Billiard Match Edwardian Snooker Romance

Original antique poster featuring illustrations of A Billiard Match by the British artist known for his satirical postcards and comic sketches Lance Thackeray (1867-1916), cleverly using billiard terms as double meanings in four humorous Edwardian-era courtship and romance scenes with text below - LEFT: showing a lady in a white dress leaning over the table to take a shot, a man in a red waistcoat looking on while drinking in the background, a dog sleeping under the table and a boy taking out a tea tray; KISSING: this image shows the couple embracing and the man kissing the lady, a red ball touching a white ball on the table reflecting the colours of their clothing (in billiards, a "kiss" occurs when two balls touch lightly and make contact), the boy turned away updating the scoreboard with the dog sitting next to him in the background; THE CANON: a stern, older gentleman unexpectedly enters the room (a "cannon" or "canon" is a specific multi-ball shot in billiards), with the lady looking towards the viewer and man dusting his cue on the other side of the table; SNOOKERED: the final scene showing the lady walking out of the room, their romantic flirtation disrupted by presence of the older gentleman watching her leave (a player can be "snookered" by an opponent blocking their next shot of a ball), the man leaning against the snooker table near the dog, both also watching her, with the boy smiling in the foreground. Published in 1902 by Landeker & Brown Ltd London. Horizontal. Good condition, creasing, tears, bumps on edges, tape on reverse edges.