A Brief History of Billiards and the Tools of the Trade
1800
The red ball started to become popular in the English game shortly before the start of the 19th century and by 1810 the three ball game had superseded the other variations in England, to the extent that it was regarded as the "common game" of billiards. In the English game, pocketing the opponent's ball was known as a "winning hazard" and as a player lost points by pocketing his own ball, this was termed the "losing hazard". The game later developed into a version which was exactly opposite to the "winning" game, where only losing hazards and cannons were counted. By this time a player could follow a successful shot with another attempt and "breaks" began to be recorded. The two variations of billiards combined in the early part of the 19th century, becoming the basis for the modern game and this version was known for a long time as "the winning and losing game".
The early part of the 19th century also saw the development of billiards in America, initially along similar lines to the English game. Although while the English were adopting the three ball game, the Americans were developing a version of the cannon game which used four balls. This type of game was popular in America for most of the century.
At the turn of the 19th century, billiard tables usually had solid wood beds generally made from oak, about 1" thick and in three pieces. However, examples of marble and parquet oak beds were also known. The wooden tables were of a much lighter construction than their modern counterparts, having more the appearance of a dining table with slim elegant lines. This was not really surprising as billiard tables at this time were made by cabinet-makers, who used the materials and styles known to them from furniture manufacture.
The cushions were stuffed with various materials, the most common of which was List, a waste product of cotton manufacture. Also used were horse hair, cotton, and felt. All these substances produced a hard pad, like the arm of a stuffed chair. Due to the slowness of these cushions, one of the principal scoring stokes was the jenny into the middle pocket, which could be repeated with relative ease into the same pocket. The game at this time was usually 21 up.
Table lighting was usually by natural daylight. In the evening oil lamps would be used, suspended above the table. As these lamps would invariably cast a shadow on the table, visibility could not have been very good. One type of oil in common use well into the 20th century was Colza Oil, which was made from the seed of a wild cabbage.
The woollen cloth used to cover billiard tables at the turn of the 19th century was of a course commercial grade of the type used for clothing. Spots were generally marked on the table by hammering brass nails into the bed.
By 1800, ivory balls had already been in use for about 100 years and would be the only type of ball used for English championship matches throughout the 19th century. The best balls were made from African ivory which was considered to be of more even density than Indian ivory. Inconsistent density meant that a weight difference could occur even between a set of balls cut from the same tusk. This was considered so significant that balls were usually weighed before the start of an important match, this criteria being considered more important than the size, which could therefore vary within a "matched" set of balls. As with any tooth, the elephant tusk had a nerve which ran through its centre. This resulted in a hole which could be quite significant in balls cut from near the base of a tusk. Because of this, only the small tusks of female elephants were considered suitable. Holes created by the nerve would usually be plugged with ebony and become the "spot". Due to the general inconsistency of the spot ball and the tendency for it to "kick" when the ebony contacted the ivory of the object ball, it was considered to be a disadvantage to play with it. In addition to these problems, the porous ivory could also change shape during the course of a game as it absorbed moisture from a humid atmosphere. It was therefore common to see players when shooting from the baulk, carefully placing their ball so that the "poles" of the central nerve were exactly horizontal. This would minimise the effects of any distortion.
The cue, which had totally superseded the mace in the billiard rooms of France, Germany and Italy eventually started to gain popularity in England around the turn of the century. The development of the cue had occurred in continental Europe, with England being virtually the last billiard playing nation to abandon the mace. The first stage in its development was the use of the thin handle of the mace to strike balls near the cushion and from this, specifically designed cues were developed for the playing of all types of shot. These had plain wooden ends which were square cut and would therefore allow only central striking of the cue ball if a miscue was to be avoided. Most billiard room proprietors would only allow the use of cues by the best players, as the likelihood of a miscue and consequential damage to the cloth was great with an inexperienced player.
The first step in enabling players to strike other than the centre of the cue ball came with the invention of the "Jeffery". This cue was cut obliquely at the point and enabled a player to strike the ball below the centre. Next to be introduced was a slightly rounded tip which helped to avoid a miscue if the player was slightly inaccurate with his centre ball striking.
It is generally accepted that the leather tip was invented by a French cavalry officer Msr. Mingaud in 1807 during a period of imprisonment for his political views. However, it is also claimed in America that W. Lake, the son of a shoemaker, also made the invention at around the same period. Whatever the source, this simple development enabled the evolution of the modern game as perhaps no other single factor.