Shopping from 1945 - American Lawn Tennis

 

  

  

Archival Pillpat

Favorite Archival source for print ephemera, Pillpat, posted these vintage playing cards from Tops and Tails, a game from Austria. While the rules of Tops and Tails are lost on me I love the larky illustrations of my favorite outdoor pursuits. I encourage you to print out the cards and generate your own topsy turvy comb0s - cyclists riding hobby horses, alpinists sporting tennis skirt, etc.

Archival Recreation: Tennis

Yes, we're most fond of cycling and hiking here at Archival, but we (almost) all love tennis, too. I waved a racquet around for an hour this morning on the last day of open tennis in New York (as of tomorrow, you need a $200 permit). I had to shop from my hiking wardrobe, but I was mentally wearing a more complete outfit from the past.

Making tennis balls

Shopping from the movies: Shoot the Moon (Parker 1982)

Some films are better watched on fast forward or reproduced as film stills. Shoot the Moon (Parker 1982) is just such a movie -- playing out like an Ingmar Bergman domestic drama populated by Woody Allen characters. While we're asked to focus on the dissolving marriage of Albert Finney and Diane Keaton, one's eye cannot help but wander to the the family's shared taste in classic clothing: wonderful cotton plaids, knits, woolens and jackets sourced (perhaps) from venerable brands like Barbour, Woolrich and Pendleton.

I've reproduced a few stills for reference:

Rugby stripes and heritage garb for kids

Knit cardigans

Plaids (and pencil sharpeners)

Barbour Solway Zipper jackets (and a fetching duffle)

Woolrich jac-shirts

Down vests

Pendleton blanket robes

Cotton knit caps

And a few a household accessories:

Rotary phones

Backyard tennis courts

Family station wagons

Archival Tennis

Dinah Shore and Burt Bacharach

Once Spring randonneuring season is over I'll be switching over to tennis as my preferred archival sport. Tennis is great because it only requires two to play and even if you have no formal training there's a good chance you'll get the ball over the net (who cares about line calls). Fortunately for me, most of my friends have at least rudimentary, P.E. class level ability (although one is a transfer student from the more hoi toi toi sport of squash). We chatter and bat the ball back and forth in the outdoors.

It's easy to shop from the past for tennis equipment and apparel. I have a robust, thrift store collection of wooden rackets including favorite signature models by Chris Evert and Jack Kramer. My own embarrassing racket of choice during my teen tennis "career" was an over sized Prince woodie.

Mandatory equipment

The best part of tennis is the footwear. There are many vintage styles still in production including tennis white models by Jack Purcell, Tretorn and PF Flyers. My own preference is for these classic "elastique" tennis flats and lace ups from Bensimon. Since I'm not seriously running after balls, I'm fine wearing slip-ons on the court.

Classic Bensimon Lace Up Flats

Bensimon Elastique Tennis Flats

Friend Lynn is on the hunt for more modern, functional tennis apparel. She found this company, DTL fitness, selling high performance, US made tennis clothing for women.

Made in U.S.A.

Tennis playing gents need only model their spring wardrobes after McLoughlin and Rice.