228 - Tennis / Trophy / Lacoste

Tennis / Trophy / Lacoste Trophy presented to René Lacoste “in honor of his brilliant victories in 1926” Georgian-style silver cup with two handles. Flared body with a slightly scalloped rim, encircled by a raised filet, resting on a circular, fluted base. S-shaped handles with volutes, fluted at the top and ending in a coil Engraved “Tennis and Golf / to Mr. René LACOSTE / in honor of his brilliant victories / 1926.” Mappin & Webb, Sheffield, 1926–1927. Hallmarks: master silversmith MW, Sheffield crown, passant lion, date letter “i” Weight: 345 g. Height: 10.5 cm; width at handles: 16.5 cm; base diameter: 7.8 cm. An important piece, struck in the year the “Crocodile” rose to the top of the tennis world. The 1926 season got off to a poor start for Lacoste, however: defeated in the Davis Cup in late 1925, he lost in three sets at the French Open. But the turning point came in September in the U.S.: he claimed his first Davis Cup victory against Bill Tilden, then won his first U.S. Championship at Forest Hills, becoming the world No. 1. On September 18, 1926, he defeated Jean Borotra in the final. This tournament marked the end of Tilden’s reign. American tennis, which had been dominant until then, ceded its throne to the French. These “brilliant victories of 1926” paved the way for the Musketeers. In 1927, the French team snatched the Davis Cup from Tilden and the Americans, and alongside Cochet, Borotra, and Brugnon, Lacoste would lead France to five consecutive victories in the competition—the greatest chapter in the history of French tennis. The cup was presented by *Tennis et Golf*, a magazine founded in 1914 and one of the major French sports publications of the interwar period, serving as the official organ of the French Golf Federation, which reported on tournaments and rankings in both sports. Crafted by Mappin & Webb and hallmarked in Sheffield in the very year of these achievements, it stands as a direct testament to the champion’s recognition by the specialized press of his time. In a twist of fate, tennis and golf would come together in Lacoste’s life: in 1930, he married golf champion Simone Thion de la Chaume.