A tilt head lawn tennis racket circa 1875/1880, bearing the ...

Hammer

£1,800

A tilt head lawn tennis racket circa 1875/1880, bearing the initials 'W. Dod', this early tilt head lawn tennis racket with original gut stringing has four rows of trebling top and bottom with one string break, three-quarter calf skin grip missing, unmarked, the head is quite small with considerable tilt. 'W. Dod' is written in ink on the wedge.

Charlotte or 'Lottie' Dod was an ancestor of the vendor. At the inception of Lawn Tennis in the late 19th century very few families had the wealth required and land to play this new game. Charlotte Dod (known as 'Lottie') was born on the 24th September 1871, in Bebington Cheshire, less than 30 miles away from the family home at Edge Hall. She won the Ladies Singles title at Wimbledon five times in 1887, 1888, 1891, 1892 and 1893. She was then, and still is now the youngest winner aged only 15 years. She had two brothers Tony and Willy and a sister Annie. Lottie died aged 88 in 1960 and The Guinness Book of Records has named her as the most versatile female athlete of all time.

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The original gut stringing has four rows of trebling top and bottom with one string break, three-quarter calf skin grip missing and there is a tiny chip to one side of the convex wedge. Unmarked, the head is quite small with considerable tilt. 'W. Dod' is written in ink on the wedge.