Billiards has a long history, even cited in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. It was enjoyed from the grandest country houses to the humblest of urban saloons. Snooker was only invented in 1875, by a British army officer stationed in India. In the twentieth century, snooker overtook billiards as the game of choice on the baize. It owes its modern popularity to the television age. In 1969, the BBC launched Pot Black (mainly to show off the advantages of colour TV), and sixteen years later, BBC2 enjoyed its still-unmatched viewing figures for the famous Davis-Taylor black ball final.

The works on this page represent a small selection of our collection. They are not currently available for sale, pending an exhibition planned for 2027, to mark the centenary of the World Snooker Championship.