The first Billiards book I acquired, in my teens, was Riso Levi's, "Billiards in Lighter Vein."
I was captivated by it. One chapter referred to Riso teaching his seven year old son to play billiards as well left-handed as right-handed. I never dreamed that I would meet the seven year old boy in real life - when he was seventy years old.
My copy of, "Billiards in Lighter Vein," was loaned out never to be seen again. However, in 1985 I found another copy at a local book fair. Reading the book once again fired my imagination to know more about Riso's books, and his background. So I set out to try and discover any relatives of the great man.
All Billiards enthusiasts know, of course, that Riso played with, and entertained, all the top professionals of his day at his home in Manchester, and later in Wilmslow. Reasoning that a local advertisement might bring in one or two of his books, I wrote to the local paper, the Wilmslow Express Advertiser. I asked them if I could insert a Wanted Ad appealing for information. The Wilmslow Advertiser went one better and published a short article on their well-read Diary Page:
"Wilmslow's eminent billiards writer Riso Levi's books are once again in demand. Riso, who lived in Pownall Park before his death, was Billiards equivalent of golfing expert Bernard Darwin; and now a Frodsham fan is trying to obtain more of his books. Mr. Norman McLeod had the bright idea of writing to the Express Advertiser in an attempt to trace any photographs, articles, hooks, or even relatives of the great man of the green baize. So any readers with any information about Riso Levi should write to Mr. McLeod, or alternatively call in at the Advertiser, and we will be pleased to pass the interesting items on."
The sequel to this was that I traced Riso's eldest child Dennis. After writing to Dennis in December 1985, he replied:
"My interest in billiards was only marginal, although I was brought up to the clicking of the balls, as it were. I can well remember, however, the visits of many of the professionals to our house in Bury New Road (Manchester) when I was a child. To answer your other questions I think it would he a good idea to foregather at my house or yours after the Christmas holidays and have a good natter.
Yours Sincerely,
Dennis B. Levi."
On my first visit to Dennis's home I couldn't have had a more courteous reception. Dennis and Frances Levi were waiting to guide me down the drive. During this visit we reminisced for over three hours about the Levi homes in Manchester and Wilmslow. Riso's cigarette-burned bureaux from his billiards room now stands in their hall. Dennis said that he used to sit on the hob of their fireside in the billiards room watching his father play. You could almost see that black cat watching those nursery cannons in, "Billiards in Lighter Vein."
Dennis remembers his mother's disapproval of Walter Lindrum's habit of reading the newspaper at the dinner table. Once, Dennis met his father on the landing at 7.00am - Riso had been playing all night with his friends. Sidney Smith was one of Riso's favourite players, as can be seen with his reference to him in his books. There is an affectionate dedication to Sidney in Riso's copy of, "Billiards for the Million," Volume 2 - of which I am now the proud possessor.
It is a fact that Riso was not over-fond of Snooker. He wrote all his articles and books by the old-fashioned pen and ink pot. He also drew all those diagrams in his books. Up to eighty-five years of age he cycled regularly in Wilmslow. In the old days he also had a, "Penny-farthing," bicycle.
Dennis Levi is featured in, "Billiards in Lighter Vein," and has a chapter written about him in, "Charlie Brown and I." Curiously, Dennis never inherited his father's love of the game. He is a skilled engineer and will spend the whole day in his garage restoring his old car. At the end of the evening Dennis showed me to his library and generously let me have several of his father's books including, "My Wife and I." Incidentally Riso lost over one hundred of his books due to flooding of their Manchester home.
Dennis and Frances Levi gave, "my wife and I," wonderful hospitality. Since then we have visited each other for tea several times. Shortly after my first visit, I acquired Levi's own copy of, "Billiards in Lighter Vein." This copy is inscribed:
"With the author's love to his wife Gladys round whom chapters I and XV hare been written. Riso Levi, Aug. 24th. 1922."
So getting this copy was quite a romantic sequel in my search for Riso Levi.
Thank you Norman. Levi must have been the greatest billiards enthusiast of all time, it's certainly hard to imagine how anyone could have been a greater. And how lucky for all billiards enthusiasts that he had such incredible energy. The atmosphere of the game and how it was played, from the early years of the century until well into the thirties, is so vividly captured in his writings.
Old Riso's works are so exhaustive as to sometimes border on the long-winded and he is sometimes very repetitive; he was, especially in his later writings, dogmatic and cantankerous. But he was always lucid, logical, and his writings are without doubt sporting classics. He was the Neville Cardus of Billiards. It is not just because of the subject matter that billiards enthusiasts return to his works time and again, it is because they have an almost hypnotic fascination. There's not much doubt as to which collection of books most billiards enthusiasts would take to their desert island!