The Samuel May Room
The Academy of Spherical Arts was founded in 1991 with the opening of the Samuel May room.
Samuel May was Canada's foremost manufacturer of billiard tables in the late 19th and early
20th centuries. Founded as a school, the Academy fostered excellence in billiards through
teaching and friendly competition. Originally, the Samuel May room housed seven billiard tables;
composed of four full size English pocket billiard tables, two American pocket billiard tables,
and one Carom billiard table. Samuel May's famous "Canadian Sporting Scenes and Outdoor Pastimes"
table was the centerpiece in this room for many years.
A lot has changed over the years. While the original bar was made of cedar and twig art, our current
bar, built in 1998, is fashioned from steel, copper and wood. This bar was custom designed by Rick
using British Columbia fir shipped to Ontario in the 1920's. It was stored in a barn near Glen Williams,
Ontario for some seventy years before being used to hold the vast array of Academy libations.
Four of the billiard tables you see in this room are original Samuel May and Co. tables; they range in age
from 100 - 130 years old. They are fine examples of Samuel May's Manufacturing excellence and keep Canada's
billiard heritage alive.
Rates
| Sunday |
$1000.00 |
| Monday |
$1365.00 |
| Tuesday |
$1470.00 |
| Wednesday |
$1575.00 |
| Thursday |
$1760.00 |
| Friday/Saturday |
$1955.00 |
** During the months of November and December please note that there is a 15% increase in the room rental rate.
American Pocket Billiard Table 9x4 feet
Manufactured: Mid 1880’s
This is the table that sparked Rick’s interest in the billiard business. After purchasing
a home in Peterborough during the 1970’s, this table was discovered in the attic. Originally
a Samuel May Carom table, it was recently made into an American Pocket Billiard table, which
was a fairly common practice during the late 1920’s and 30s as the popularity of carom
billiard tables faded. The original rails and slate have been saved in order to maintain
the integrity of this fine example of Samuel May’s craftsmanship.
All Samuel May billiard tables were given a number in sequence, this table is numbered 1946. These
numbers help to determine the age of the tables. This table is made from solid maple and mahogany.
When it was first found, it had patented spring steel cushions, which were believed to give the ball
a better bounce.
Samuel May billiard tables were always made with matching cue racks; the matching cue rack for this table is
located on the west wall next to the restrooms.
English Pocket Billiard Table 8x4 feet
Manufactured: Early 1870’s
Before its arrival at the Academy, this table was located in North Toronto and is in good original
condition. This is one of the early Samuel May billiard tables, and the Academy’s oldest example
of a Samuel May dating from the 1870’s. It is made of solid oak with turned carved legs.
You can tell it has not been machine made by looking closely at the legs; they are imperfect
and not exactly the same as each other. This table is a converted carom table, meaning it
was converted to be an American Pocket Billiards Table. You can tell this by looking at the
height of the table; it is slightly higher than an original American Pocket billiard table and
has 4 pieces of slate as opposed of 3 slates on the American table.
English Pocket Billiards 9 x 4 feet
Manufactured: Mid 1890’s
The Academy acquired this table in 1996 from a Toronto billiard room operator, and it was in great
condition. It was originally a carom table, but eventually was converted to a pocket billiard table.
The table displays a beautiful cross cut oak veneer, and was built for home billiards and not for commercial use.
Tables built for commercial use would have been much more substantial and less ornate. Its original shaped
legs indicate its home use as well as the carved appliqués on the table frame.
The difference between an English pocket billiard table and an American is the size of the pockets, and
in turn, the size of the balls. For an English pocket billiard table, the balls used are 2 1/16 inch;
while the American Pocket Billiards balls are 2 ¼ inch. Another way to determine the type of billiard
table would be the configuration of the cushions going into the pocket. If you compare this to the
Prince’s table you will notice no difference in the pocket size and cushions, this one is just a
smaller version of the other. However if you compare it to the Lion’s Head table you will notice
the difference in the pocket configuration.
English Pocket Billiard Table 12 x 6 feet
Manufactured: Early 1890’s
This is a solid mahogany, hand carved Burroughs & Watts table, manufactured in London, England. It was
commissioned for the Royal family in the 1880’s. In 1919 it was donated by the Prince of Wales (
King Edward VIII) to the Royal Canadian Legion in recognition for the Canadian efforts during World War 1.
The history of the table is unknown over the next 70 years, but there is no doubt that this table has seen
many different games in veteran leagues all over Canada. Ending up in a Royal Canadian Legion in Hay River,
Northwest Territories it was purchased by an Edmonton contractor in 1991, at which time he contacted the
Academy’s founder, Rick Williams for an appraisal. The two kept in contact over the next 7 years, at which
time Rick bought the table from the contractor having only seen photographs of the table in a dismantled state.
This table has steel block rails which were an innovation at the time the table was built. This means that
cushions are mounted on a 1/4 inch steel plate. The concept of this was to give a better bounce to the ball.
Two faces are depicted on either side of the table, one smiling and one frowning. You win some, you loose some!
There is no telling what this elaborately carved table, in all its grandeur, has seen and the stories it could
tell.
American Pocket Billiards 8x4 feet
Manufactured:
This is a Samuel May Lion’s Head table. Only five of these were manufactured and this is the
only known one to exist today, with a value of $100,000.00 CDN. It was a state of the art
(OR YOU COULD SAY “DISTINGUISHED AND SAUGHT AFTER”) billiard table in its day with very
intricate marketry design. The veneers used for this table are bird’s eye maple, mahogany
and walnut. Originally the cast iron base would have been painted black. Rick had gold
leaf added to the base. The gilder, who applied this, is actually the same gilder used by
Donald Trump for gold plating his many fixtures in his corporate jet.
Rick acquired this table from a billiard dealer who had it on consignment sale for 10 years.
This retailer was unable to find a buyer due to the very high asking price. It was only fitting
that it came to rest in the Samuel May room.
