In 1924, the might of the USA on the courts was being felt in Australia. Bill Tilden, Bill Johnston and Vinnie Richards were blasting their way to victory in Philadelphia against Australia in the Challenge round team comprising Gerald Patterson and Pat O’Hara Wood.
The two “Bills” were also dominating major tournaments, so what better time for Australian retailers to promote the racquet being used by them. The ad is from a Longreach newspaper in 1924. While a little hard to read, the Alex Taylor was quite a beautiful racquet made from three layers; rent ash, vulcanised rubber and oak laminated and bent under hydraulic pressure.
Alex Taylor was a New York based manufacturer and the racquets often carried the letter “T” inside a shield. You can perhaps just make this out in the ad.
Whether or not the Alex Taylor was that talked about , who knows, but the price was cerainly at a premium compared to the others available.
Murdoch’s was one of Sydney’s large retail stores and they carried an impressive range of imported brands from the UK & USA, however, please note the mention of the “BIRMAL” (UK) aluminium / Steel strung racquet that is practically indestructible.
Pictured below is an Alex Taylor signature racquet which looks very similar to the one drawn in the ad.
Although without the double mains stringing, you can see that the stringer has used different gauge cross strings compared to the mains which today is now being tried more regualarly in the new racquets.
The handle throat area is wonderfully tapered and with a weight of 14 oz and scored all wood grip of 5″ indicates it was a man’s racquet. Perhaps a big hitter, given the extra reinforecment added to the handle. Large grips were common place back then.
