How did it started?
It’s fair to say that the start of my collection was around 37 years ago at the age of 16, this was the time when I was first introduced to the game of Billiards. My father played it for a long time and taught me the basics of the game, after which we played on the same team for several years. Straight rail and three-cushion were our favorite games.
My passion for the game grew and so did the number of cues I owned, especially through the gifts I got from my parents.
They made the start of my collection possible and I still thank them for that. After I got my own place I decided to build my own billiard room, a place to call my own and to have the opportunity to play whenever I want to. Also, in this case, I want to give a big thank you towards my parents and later on my wife for making it all possible.
Taxi Billard
My favorites
My favorite cue brand is eSBee, these cues are manufactured by Stany Buyle from Belgium at first when he was located in Belgium and now from out of his workshop in France. eSBee cues are handmade and they can compete with every other handmade cue in the world. Visiting his website (www.esbeecreations.be) is highly recommended)
Many more beautiful cue brands are available: Hiolle, Brunswick, Hénin-Ainé, Longoni and much more. Besides eSBee I prefer the antique brand's and models.
All collectible in their own way and to the personal taste of the collector.
Besides cues, my other main focus point lies on books about Carom Billiards, where language is not important as long as they are on topic. Today it's getting harder and harder to find early or rare books, you definitely need a bit of luck from time to time.
The things you can collect
As for all other Billiard related games the range of collectibles varies quite a lot, you can decide to go for one or two single kinds of objects (cues or books) or you can go for a specific range in general (Carom or Pool memorabilia).
Key factors in collecting are the time and effort you want to be put into searching for the right items, the availability of objects and the unavoidable factor .... money. The general rule for Billiard memorabilia applies: the rarer the item the higher the price.
But even on a low budget, you can find some great stuff, just think about the huge numbers of postcards that are offered through the numerously available auction sites. Highlighting the most important fields of collectibles would give the following result:
Books / Cues and cases / Art works / Tobacco cards / Postcards / Newspaper clippings / Tournament memorabilia / Player specific items.
