Objects Database

Lillywhites Skis?

Accession Number

699.2009.1

Object Name

Lillywhites Skis?

Created

20/01/2009

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

20/01/2009

Brief Description

Pair of wooden skis with metal (possibly brass) edges. Adjustable metal plate binding with metal and leather heel straps in poor condition.

Materials

wood, metal, leather

Dimensions

205(l) cms At widest part 8(w) cms

Number Of Objects

1 pair

Inscription Description

On brass plate "SPORTSMAN'S EMPORIUM ST. VINCENT'S STREET GLASGOW"and"SELECTED BY LILLYWHITES"

Colour

brown

Provenance

A little bit of an enigma this pair of skis as they look Norwegian, probably came from Switzerland, were selected by Lillywhites in London and look like they were sold by the Sportsman's Emporium in Glasgow with an early Alpina binding. We can't find a name to tell us the make, but a Norwegian style is countered by the single piece brass edges which were a Swiss idea from the 1930's when they found a way to secure the edges without screws which most other systems used - brass was also thought to flex more than steel and 'move' with the ski.
PS. We learn from the 1931 British Ski Year Book that Herr Christian Rubi is the inventor of a new form of brass edges that can be fitted by Herr Ernst Gertsch of Wengen. Apparently, the British Ski Team used them in the 1930 races and found them to have plenty of 'give'.
Lillywhites were retailers and would have imported them from wherever, though how they ended up in the Sportsman's Emporium we have no idea and sadly, we don't know who subsequently donated them to the Scottish Ski Club and ultimately to us.
The binding looks very much like the 'Alpina' in the Sportsmam's Emporium advert opposite, though there was a very similar Kandahar binding around at the time.
The whole lot seem to date from the late 1920's/early 30's and make a nice, if rather puzzling addition to our collection.