VINTAGE JOSSWEST
BY BILL STROUD
THE "CHICAGO TRIBUNE" CUE
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Here is an ultimately collectible vintage Josswest cue that is as rare as they come. And it's as beautiful as it is rare - an unusual design that shows Stroud at his best.
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Although this cue is very typical of Stroud's design style, it has some unique elements and creates an overall look that is unlike any other Josswest I've seen. This one was built in 1995 and was originally owned and sold by John Wright, the legendary cue dealer from Chicago. Fortunately I have all of John's old pictures from the mailings he used to make, and found it in his old 1995 pics. It originally sold for $3995, 31 years ago.
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It's always nice to find an old Josswest this old in good condition, but it's exceptionally rare to find one that is still in "new" condition, unchalked and unplayed. It's been in a private collection all these years and is still in mint condition.
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Another think I have to say about this cue is that it looks even better in person than it does in pictures. That is almost always true about cues, which generally makes it a pleasure to sell them - they almost always look better in person. But I especially noticed it with this cue when I bought it, and was very impressed when I was holding it in my hands for the first time.
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So ... details. This is a maple cue with an ebony butt sleeve. It has a lot of inlay work, including pink ivorywood, ebony, silver, black-lipped mother of pearl and ivory. It's a four pointer, with ebony points and long wedges of pink ivorywood between the points.
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The maple nose is lightly stained (one of Stroud's favorite treatments), and he adds a nice ringset of pink ivorywood, ebony and silver rings in various locations, and an assortment of ivory and silver bars and mother of pearl diamonds.
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With vintage cues, as with any antiquity, history and provenance can be scarce, or exhaustive. But without a doubt, the more the better. And you can't get much better provenance than that which comes with this cue. Below is a picture of an article from the November 5, 1995 issue of The Chicago Tribune in which John Wright is exhibiting this very cue during an interview the paper did with him about cue sales. And keep in mind, John always had a nice selection of Josswests on hand, so it's interesting to note this is the one he chose to show off.
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The new owner of this cue will, of course, get the original newspaper article along with the cue. But aside from all the history, the best think is that the cue itself is a very fine example of Bill Stroud and his art, all resulting in a very special pool cue.
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Very subtle veneers in this cue - ornate and classy. The colors start on the outside with black, then blue, next purple and finally white.
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Using one of the most popular wraps of the era, he used a black Irish linen with white specks.
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He built it with his standard pin at the time, with a 5/16 X 14 thread, in a piloted stainless steel joint. Then he added and ivory butt cap. As he was doing at the time, he engraved his J with the sideways W on it to indicate it was a Josswest, and of course now we know it also tells the time period in which it was made.
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The shafts have ivory ferrules, and I assume, the original LePro tips. It weighs 19.7 ounces and is 58 inches long.
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This is an exceptionally nice vintage cue from Hall of Fame cue maker Bill Stroud, and a rare piece of cue history. And to top it off, it's just a great pool cue.
PRICE: $9800 PLUS SHIPPING
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