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August 2020 - Antique Shoppe - 5
Folk Art Croquet Wickets
Collected as Folk Art Pieces of a Bygone Era
By Larry LeMasters
LeMasters News Service
When I was a child, my family wickets. The game is played on famously held lavish like a set from 1990. Croquet
played nine-wicket croquet, a grass court. The term was first croquet parties at his sets take on a worn, tired
which, in the United States, is used in print around 1856 when home in Watford. appearance, and if you find
sometimes called “backyard Isaac Spratt registered a set of From England, the one in an antique store,
croquet.” In this version of croquet rules with the Stationers’ game of croquet it is often missing
croquet there are nine wickets, Company in London. In 1868 the spread to former balls, mallets, and
two stakes, and up to six players All England Croquet Club was British colonies, wickets. Wickets,
or balls. We always played formed at Wimbledon, London, including the especially, are
“cutthroat” and there have United States. easily lost over
style, which been croquet In America, time.
was individual clubs and the 1950s Replacement
play, and we tournaments are considered wickets were often
always played ever since. the heyday of made from coat
“poison” so Croquet croquet playing. hangers or other
that whoever is considered Families during heavy gauge
became the a form of this time still wire. All a
“poison ball” “ground did everything child had to
could eliminate billiards” and together, do was bend
other balls by originated in including eat, the wire and
croqueting or Europe at the vacation, attend play continued.
striking, them. beginning church, and But some
Of course, the of the play games. wickets were
last person Renaissance, Many 1950s irreplaceable.
remaining in but the origins American Vintage, figural folk art croquet These “folk
the game was of the game families could wicket, circa 1940, with original paint art” wickets
the winner. My of croquet be seen on wicked wicket eyebrows. are highly
wife, Sue, and go back to a Sunday collectible
I still have a Vintage, English folk art croquet antiquity. One afternoon playing croquet in their today, not as part of the game
croquet set in wicket with image of British sailor history of the yard as hamburgers and hotdogs but merely as folk art pieces of a
our garage that that sold at rubylane.com for $250. game suggests grilled. It was in the middle of bygone era.
occasionally gets croquet arrived such a scene that I first learned to Folk art, in general,
set up and played with. in England from France during play croquet. is described as traditionally
What I was unaware of, until the reign of Charles II of England, I’m sure there are collectors decorative or utilitarian art that
recently, is how valuable some 1660 – 1685. In the 17 century, who collect croquet sets. Some is often an expression of life.
th
vintage croquet wickets are. croquet was called paille-maille, of the sets are quite pretty since So a folk art croquet wicket is a
Wickets, a name derived from which became “pall-mall,” which croquet balls and mallets are utilitarian piece since it is used as
cricket, is the wire hoop a player derived from the Latin words always brightly colored. And a wicket in a game of croquet, and
must hit the croquet ball through, for ball and mallet. Samuel some of the croquet stands were it is decorative in appearance as
so in the nine-wicket version Johnson’s 1755 dictionary defines made of solid wood and are compared to a plain wire wicket.
my family played, we had nine “pall-mall” as a game with attractive. But, for the most part, While wire may be a part of a
wickets or hoops set up. similarities to modern croquet. all croquet sets look the same to folk art wicket, the decorative part
Croquet is a French word for Croquet became “fashionable” most people. of the wicket is usually made of
the sport of hitting wooden balls and reached its heyday in England A set from 1960, while older wood, metal, or cast iron.
with a mallet through hoops or around 1870. The Earl of Essex and dirtier, looks almost exactly Continued on Page 6
Nine cast iron folk art croquet wickets, circa 1900.