Tennis Collectables

Miscellaneous Books

The following are books that do not fit into the other categories!

All books are British hardback editions without dustwrapper (D/W) unless otherwise stated. A description of the condition of each book is given using the following terms/abbreviations:
Mint - as new; VG - very good condition; Good - obviously used but complete with no major faults; Ex library - from a public or school library and may contain the occasional stamp or label but in many cases this is the only indication.

As stock is continually changing please email Tennis Collectables with a list of the item(s) you are interested in. We will then get back to you with details of postage costs. All prices include postage within the UK; overseas customers will be charged postage – it costs around $6 to send an average hardback book by Priority Airmail to the USA. We can accept payment by PayPal, Sterling cheques and Postal Orders, and International Money Orders in sterling.

1973 TENNIS GUIDE - NEIL AMDUR. Snibbe Publications; 1973 1^st US Softcover Edition; 96 pages. Pocket sized handbook covering playing strategy, 1972 rankings schedules & records, plus general information. Illustrated by line drawings.
VG £7.50 (approx $12.75)

1998 TENNIS YEAR BOOK. Davidoff; 1998 1^st Swiss Softcover Edition; 224 pages. German language. Large format book the first half of which is the official tournament programme for the Davidoff Swiss Indoors at Basel. The second half includes a review of the 4 Grand Slams of 1998, previews ATP Finals in Hanover and looks at tennis in Switzerland and Germany. Lots of colour photos. Pat Rafter on cover.
Mint £20.00 (approx $34.00)


2000 TENNIS YEAR BOOK. Davidoff; 2000 1^st Swiss Edition; 232 pages. German language. Large format softcover book the first half of which is the official tournament programme for the Davidoff Swiss Indoors at Basel. The second half includes a review of the 4 Grand Slams of 200 and previews ATP Finals in Hanover. Lots of colour photos. Andre Agassi on cover.
Mint £20.00 (approx $34.00)

ALL STAR FEAST COOKBOOK - WENDY DIAMOND. Global Liaisons; 1997 1st US Edition; 143 pages. ‘Over 130 star athletes reveal their favorite recipes’. Now you too can cook Andre Agassi’s Penne Arrabiate, Chris Evert’s Center Court Chicken Salad, Martina Navratilova’s Wimbledon Pesto, The Jensens’ Fishing Scones With Raisins and Kick Butt Borscht, Monica Seles’ Grand Slam Tomato Basil Soup and Pete Sampras’ Serve It up Penne A La Pomadora. Packed with photos, no tennis-playing chef should be without this book!
Mint £20.00 (approx $34.00)

ANYONE FOR TENNIS: GROWING UP IN WALLINGTON BETWEEN THE WARS – EILEEN WHITEING. Sutton Libraries & Arts Services; 1979 1^st Softcover Edition; 64 pages. Biography of Eileen Whiteing, born in 1912 and brought up in Wallington, Surrey. Describes life in middle-class England in the 1920s and 1930s but few references to tennis despite the title. Illustrated by b&w photos.
VG (some light creasing to the covers) £5.00 (approx $8.50)  SOLD OUT

BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS YEARBOOK 1997 - PETER NICHOLS. Oddball; 1996 1st Softcover Edition; 474 pages. A sports reference book with full reviews and results from 1996 including The Olympics. Includes 27 page tennis section with results of 1996 ATP and WTA Tour events, draw sheets for the Grand Slams (from 2nd round), Davis and Fed Cup results. All other major sports from American football to yachting included.
VG (covers lightly creased and slight damage to top of spine) £10.00 (approx $17.00)

BRITISH OLYMPIANS: A HUNDRED YEARS OF GOLD MEDALLISTS – IAN BUCHANAN. Guinness; 1991 1^st Edition; 191 pages. Career profiles of all 406 Britons who won Olympic Gold Medals between 1896 and 1988, plus full lists of all competitors by event. Includes sections on Lawn Tennis and Rackets. B&W  photos throughout the book.
VG in edgeworn D/W (ex library copy with usual inkstamps; 1 page of colour photos missing) £10.00 (approx $17.00)

CHILDREN'S ENCYCLOPEDIA PART 41 EDITED BY ARTHUR MEE. Undated fortnightly magazine from around 1910 which contains a 3 page article on The Game Of Lawn Tennis. 1 page contains 7 b&w photos of young lady in long sleeved ankle length dress demonstrating the right way to play.
Good cover worn and staples rusty £7.50 (approx $12.75)

DAILY TELEGRAPH SPORTS YEARBOOK 1999 - EDITED BY DAVID WELCH. Hayden Publishing; 1998 1^st Edition; 208 pages. Large format book reviewing the 1998 sporting year from the sports pages of the Daily Telegraph. Includes tribute to Helen Wills plus Wimbledon review. Has a day-by-day 1999 fixture planner plus 1999 fixtures by sport. Lots of photos.
VG in VG D/W £12.50 (approx $21.25)

FLANNELLED FOOL AND MUDDIED OAF - PETER WEST. Guild Publishing; 1986 Edition; 215 pages. The autobiography of the former BBC commentator who covered 27 Wimbledon Championships. 16 pages of b&w photos.
VG in VG D/W £10.00 (approx $17.00)
VG in VG D/W (top corner of front endpaper clipped, jacket faded at spine) £7.50 (approx $12.75)


FOCUS ON FACT NO2 THE STORY OF SPORT - RANDALL & KEANE. W H Allen; 1977 1st Paperback Edition; 128 pages. A history of sports in picture strips with a 20 page section on tennis. Other sports include golf, football, cricket and rugby.
Good (groove cut in top edge) £3.50 (approx $5.95)

GAMES FOR COURT AND GARDEN - GORDON WINTER. Pilot Press; 1947 1st Edition; 117 pages. Information for anyone taking up lawn tennis and the other racket sports plus croquet and archery. Details on the construction and upkeep of tennis courts plus the rules of the game and coaching illustrated by photographs of Dan Maskell.
VG in edge-worn D/W £10.00 (approx $17.00)
Good £5.00 (approx $8.50)


GIRLS GUIDE TO GAMES, SPORTS, HOBBIES & MANY OTHER INTERESTS – EDITED BY P J LANGLAND. Thomas Nelson; not dated (?1933); 342 pages. Wide ranging book covering out-of-school interests for gilrs. Includes an 18 page coaching article ‘Lawn Tennis’ by Betty Nuthall with much biographical content. The dustjacket features 2 girls playing tennis, the spine has a picture of 2 girls holding tennis rackets.
VG in torn D/W (some foxing throughout; jacket is worn with two 4” splits at edges and minor loss at edges) £15.00 (approx $25.50)


GRACE UNDER PRESSURE - ADRIANNE BLUE. Sidgwick & Jackson; 1987 1st Edition; 213 pages. An in-depth analysis of the emergence of women in sport. Contains a section on tennis with a look at women's tennis from Lenglen to Navratilova.
VG in VG D/W £12.50 (approx $21.25)

GREAT SPORTING ECCENTRICS: WEIRD & WONDERFUL CHARACTERS FROM THE WORLD OF SPORT – GEOFF TIBBALLS. Robson Books; 1997 1^st Softcover Edition; 245 pages. A look at colourful sporting characters, some of whose behaviour has stepped over the boundary rope into the realms of eccentricity. Covers all the major sports and includes a 9 page chapter on tennis.
VG £7.50 (approx $12.75)

GUINNESS BOOK OF SPORTING HEROES - SHIRLEY GREENWAY. Piccolo; 1981 1st Softcover Edition; 96 pages. Winners, champions, record-breakers and failures from all sports with 19 page section on tennis.
VG £3.50 (approx $5.95)

I'D RATHER PLAY TENNIS THAN COOK... - POPPENBERG & PARRISH. MPM Productions; 1975 2nd US Softcover Edition; 107 pages. A comb-bound bound book which contains recipes which allow you to maximise your time on the tennis court rather than in the kitchen. Contains recipes for 'Racquet of Lamb', 'Wimbledon Broil', 'Chili Billie Jean', 'Alice's Marble Cake' and 'Rosewallbanger'.
VG (covers slightly marked) £12.50 (approx $21.25)


OH I SAY! THE BARE FACED CHEEK OF LIFE. Chameleon Books; 1997 1^st Softcover Edition; 112 pages. An examination of the streaking phenomenon and those who have found it necessary to bare their all at sporting events! Includes Melissa Johnson at Wimbledon 1996.
VG (light creasing to covers) £7.50 (approx $12.75)

PURSUIT OF SPORTING EXCELLENCE: A STUDY OF SPORTS HIGHEST ACHIEVERS -  DAVID HEMERY. Willow Books; 1986 1st Edition; 295 pages. David Hemery interviewed 63 top performers to see if there were any common factors which separated the highest achievers from all the other competitors.  Includes from tennis Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, John Newcombe, Rod Laver.
VG in VG D/W £10.00 (approx $17.00)


RADIO TIMES 1993 YEARBOOK - ED BY ALISON WEAR. Ravette Books; 1993 1st Edition; 246 pages. The definitive record of television and radio events of 1992. Includes 3 pages covering Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf’s Wimbledon triumphs with small colour photos.
VG in VG D/W £7.50 (approx $12.75)

SCANDAL OF LAWN TENNIS SCORING - S A LYNSDALE. Wren Press; 1988 1^st Softcover Edition; 32 pages. Privately published booklet on the 'unsatisfactory and inaccurate application of the present system of scoring' which can mean the player who scores more points and games in a match can still lose.
VG £10.00 (approx $17.00)

SCOOP SPORTS ANNUAL 1982. DC Thompson; 1981 1st Edition; 126 pages. A general sports book but contains 2 page feature on Bjorn Borg ‘King Of Courts’ and a 7 page picture strip story on rising tennis star ‘Buster’. Full page colour photo of Roscoe Tanner
VG minor damage to front paste down £5.00 (approx $8.50)

SERVER – SPENCER VIGNES. Pitch Publishing; 2003 1^st Softcover Edition; 268 pages. Spencer Vignes tells the story of his pilgrimage across England trying to find out where tennis in this country went wrong. He plays at least one stroke on every court he finds from derelict inner-city courts to the upmarket surroundings of Queen’s Club. An affectionate look at tennis and England.
Near Mint £10.00 (approx $17.00)


SERVICE 1949. Slazengers; 1949 1st Softcover Edition; 36 pages. This booklet contains a coaching section which uses action photos of Dan Maskell plus records, tournament dates and rules.
VG (staples rusty) £10.00 (approx $17.00)


SUNDAY TIMES ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF TWENTIETH CENTURY SPORT – CHRIS NAWRAT, STEVE HUTCHINGS & GREG STRUTHERS. Hamlyn; 1995 1^st Edition; 416 pages. A year-by-year account of the history of sport from January 1900 to June 1995 (2 pages for each year to 1945; 4 pages for each year 1946 to 1959; 6 pages for each year from 1960).Tennis is well represented throughout the book and there are b&w photos on every page. Contains a 2 page tribute (with photos) to Martina Navratilova ‘The Queen of Wimbledon’.
VG in lightly edgeworn D/W £15.00 (approx $25.50)

SUPERSTARS 78 ANNUAL. World Distributors 1977 1st Edition; 62 pages. General pop and sports annual including section on Chris Evert, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors and Sue Barker. B&W photos.
VG (ink on title page and crossword completed) £5.00 (approx $8.50)  SOLD OUT

SWEET SPOT IN TIME – JOHN JEROME. Summit Books; 1980 1^st US Edition; 348 pages. Author analyses why those moments in sport occur when physical perfection is achieved – the ball sings off the racket. He looks at why they occur so effortlessly for the superstars of sports.
VG in VG D/W £22.50 (approx $38.25)

TEAM SPIRIT: THE ELUSIVE EXPERIENCE - JOHN SYER. Kingswood Press; 1986 1st Edition; 230 pages. An attempt to rationalise and explain the team experience, using examples from sport to illustrate conflict, motivation, confidence and stress. Many references to tennis.
VG in VG D/W £10.00 (approx $17.00)

TENNIS AN ALBUM OF FAMOUS PLAYERS IN ACTION. John Player; 1936; 20 pages. A 20 page album of cigarette cards issued by John Player in 1936. The 50 cards show famous players demonstrating the major strokes. Players featured include Fred Perry, Bunny Austin, Helen Wills, Jack Crawford, Frank Shields, Gottfried von Cramm, Helen Jacobs, Jean Borotra and Gene Mako. All 50 cards are pasted in.
Album and cards in very good condition but staples are rusting and covers lightly soiled £30.00 (approx $51.00)

WEMBLEY BOOK OF BALL GAMES AND HOW TO PLAY THEM. Playcraft; 1963 1^st Paperback Edition; 266 pages. The rules of the major ball games in a clear format. Includes 17 page section on lawn tennis.
VG £5.00 (approx $8.50)  SOLD OUT