Dunlop Maxply
The laminated wooden racket that was the standard of tennis for half a century.
Early rackets were made from a single bent piece of wood that easily warped. Dunlop glued together thin laminations of different woods, giving a strong, stiff frame.
The Maxply was used by champions such as Rod Laver, and John McEnroe played with a Maxply Fort early in his career before changing to graphite. It is the classic example of a wooden racket.
Materials: Laminations of ash and other woods, glued; gut or nylon strings; leather grip
Manufacture: Made by Dunlop in England from 1931 to the 1980s.
The oval head of thin glued laminations.
The throat dividing into two arms towards the head.
The handle wrapped in leather.