The Benedict Factory

In 1877, the Benedict billiard table manufactory occupied only the second floor. In 1879, Benedict claimed to be the only billiard factory in the state using steam power.

J.D. Babcock 1893 Advertisement

 

Then and Now:  Here is an unrestored end panel of this same model J.D. Babcock billiard table (courtesy of Bankshot Antique Pool Tables, Albany, NY). I've found that the engravings in ads during this era did not always represent actual tables produced by that particular billiard table maker, but this one certainly was accurate.

Utica Manufacturer in Syracuse

Here's an intriguing description of a billiard table in the Syracuse, N. Y. Daily Courier, Aug. 7, 1858:

Voorhees House Billiard Saloon -- Mr. G. W. Moulton, formerly of Weiting Hall, is putting up two of Green's Metallic framed, enamelled cushioned, marble bedded Billiard Tables on the lower floor at the Voorhees House, and will probably have them in operation on Monday. They are the most perfect specimens of the kind we have ever seen. The frames are got up in the ornate style of George IV, and the enamelled cushions are a novelty worthy a careful examination. These superb tables are the work of W. H. Green, Esq, of Utica, one of the most accomplished mechanics the country affords.

According to the Utica Daily Observer, Nov. 17, 1858, some familiar Utica faces were seen in the window of a billiard room on Broadway in New York city: "Wm. H. Green, of the National Hotel, Genesee St., was before the New York public with his patent billiard tables, of which there are six in his saloon."

I've had no luck finding William "Harry" Green's patent yet, but during the 1850's, billiard patenting still revolved mainly around the cushions.(See Antebellum Billiard Table Patents)

Castle Timeline

Charles L. Castle spent nearly 20 years in the Syracuse, NY billiard table industry, working as a carpenter, billiard mechanic, book-keeper, and traveling salesman. But in the mid-1890's, his (probable) employer, the Benedict Billiard Table Co. of Syracuse, transitioned from building tables locally to selling tables that were made in New York City by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company.

Castle opened his own competing business, and in 1899, the C. L. Castle factory was up and running, initially employing just two people.

1880	Census shows Charles L. Castle as a Billiard Table Maker
1890	After years listed as a carpenter or mechanic, C. L. Castle now works as a book-keeper at the same address as Benedict and Brunswick
1893	C. L. Castle works as a commercial traveler (traveling salesman) at the same address as Benedict and Brunswick
1899	New York State factory inspection shows C. L. Castle manufacturing billiard tables with two workman, 60 hrs/week
1917	C. L. Castle's business closes after he experiences a serious hip injury

Benedict Timeline

The Benedict Billiard Table Co. produced highly inlaid, elaborately ornamented tables, and in the antique pool table community, Benedict is still the best-known of the old Syracuse makers. This is thanks not only to the artistry of founder H. A. Benedict, but also to the business acumen of the well-connected second owner, T. W. Meachem.

1875	Heman Allen Benedict, formerly of Skaneateles, is manufacturing billiard tables in Syracuse, NY
1876	H. A. Benedict advertises new and second-hand tables, private tables a specialty
1877	H. A. Benedict advertises the "Syracuse Standard Billiard Table"
1877	New factory location on Gifford Street damaged by nearby fire
1879	Thomas William Meachem, formerly of Auburn, NY, buys the Benedict Billiard Table Mfg Company, H. A. Benedict remains as superintendent
1882	Heman Benedict leaves to manage Syracuse billiard table dealership of J. M. Brunswick & Balke
1885	Heman Benedict leaves the billiard industry, Brunswick, Balke & Collender closes their Syracuse ware-rooms
1889	First advertisement showing the Benedict and the Brunswick, Balke & Collender (BBC) billiard companies at same address
1896	The Benedict company has exclusive territory for BBC tables in 31 New York counties, manufacturing seems limited to cue racks and carom plugs
1900	The Benedict Billiard Table Co. is incorporated in New York
1903	T. W. Meachem sells Benedict Billiard Table Co. to Brunswick, Balke & Collender Co.
1913	The Benedict Billiard Table Co. is dissolved

Babcock Timeline

The earliest billiard table maker in Syracuse, NY was Babcock Billiard Table Mfg., a two-generation family business that started soon after the Civil War and operated until the Great Depression. J. D. Babcock got his start cutting down the outmoded 12-foot billiard tables down to the newly popular 9- or 10-foot sizes.

1868	John D. Babcock, originally from Lysander, NY, advertises as a Practical Billiard Table Repairer in Syracuse
1871	J. D. Babcock is now advertising as a Practical Billiard Table Manufacturer, Dealer, and Repairer
1887	J. D. Babcock partners with John Wilbur Gould to form "J. D. Babcock & Co."
1894	Partnership with J. W. Gould is dissolved by mutual consent
1910	John D. Babcock dies at the age of 71, billiard company continues to run under his Estate
1912	Advertising changes to "Babcock Billiard Table Factory"
1916	Advertising changes to "Babcock Billiard Table Mfg., Ray B. Babcock, Proprietor"
1920	Marietta Betts Babcock dies, leaves billiard table business to younger son Ray B. Babcock, who has been managing it
1935	The business of Peter F. Gilboa, DBA Babcock Billiard Table Factory of Syracuse is liquidated in bankruptcy. Ray Babcock is a creditor.

Babcock provided billiard services for decades after the other Syracuse manufacturers closed, so their nameplate may appear on tables not originally manufactured by Babcock, by virtue of having been repaired and re-cushioned by Babcock in the 1920's or 1930's.

Bibliography

Here's some of the material I'm referencing (incomplete - this post will be updated).


Billiards and Saloons:

 Mel Adelman,
"Neglected Sports in American History: The Rise of Billiards in New York City, 1850-1871", Sport History Review, Volume 12, Issue 2, December 1981

R. A. Dyer, The Hustler & The Champ: Willie Mosconi, Minnesota Fats, and the Rivalry that Defined Pool (Guilford, CT, Lyons Press, 2008)

Michael Ian Shamos, The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards (Lyons Press, 2002)

Madelon Powers, Faces along the Bar: Lore and Order in the Workingman's Saloon, 1870-1920  (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1998)

Ned Polsky, Hustlers, Beats, and Others (Chicago, Aldine Publishing Co., 1967)

Rick Kogan , Brunswick: The story of an American company, the first 150 years
(Lake Forest, IL, Brunswick Corporation, 1995)

Victor Stein and Paul Rubino, The Billiard Encyclopedia: An Illustrated History Of The Sport (Lunenburg, Vermont, Steinhour Press, 1994)

Raymond Calkins, Substitutes For The Saloon (New York, Houghton Mifflin, 1919)

The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, Modern billiards: A complete text-book of the game, (New York, Trow, 1904)

Oliver L. Briggs, Rules for Billiards and Pool; and an Illustrated Catalogue of Briggs Billiard Tables and Billiard Furnishings (Boston, Oliver L. Briggs & Son, 1893)

W. H. Griffith & Co's Illustrated Price List of the American Standard Bevel Billiard Tables, (New York, A. J. Rowley, 1875)

Phelen and Collender, Standard American Billiard Tables and Combination Cushions (New York, 1866)


Michael Phelan, Billiards Without A Master (New York, D. D. Winant, 1850)


Business and General History:

Thomas J. Schlereth, Victorian America: Transformations in Everyday Life (New York, Harper Collins, 1991)

Carol Sheriff, The Artificial River: The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1817-1862 (New York, Hill and Wang, 1996)

Alex Groner, The American Heritage History of American Business & Industry (New York, American Heritage Publishing Co., 1972)

Howard P. Chudacoff, The Age of the Bachelor: Creating an American Subculture (Princeton University Press, 1999)

Roy Rosenweig, Eight Hours For What We Will: Workers and Leisure in an Industrial City, 1870-1920 (Cambridge University Press, 1983)

Other recommendations welcome!