Earliest known racquet of any type to have survived to this present day. This French “Battoir” was one of seven discovered in 1989 and bears the name of the original owner, "Denain Hullot.” One of the most important pieces of sports equipment known to exist, this is only the second time one of the seven have been offered at public auction. One of the seven is in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Rhode Island. Rare wood Battoir sports a long slender shaft and oval head. Presumably French, the head and shaft are almost entirely covered with layers of vellum and parchment. The head shows an 18th century ownership of “Denain Hullot” handwritten in ink as well as a later sheepskin grip. The overall length is 32” and the length of the head maxes out at 9.5”, with a width of 5.25”. This Battoir may be even older than the fragments of used vellum and parchment that cover it. The ownership inscription on one side of the head appears to be in an 18th century or possibly late 17th century hand. On the other side of the racquet head there is a manuscript fragment containing a financial inventory in French, and the hand is again in 18th century writing. The Italians are thought to have been the first to protect the hand with a glove when playing “real“ tennis. This evolved into an elastic network of strings to which handles were soon added. The racquet or “Battoir” consisted of little more than a strengthened glove with a short handle. This soon developed into a wooden frame over it, which was stretched parchment. From this it was found that the catgut fastened to the glove could be used to better effect if stretched or strung on a wooden frame. Hence was born the game of tennis and this important piece of sports equipment. EX.