Les & Arthur Janetzki Early Natural Timber Boomerang

Item TB91 

This Item was Sold on 4 August 2006 for $147


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The Janetzki brothers (Les & Arthur) made some of the finest competition and sporting boomerangs in the 20th Century. Les & Arthur made very few boomerangs and they were almost never sold. Instead, they were given away as gifts to other throwers that they met at tournaments. Les & Arthur Janetzki wereVaudeville performers in the early 1900s. After they retired in the1960s, they started making and throwing boomerangs at their home in the town of Albury, Australia.. They were senior citizens when they started to make and throw boomerangs and they continued with their boomerang hobby until their death nearly three decades later. Les would construct his own plywood by laminating packing box boards together, shaping the airfoils and sanding them smooth. Arthur would apply the art work. When they were done, they had a wonderful flying piece of art with legendary performance in events such as Accuracy, Consecutive Catch and Australian Round. These boomerangs worked so well that they were nicknamed the "Rolls Royce" of all boomerangs and upon the suggestion of Brother Brian Thomas, they started painting the initials "RJR" on the reverse side of the elbows in the 1980s with "RR" representing "Rolls Royce" and "J" representing "Janetzki". Owners of these fine boomerangs have been reluctant to sell them. Janetzki boomerangs can still be found in the throw kits of the most seasoned competitors as well as in the best collections. Premium Janetzki boomerangs can sell for hundreds of dollars and some of the finest examples have sold for more than $1,000!

This natural elbow boomerang is one of the very first that the Janetzki Brothers made. It has proper airfoiling and the underside of the lift arm has heavy leading edge beveling. This boomerang is protected with a coating of high gloss polyurethane. The grain is really nice with strong contrasting patterns. This boomerang has a white dot on the elbow indicating that it was one of their favorites. A natural moisture loss/shrinkage crack has initiated on the outer elbow as is common with older natural elbows, such as this one. This boomerang was probably made in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

Specifications: Right Handed ; Tip-to-tip Span = 45 cm ; Weight = 74 gm


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