A rare tube of three Slazenger 'Tropical Red' hard court lawn tennis balls circa mid-1920s, cemented construction and vivid red in colour, two in orig

A rare tube of three Slazenger 'Tropical Red' hard court lawn tennis balls circa mid-1920s, cemented construction and vivid red in colour, two in original unused condition, the other in a used state, in original metal patented (No.103442, 27th July 1916) airtight Slazenger tube with lithographic printing and paper label inscribed TROPICAL RED, the base of the tin stamped 1 5 R E 0; sold with a scanned page from a 1906 Slazenger catalogue advertising 'The Tropical' lawn tennis ball According to the 1906 Slazenger catalogue the brightly coloured 'Tropical' ball range was 'specially suited for hot climates or when the sun is very glaring.' The ball was available in all red, all blue, all yellow, all black, red and white, blue and white, yellow and white, red and yellow, red and blue, blue and yellow, red and black, black and white, black and yellow or any other combination of colours and were priced at 13 shillings per dozen. The present Tropical Reds are about 20 years later in date than the advert. Slazenger's air tight tin was patented in 1916 and unlike the catalogue examples that were hand stitched, these balls are cemented in construction as was the case from the mid-1920s onwards. They are still, however, very rare and unusual survivals.