As mentioned, all Titlist cues have 4 veneers, purple, teal, brown, natural (like maple's color). The Hoppe professional was made from a Titlist blank, cut in half, and with a leather wrap. Some have a Hoppe ring, while others don't. You could even order a special rubber bumper with the Professional cue. At one point I knew the pre-cursor to the titlist cue, that had similar veneers, but I can't remember right now (the site below indicates that it was the Carom King).
Also, there is a difference between the titlist blank, and a tilist cue. The cue was sanded down to the final diameter and finished. The blank was a bit oversized and I don't believe they were finished. Here is some
info.
The titlist cues that were made prior to 1960 have a decal that says "Brunswick Balke Collender." After 1960 the name was changed to just
Brunswick. (If you want to buy one, try to get the "Brunswick Balke Colleder" one's, since they were most likely made during the excellent quality phase). Brunswick used many different forearm woods including ebony and rosewood. I believe that they were introduced in the 1930's+, but my memory may be a bit off there.
Examples of Titlist cues can be seen in many Balabushka and Szamoboti forearms. In fact, many starting cuemakers converted Titlist butts before they learned to make their own blanks.
A great resource is also:
The Billiards Encyclopedia . There is a some history of the great titlist blank makers at Brunswick, as well as some excellent information on the master cue makers who used them.
As I understand it, after the 60's the quality of the Titlist cues started to decline, and included many lower quality imports, such as the Schmelke version from the 1970's that had a brass nameplate on it. (I'm not sure what the relationship between the Schmelke and Brunswick actually was back then...)
Nameplate
Notice the titlist-like veneers
The entire product line was discontinued sometime in the 70's or 80's (again my memory is fuzzy). You can still find a Titlist butt, although they are harder to come by, and usually go for around $300.
Hope some of this helps,
-td
