Art Deco Bakelite Pool Balls, Complete Set W/ Billiard Congress of America 1970 Official Rule Book - 16 Pieces

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Add some history and style to your billiard with this complete set of antique art deco Bakelite pool balls, including … Read more Add some history and style to your billiard with this complete set of antique art deco Bakelite pool balls, including a 1970s Billiard Congress of American Official Rule Book! The set is colorful, classic, and ready for use! Below is some history on pool balls and their journey from wood, to ivory, to nitrocellulose, to Bakelite, and then today's acrylic or plastic resins.

Historians can't say for certain when the first game of pool or pocket billiards was played. Documents describe a lawn game played by French nobility in the 1340s that was like a mix of billiards and croquet. By the early 1700s, the game had evolved considerably, though it remained largely the pursuit of French and British nobility. Pool was now an indoor game played on a table, using cue sticks to knock balls into the table's pockets. The earliest pool balls were made of wood, which was fairly inexpensive to produce. Irovy from elephant tusks became popular among the upper classes of the 17th century but they weren't indestructible. Ivory pool balls were prone to yellowing with age and tended to crack in humid climates or if struck with excessive force. In 1869, with the popularity of pool climbing along with the cost of ivory, pool table maker Phelan and Collender decided to challenge its customers by offering $10,000 to anyone who could invent a non-ivory pool ball. The ad caught the eye of John Wesley Hyatt, an Albany, N.Y., inventor Hyatt combined camphor with alcohol and nitrocellulose, molding it into a spherical shape under extreme pressure. The finished product didn't win Hyatt the $10,000 prize, but his creation is considered to be one of the first synthetic plastics. However, nitrocellulose wasn't a particularly stable substance, and on rare occasion, pool balls would explode with struck with force. In 1907, American chemist Phelan Leo Baekeland invented a new plastic-like substance called Bakelite which was durable and didn't carry the risk of blowing up the game. By the mid-1920s, the majority of pool balls were being made out of Bakelite. Today's pool balls are usually made of acrylic or plastic resins, which are extremely durable and can be milled to exacting standards.

Measurements:
standard 2 1/4" Diameter each
book is 8.5" x 5.5" See less