carombolette tables! billiards meets pin bagatelle

I have received extensive photos of a carombolette table from John Merana and I'm excited to share them here.  

I have another carombolette table to share, with some photographic provenance from 1963. In celebration of this, I have gone back and updated my original Carombolette post and even added a few more photographs there.

Brace yourself for one an onslaught of one of billiards coolest and quirkiest cousins!

I asked John to send me photos from underneath the table.  I know furniture nerds can use these kinds of details to better assess dates, and who doesn't love shots of wonderful joinery?

Some notes from John:

The Patent US242584 was filed in 1881 by Moses Bensinger and appears was in the Sales Catalog from that year.   

Moses Bensinger became the President of the Brunswick Balke-Collender Co from 1890-1904.  Pre-curser of Brunswick Pool Table company operating today

Marketed as Carombolette-A combination of Pigeonhole and Bagatelle

It seems to line up with the sales brochure on the larger model.  Sold at $65, which internet says $2,011 in today’s US Dollars

 

Construction

• 8.5' x 32' wide.  Height is 35” to rail on main playing field and 34” to rail on tapered end.
• Main Field is slate and wood under the tapered field 
• Not seeing any marks or plates.  Most hardware seems original but a few pieces look to have been replaced
• Talking to the prior owner who played it in the 1950’s and was later owner of it prior to me acquiring in 1999.
• Was at a club near High Point, NJ that had it in the 1950’s.
• Prior to that was believed to be in a Hotel/Bar near New York City
• Not sure when it was moved between 1880’s and 1950’s
• We believe to be Chestnut which was plentiful in the US prior to the blight that killed 99.9% of them. 
• The legs are definitely original as they match the color and texture of the construction of the rest of the wood on the table
• The affixation of the legs are notched in single pieces and joined with bolts and washers
• Main play surface is slate and pitched section is matching wood underlayment
• Some of the hardware may be original and some may be period to the 1950’s/1960’s when it was worked on.  Appears to have had some refinishing but it is all complete
• I believe these legs are the correct ones.  Wood matches, prior owner says so and the other picture of one you have appears to have a plywood finish on, not a period look so I think that one was re-done.  The Patent also shows spindles and the play surface is a little different than the patent.  Not unusual for a patent to show the concept and then the marketed item would have updates/upgrades. 

 

Images of this next table were sent to me by a Yvonne of Kory's Pool Table Service out of Michigan USA.

The prior table owner included these photographs, which were dated 1963 on the backside.

BAGATELLE P DE JONG 271-4430

BAGATELLE P DE JONG 271-4430

It is interesting to note that this table comes with wooden skittles. 

At a later date a metal plate was added:

Please see the original carombolette post for other photographs of tables.

 

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