I think this is an Ivory cue ball from an old casino, but i am not sure. I don't know if the markings on it are significant either - it was found by a friend of mine who bought it from a family in Tennessee USA because he collects such things.

He seemed to think Uraguay is in Africa, but I didn't think so!

Either way, it seems to commemorate some billiards match in Montevideo in the nineteen twenties, and I am curious enough about it to wonder if anyone can tell me anything about it...

Here is the ball:

 

The curious thing is how the date was written. It was written in english, by some american (in SA we put first the day, then the month, also we say Diciembre,so it should say DIC). Maybe it´s just a tag from some archeologist to his discovery (date and place of the finding). To me it could be just some aguacato seed hehehe...

 

Interesting stuff.

Any other markings on it?

 

That was all that was on it. The discolouration is from age I expect, it must have been someone travelling in the area at that time who played a game and kept the ball for personal reasons.

But how do you pocket a ball like that unless you either steal it or have assistance from the house management?

One thought is - how many places in Montevideo in 1928 had billiard tables?

In fact - we don't know if it really is ivory or not. But in that time frame it may well have been, either that or whale bone...

 

I would be guessing whale bone...
Ivory would be VERY expensive and hard to get in Montevideo

 

I wouldn´t put aside the ivory option just yet, SAs are well know for liking excentric commodities, just for the sake of them being rare or from an overseas place. And the object in question, putting aside it´s form, could be considered quite rare.

P.D.: Nice find... i´m still thinking we are making way too much of a fuss only for a big seed... heheheehehehehe

 

Hey Grey,
I posted a question on Yahoo's Q.A. about billiards in south america under snooker and pool. If i get any response i'll post it.

 

Cool beans, in the meantime I'll suggest to my friend that he might be able to grow Aguacato trees in the mid south!

It seems to me from what I recall (mostly from old movies) that Montevideo was one of the old time resort places that high-rollers of the day bragged about going to. When liquor was illegal in the USA, those who had the cash to go elsewhere to have fun gambled and made deals outside the country.

It is possible that a bootlegger or mob member played a round for a lot more than table stakes - and that might account for it being saved to commemorate it. Some of the old money families around here were known to be dirty in the old days.

Then again, it might be no more interesting than someones souvenir from a wedding cruise. Quote: "...The family sent them to Montevideo for their Honeymoon..."

Why they should spend a honeymoon in a Casino is another question. If it were true, I bet it was a rocky marriage.

Un otro thought here is that if it is in fact whale bone - it is probably more valuable than if it were made of Ivory. The date on it makes it likely that it was made of a natural material, unless it was cast out of porcelain.

*I have not measured it to see if it is perfectly round in all dimensions plus or minus a few thousandths of an inch. If it is authentic, I would expect slight variations in thickness.

 

Grey around that time they where experimenting with plastics (bakelite) for cue *****, if it is made from the original materials then it would have significance as an early example of the plastics used. Good catalyst for a short story, the history of the Montevideo ball, who knows, maybe it could be part of the lost treasure of Capone that Geraldo never found. Al probably shipped out all his valuables before the tax men got to him.

 

Uruguay is in south america, montevideo is the capital city that has 1,6 mill of people, the city known to be the city with the best liofe quality in Latin america and there is a lot of tournaments here, like the poker world tournament in th Conrad hotel in Pta del este, that casino is known to be the Nº1 casino in southamerica. Montevideo is also the political and administrative capital of the Mercosur.

And ithink that ball must be from uruguay in south america because severalmillions of foreing people come´s every summer to visit uruguay and punta del este figures like one of the three best beaches in the world.

 

Curious -the last month of the year before the big stock market and economic crash in the USA (Dec 1928). It makes me wonder...

The same time the year after - investors were jumping off the roofs of buildings, ending their lives because they believed that they were "ruined", they had lost everything they owned. But in that time frame, up to that point (probably a major contributing cause) these same people were like modern yuppies (Young Urban Professionals) and were living it up in all kinds of ways.

Makes a person wonder just how "large" it was possible to live at the time, doesn't it?

I note: My recent year of experience working on motor homes tends to underscore the idea that as long as there are people willing and able to spend a lot of money on things they really don't need or even understand - there will be those of us willing to accept a lot of money in order to provide those things TO them