The Last Witness 1878

The racquet known as The Last Witness originates from London and dates to the end of the 1870s. It is made of solid wood with an oval striking face, typical of English racquets produced during the final decades of the nineteenth century. The manufacturer remains unidentified, though the form and balance correspond to models used in early lawn tennis.

The Last Witness, 1878

The piece was part of a London household destroyed during the Blitz, the sustained bombing campaign carried out by the German Luftwaffe between September 1940 and May 1941. During that period, large residential districts of London were struck by high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices. The house in which the racquet was kept was hit and burned, resulting in the death of nine family members. The object was later recovered from the ruins. The wooden frame shows fire damage and surface cracking consistent with exposure to heat and falling debris.

London Blitz 9 September 1940. Credit: Wiki Commons

Following the war, the racquet was preserved by Gerald Gurney, a noted historian and editor-in-chief of the Tennis Collector journal. Gurney maintained extensive archives documenting the development of tennis equipment and was among the few collectors to record provenance details with precision. He safeguarded the racquet for several decades before entrusting it to the Berlin Tennis Gallery, where it is now part of the permanent historical archive.

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Andreas Fixemer

Berlin Tennis Gallery

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