Silvertown "Cavalcade of Golf" 10 Ball Display and Booklet. The five solid gutty balls in this display are reportedly old balls from the 19th century that remained in the company's early 20th century inventory. The booklet includes an image of the ten ball set and the year the balls were made. Balls A, B, C, D and E are all solid gutta percha. Made between 1888 and 1900. The balls E, G, H and I are rubber core made between 1922 and 1932. Ball J rubber core ball with a plain smooth surface was made in 1932. The balls are all in pretty much mint condition. The wooden box has a few paint chips.

Actual old Silver Town balls from the 1890s and early 1900s were tested in the mid 1930s to measure the distance they would travel. The "Silvertown driving machine" was used to guarantee that each ball would be struck the same.  The results of the test showed the newest Silvertown balls from the 1930s would travel farther than the earlier balls, which was no big surpise, but interesting to see by how much.  The smooth ball, which is a highly collectible ball itself, was included in the set to provide a baseline for the importance of the cover pattern used on the rubber core balls. Apparently inquiring minds wanted to know!

This display is a remarkable find.  While individual balls from the set occasionally surface, complete intact sets like this one are exceedingly rare, making it a true treasure.