Remembering Abe Rich
- Thread starter ELBeau
- Start date
Wow it sounds like his shop and inventory would have been cool to see. I currently use a wood lathe to make very simple and basic cues. I have a old South Bend that I will use someday if I get more serious. Or better yet a Hightower set up.
123, be aware that Rich Q's of New York City was the cue company of his cousin Saul Rich, son of Issy (Izzy) Rich (Abe's uncle). Rich Q's was an offshoot of Issy's billiard company. Abe's brother Morris had no association with Rich Q's.
Abe's brother Morris only had a monetary partnership in Abe's first cue business Florida Cues after Abe left NYC and returned to Florida. This was prior to Abe's moving the shop to South Beach and renaming the business Star Cues.
Fred <~~~ wants a Rich or a Star Cue
Sept. 2009 sounds right. I don't believe it ever made it to the online version and normally, they run out of the issues. Maybe you can get a hold of IP and find out if they have any extra.
Did I already send you the raw copy of the article?
Fred
Hey Fred,
Yes, you sent me the raw copy a while back. I didn't ever find the magazine to pick up a copy, so I appreciate it.
~Beau
Abe Rich? Florida Cue? Star Cue? Rich Cue? It's in the family anyway.
It is thought to be a sixties cue, but I don't know for sure.
Found here in Florida, in nearly perfect condition, just needs a tip.
Interestingly, it is a sixty inch cue.
Very interesting to read the stories about Abe Rich. A lot of history there.
It is thought to be a sixties cue, but I don't know for sure.
Found here in Florida, in nearly perfect condition, just needs a tip.
Interestingly, it is a sixty inch cue.
Very interesting to read the stories about Abe Rich. A lot of history there.
Slim Limpy
New member
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Here is an article and podcast http://wlrnunderthesun.org/2009/01/the-pool-cue-maker/
Don't know if it's the one El Beau is referring to but it's what I found.
Don't know if it's the one El Beau is referring to but it's what I found.
Thanks, John- that WLRN article was one of them. I attached the PDF of the Miami Herald article in a previous post.
I uploaded the WLRN story (MP3) format to Rapidshare for anyone interested in it. https://rapidshare.com/files/3957891720/abe_Rich_WLRN_story.mp3
Abe, Morris, Issy, and Saul Rich
Just want to keep the flame alive and straighten out some misunderstandings.
Issy "The Professor" made cues under the names New York Billiard Table Company and Bowery Billiards. Fred Astaire was among his celebrity customers.
His son, Saul, began on the Bowery but moved to Long Island. Although the Blue Book and other sources list the company, Rich Cue (Rich Q), as operating in Freeport, I have not been able to confirm that. The company was in Valley Stream near the Queens border in the Sixties. It was sold to Ike Algaze and later Imperial.
Abe and his brother Morris were survivors of the Kovno Ghetto and Dachau. After the war Abe went to Israel and Morris came to the US, where he established Richwood Turning in Miami. Abe joined him in the late Fifties.
Abe went north to "apprentice" with his nephew Saul for a number of years. Impressed by what he perceived as the profitability of the concern post The Hustler, he convinced Morris to let him use part of the Miami shop to make Florida cues.
When the brothers fell out, Morris' son Howard assisted his uncle in moving to a shop in the now fashionable South Beach section of Miami Beach, where he continued until his death to make Star cues.
Purchasing and collecting Rich family cues, as I do, can be quite tricky. The "mass production" Rich products come in considerable variety, with some models achieving Level 5 intricacy. Rich cues were often labeled or identified with stickers, "Rich Q" logos on the forearm or butt or within a window. Some models have -RICH-on the butt cap.
Abe tended to make simple cues without points, many resembling the cues he had made in New York, particularly in their use of plastics and colorful wraps. These designs recall similar contemporary trends from Frank Paradise, Eugene Balner (Palmer), and Doc Fry. Some of his cues also incorporated windows, but usually not in tandem with colored plastics and wraps. White Cortland linen is used instead. He also made Titlelist conversions from time to time. What generally distinguishes his work is the use of exotic woods, of which he kept a great supply at his alleyway shop at 428 Jefferson Avenue. Abe did not sign or label his cues with the exception of the Miami era, when there was a Florida Cue label.
Many cues offered on eBay as Abe Rich cues are their Long Island cousins. Original Florida and Star cues from remaining inventory are sometimes sold by Abe's nephew, Howard Rich. Blue Book values do not generally distinguish between the two.
Issy Rich cues? I've never seen a picture of one, let alone heard of one on sale.
Just want to keep the flame alive and straighten out some misunderstandings.
Issy "The Professor" made cues under the names New York Billiard Table Company and Bowery Billiards. Fred Astaire was among his celebrity customers.
His son, Saul, began on the Bowery but moved to Long Island. Although the Blue Book and other sources list the company, Rich Cue (Rich Q), as operating in Freeport, I have not been able to confirm that. The company was in Valley Stream near the Queens border in the Sixties. It was sold to Ike Algaze and later Imperial.
Abe and his brother Morris were survivors of the Kovno Ghetto and Dachau. After the war Abe went to Israel and Morris came to the US, where he established Richwood Turning in Miami. Abe joined him in the late Fifties.
Abe went north to "apprentice" with his nephew Saul for a number of years. Impressed by what he perceived as the profitability of the concern post The Hustler, he convinced Morris to let him use part of the Miami shop to make Florida cues.
When the brothers fell out, Morris' son Howard assisted his uncle in moving to a shop in the now fashionable South Beach section of Miami Beach, where he continued until his death to make Star cues.
Purchasing and collecting Rich family cues, as I do, can be quite tricky. The "mass production" Rich products come in considerable variety, with some models achieving Level 5 intricacy. Rich cues were often labeled or identified with stickers, "Rich Q" logos on the forearm or butt or within a window. Some models have -RICH-on the butt cap.
Abe tended to make simple cues without points, many resembling the cues he had made in New York, particularly in their use of plastics and colorful wraps. These designs recall similar contemporary trends from Frank Paradise, Eugene Balner (Palmer), and Doc Fry. Some of his cues also incorporated windows, but usually not in tandem with colored plastics and wraps. White Cortland linen is used instead. He also made Titlelist conversions from time to time. What generally distinguishes his work is the use of exotic woods, of which he kept a great supply at his alleyway shop at 428 Jefferson Avenue. Abe did not sign or label his cues with the exception of the Miami era, when there was a Florida Cue label.
Many cues offered on eBay as Abe Rich cues are their Long Island cousins. Original Florida and Star cues from remaining inventory are sometimes sold by Abe's nephew, Howard Rich. Blue Book values do not generally distinguish between the two.
Issy Rich cues? I've never seen a picture of one, let alone heard of one on sale.