King James cue "Taj Mahal" picture?

[christopheradam]

I was looking for a picture of the "king james" cue by meucci. I seen it on an old instructional video that Rempe and Lora lee jones did and would love to see some close up pictures of it. Please let me know if anyone knows if or where I can see a picture of this cue. Thanks.

Here is some information I found online and on doing a search on az forums:

from http://www.headspot-billiards.com/info-cuemakers-meucci.htm

"Meucci has also made some of the most intricate and ornate cues ever built. The Taj Mahal cue featured a bird's eye maple forearm with a scene depicting scrimshawed ivory elephants carrying treasures up an Indian ebony winding road. The cue was inlaid with lapis lazuli, bloodstone, and over 3-1/2 ounces of 14 karat gold. The cue took over 350 man-hours of labour to complete. Another famous Meucci cue was "The King James." Originally made for Jim Rempe, this cue was inlaid with gold, ivory, emeralds, rubies, and diamonds. It sold new for $22,000, but has sold several times since, each time for more money. It is known to have sold for $40,000 and is rumoured to have brought $75,000."

from http://www.azbilliards.com/vbulletin/upload/showthread.php?t=11764&page=2&pp=40&highlight=rempe

A couple of years ago I played and talked to Jim Rempe at Germanys Billards Expo in Essen.

He played the "Taj Mahal" by Meucci. It's very expensive anyhow, but he had it individualized with real ivory, platinum and gold inlays.

He told me it was worth 50.000$ and he didn't allow anyone even to touch it.

I still remember the look on his face as somebody from the crowd tried to take it in his hands....