable compound tapers in other Bushkas I have seen.

I've seen the cue in person, and no, there's nothing unusual about the taper in the butt. However, cues made in that generation, early 70s or so, had a thicker butt than today's do. Possibly that's what you're seeing, and all photos have some distortion to them.

All the best,
WW

 

[mikemosconi]

I don't think we can judge why Willie's family members sold his stuff at auction. In my mind - they sold at the right time to get the most they could for everything. Willie probably did not have a pension, and I doubt that he had much income in the last five years or so of his life- maybe longer. So if his wife was alive after he died, the family may have needed to raise money for her future care- social security back then was even far less than it is now. Not every family can afford to donate to museums!

 

[Bob Jewett]

... the family may have needed to raise money for her future care- ...

I think Willie got a good salary for a long time and I have never heard that he had a fondness for nose candy, aces on the draw, or slow horses. I would guess that Flora, his wife of 40 years, was set up OK financially when Willie died in 1993.

Here is a story about Flora that R.A. Dyer wrote in 2010, shortly after her death. All pool players should be so lucky.

http://untoldstoriesbilliardshistor.../flora-mosconi-widow-of-pool-legend-dies.html