Identify Oliver L. Briggs Pool Table

12/9/2017 10:49:14 PM

Identify Oliver L. Briggs Pool Table

Hello everyone, can you help me identify my antique Oliver Briggs pool table?

My grandfather purchased it in 1945 from a pool hall in Boston after he returned from the war.

Any help or direction to identify would be great! Let me know if there are any specific pictures you need.

pmorette

Identify Oliver L. Briggs Pool Table

Replies & Comments

billiardsforum on 12/10/2017 8:34:10 PM
That is an amazing Oliver Briggs pool table. Yours is in better shape than many out there, and it looks to be in original un-restored condition. Is it?

One question - I can't tell from the pictures, but are those bolt covers on the sides recessed in the wood, or do they protrude? I think they are recessed, but can't tell for sure.

I am still working on nailing down the model but it is looking like it dates to the late 1800s or very early 1900s. Will get back to you with more.

UPDATE: Not finding a catalog showing that model. Not likely going to either. But I did find another just like yours, in Medway, Massachussets. Photos are from a pool table service company who re-clothed it. They say it's from 1890. Sounds about right.

JWCIV on 12/9/2025 11:40:04 AM
I have this same Oliver Briggs pool table. I just pulled it out of storage to begin restoration.

Getting the old finish off is a nightmare. Acetone seems to work best. Someone stained it a dark brown.

One odd finding is that the slate is stamped "J. Magann".

From
J. Magann & Co.
Billiard Table Makers
Boston Mass.

Was this common?

billiardsforum on 3/31/2026 9:14:40 PM
@JWCIV - Curious:
1. Did you get the sense that the stain was original (vs. perhaps a previous refinish)?
2. Did yours have the Oliver Briggs decal-like logo on the short side, like that in the original post on this thread?

JWCIV on 3/31/2026 9:24:03 PM
I got the sense it was the original finish, with years of sweat, smoke, and whatever else caked on top. The further I went the lighter it got.

I have the brass plate, but no decal. I really wish it had the Briggs decal though!

pmorette on 3/31/2026 9:29:19 PM
Ours too has all those classic pool hall cigar and cigarette burn marks all over the sides of the pool table.

I love that.

JWCIV on 4/1/2026 7:50:49 AM
Mine has a couple of burn marks on it too.

I decided to leave those as-is and not sand them out.

billiardsforum on 4/1/2026 9:47:49 AM
I bet that you could have that Briggs logo reproduced quite accurately and at a reasonable cost.

A "water decal" (aka "waterslide transfers") would be the way to go, applied over whatever new stain you use, but under any clear coat you apply.

Apparently some of the original logos used gold leaf.

I have Oliver Briggs pool table catalogs from 1893 and 1897, but I didn't see your model in those. I am missing one which I know exists from 1899, which I suspect might have your model pictured inside.

Regarding the J. Magann & Co. slate, here's what my research turned up:
J. Magann & Co. and Oliver L. Briggs & Son were two of the most prominent billiard table manufacturers in Boston. While they were separate, competing entities, their histories are closely linked through their geographic proximity and shared aesthetic characteristics.

Both companies were headquartered in Boston, which was a major hub for high-end billiard manufacturing that rivaled the Brunswick Balke-Collender Co., the largest pool table maker at the time.
- Oliver L. Briggs & Son was located at 970 Washington St. and is often considered the more dominant of the Boston makers.
- J. Magann & Co. operated at 106 Sudbury St. (and later 78 Washington St.).
Apparently, craftsmen frequently moved between these local factories.

Both companies are known for using high-quality American Black Walnut and intricate "Eastlake-style" geometric patterns that were popular in the 1880s.

While both companies produced full-sized pool tables, their market roles diverged over time:

Oliver Briggs became more widely recognized for their full-scale, ornate Victorian pool tables, such as the "Rococco" and "No. 27" models.

J. Magann & Co. was equally famous as a supplier and outfitter. In addition to their own pool tables, they were a primary source for "Samson cloth" and other billiard accessories (cue racks, chalk, and brushes) for the entire New England region. If you find a J. Magann label somewhere on a pool table, it is worth verifying if they were the original manufacturer or simply the firm that provided the high-end cushions and cloth, or slate.

Because both were suppliers based in Boston, it was common for a local pool hall owners (who were the largest customers of these companies) to buy an Oliver Briggs pool table but outfit it with J. Magann & Co accessories, leading to many mixed-brand sets found today.
And also this (can't remember where I read this, but I had it saved in our archives):

Check the underside of the slate or the inner frame. Oliver Briggs tables are almost always stamped with a date and a production number.

...though, again, I don't have a reference to support that.

I know that all of the above doesn't concretely prove one way or another what you have, but I would say with 95% certainty that you have an Oliver Briggs pool table (based on your claim that it's the same pool table as those shown in earlier entries in this thread (which do have the Oliver Briggs logo decal).

The most likely scenarios that come to mind for your situation are, in order of probability:
1. J Magann & Co. simply supplied the slate to Briggs
2. If your pool table came from a pool hall, the original slate may have cracked, and the owners may have taken slate from another (Magann) pool table. It was somewhat common for pool halls to cobble together a good pool table from pieces of numerous poor condition tables.
Either way, good luck with the restoration and please do share pictures when it's all done.