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JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
Here's another cup story I would like to add on to the project - 'The Merlin' leather cup.
Would appreciate your input on the 'The Merlin' leather cup ... How did the 'The Merlin' leather cup came about? Who made the 'The Merlin' leather cups? How was it made? How many were made? What prompted the making of this cup and its design? What was the reason for it being made? When was it made? Are the 'The Merlin' leather cups considered a collector's item now? Or just another working chop cup? Thanks in advance. |
Tom Fenton Inner circle Leeds, UK (but I'm Scottish) 1477 Posts |
James,
I think that Bill Palmer might just chip in on this. Tom
"But there isn't a door"
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JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
Thanks, Tom. The Merlin cup is Bill's creation and he is the right person to offer the details.
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
The first chop cup I used when I was performing at tables was the one that Tannen's had copied from a cup that Supreme had sold, which was really the Harry Stanley chop cup. I believe it may have originally been made by Inzani-Henley. It was made of Italian leather. It had a shiny burgundy finish with gold highlights.
There were two problems with it when I started doing the Renaissance Festivals. 1) It was just a tiny bit too small to take a billiard ball, which was my preferred load. 2) The glue used to make it was a bit delicate for the humid atmosphere that we had some of the days of the show. In other words, it had a tendency to want to separate when it rained. So, I took the plastic core from one of those big spools of wooly nylon rope that they sell at macrame shops and crafts stores to a friend of mine who was a leather worker. The plastic core was a cone that had the same slope as the chop cup. He made a couple of slightly larger cups that would easily handle a 2 1/4" billiard ball. Eventually, he made six of these for me. Five were burgundy in color, one was green. I still have one green one and one burgundy one. The man's name was Mike Swarc. Mike quit doing leather work, sold all his tools and now raises herbs. A few years ago, a company called American Coastal which has ties to Pakistan sent me a brochure with a list of cups they made. I had them make 50 of the cups to my specifications. They were dark brown. The only thing I didn't like were the balls, which are, IMHO, a bit small. But those are easily replaced. I actually had a couple of companies bid on them. One of them made a much better cup, but it was too costly for me to retail it. The one from American Coastal was a good price. I don't know if they are still in business. I will probably give them a call sometime and see if the war over there as put them out of work.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
Thanks, Bill.
Were there any later additions to the 50 you made? Do you consider the Merlin leather chop cup a collector's item now? |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
There are no further additions to the Merlin cups.
They probably are collectors items now. All of the Merlin chop cups, other than the ones Mike Swarc made, are dark brown leather with white stitching.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
The larger of the Unique (Italian) cups are great for dice stacking. Also, Stanley sold one called a Cocktail cup (I think that was the name) that came with a killer little holder with a small snifter type glass for a final load. It was redish leather and the size of the stubby Don Alan cup. It was great for final load of a Cue Ball and and 8 Ball... as there was not noise, thanks to its being leather.
I have all these. I think the Italian ones came in two sizes. They are really quality.
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I could get a 2 1/8" ball to fit into the Italian leather cup, but once I lost my last 2 1/8" 8 ball, I was in a lot of trouble. The local billard suppliers quit carrying the smaller balls.
I found a supplier in Canada who had some, which I purchased, but it took a full week to get an e-mail response from them and another two weeks for the purchase to arrive.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
Bill, do you intend to make another run of the cups? Or you intend to let it be 50 and make it a collector's item now?
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I'm not planning another run in the near future.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
Thanks, Bill. This mean that there are only 50 sets around currently and they are now real collector's item.
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TheAmbitiousCard Eternal Order Northern California 13425 Posts |
Bill, the billiard balls for my ball and cone are 2 1/8". PM me if you are looking for these.
Frank
www.theambitiouscard.com Hand Crafted Magic
Trophy Husband, Father of the Year Candidate, Chippendale's Dancer applicant, Unofficial World Record Holder. |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Ever so sleightly » » Merlin Leather Chop cup history ... (0 Likes) |
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