From the Regency Period, a rare Serpentine Top Mahogany Ballot box with brass swing side handles, the front with an inlaid silver half moon banner engraved 'Hamilton Fives Club'* below the funnel, and with two drawers with silver labels engraved 'Admit' & 'Reject' and a full width locking drawer, all three with repoussée brass knobs, the serpentine roof with a central fan inlay.
Weight 5 kg
Size 36 x 31 x 38 cm
* Fives has been around since the 17th century. The origins of the name are unclear but is thought to come from the fact that there are five digits on a hand. The shape of the court comes from the sport’s birthplace, Eton College, where the buttresses on the side of the chapel formed bays in which the boys could play.
There is mention of Hamilton Fives Club in The Compendium of Scottish Silver which records that Sothebys, Gleneagles on August 29th 1977 sold a Silver Punch Bowl by William Davie or William Dempster 1785/6 which had been presented to John Boges by The Fives Club of Hamilton.
