MATERIAL: Wood
TYPE: Tennis Racket
DIMENSIONS: Length, 27 inches
COMPONENTS: Tennis racket and cover.
NOTES: Provenance: From the Collection of Hugh M. Hefner
ITEM ID: 4563
Hugh Hefner Spalding Tennis Racket
DATE
Century: 20th (1901-2000)
A vintage wood Spalding tennis racquet with “Brute!” painted on the handle. Housed in a Barbi Benton monogrammed needlepoint cover of a tennis Bunny marked “Tennis Anyone?/ HMH/ by Barbi.”
Barbi Benton appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine four times between July of 1969 through December of 1985 in addition to two nude photo layouts in the December of 1973 and January of 1975 issues. When Hugh Hefner first asked Barbi out on a date, she reportedly demurred to the then 42 year old Hefner and said, “ I don’t know, I’ve never dated anyone over 24 before”, to which Hefner replied, “That’s all right, neither have I.” She is credited with convincing Hugh Hefner to buy the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills in 1974.
Sports
From baseball to the Olympics, this collections contains objects from the sporting world.
