Feltham & Co.

1870

Feltham & Co., City Steam Works, Barbican, London, were wholesalers and manufacturers of "all indoor and outdoor games and sports". They were established in 1834 and produced some of the earliest lawn tennis rackets, beginning in the 1870's they were probably one of the premier makers of that time. They used the Prince of Wales 'plume of three feathers' stamp signifying that they were royal suppliers. In 1886 Feltham merged with Howard & Sons. The rackets they advertised had names such as the 'Climax', the 'Griffin, Tournament' and the 'Handicap'. The 'Special' was a copy of the Slazenger 'Demon'. In the late 1880's Slazenger & Sons took Feltham to court for infringement of Trade Mark. They said Feltham were trying to deceive their customers by calling their racket the 'Demotic' and trying to cash in on the success of their own 'Demon' racket. Slazenger won and Feltham were restrained from using 'Demotic' on their rackets.

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