Sporting Art Tables

A lovely shaped mahogany billiard scoreboard in original condition with gold numbering and gold painted name “E J Riley Ltd Accrington” with brass slides and pointers. The transfer numbers are 0 to 20 and 0 to 100. During the 1890's E.J. Riley and Mr C. G. Kenyon formed E J Riley Ltd. I do not know exactly when they started to manufacture billiard tables, cricket bats, or bowling green bowls...

On August 22, 1851, the U.S.-built schooner "America" bested a fleet of Britain's finest ships in a race around England's Isle of Wight. The ornate silver trophy won by the "America" was later donated to the New York Yacht Club on condition that it be forever placed in international competition. Today, the "America's Cup" is the world's oldest continually contested sporting trophy and represents the pinnacle of international sailing yacht competition. The America's Cup race, held about every four years, is between one defending vessel and one challenging vessel; each must be designed and built in the country it represents. This extraordinary one-of-a-kind table was created to preserve and display the skeleton it cradles, a vintage model hull of the 1851 schooner yacht "America", which itself is a found object dating, at least, from the first half of the 20th century. The table has been designed so that all the weight of the glass is supported by the four mahogany legs and transom without any weight or pressure on the hull. The legs and cradle have been finished to match the original finish of the model so together they present as a unified whole. All hardware, including the rudder, was machined from solid brass. THE LEGS CAN BE SHORTENED BY REQUEST. They were made high intentionally to allow for plenty of options. NOTE the self-leveling solid brass feet on the legs. The custom cut glass is 1/2" thick and tempered for safety. The transom has been hand painted with the American eagle in 23 karat gold leaf. Some historical notes: A syndicate of New York Yacht Club members, headed by NYYC charter member Commodore John Cox Stevens, with members Edward A. Stevens, George Schuyler, Hamilton Wilkes, and J. Beekman Finley, would build a yacht to sail to England. The purpose of this visit was twofold: to show off U.S. shipbuilding skill and make money through competing in yachting regattas. Stevens employed the services of the shipyard of William Brown and his chief designer, George Steers. America was designed by James Rich Steers and George Steers (1820–1856). Traditional "cod-head-and-mackerel-tail" design gave boats a blunt bow and a sharp stern with the widest point (the beam) placed one-third of the length aft of the bow. George Steers' pilot boat...