Model 17's look different in pictures than they do in real life. The flat dimension of photo and screen just doesn't do it for a Model 17. To appreciate the look, it helps to hold the cue in your hands. In fact, before I got one, I didn't even like the design. Now I think they are one of Palmer's coolest cues. If Fred Astaire played pool, he would have shot with this cue. It's a gentlemen's cue.
There are two different Model 17's in my collection, the top cue is the standard 3rd Catalog version. These cues came with a typical Palmer pearlized buttcap and lots of pearl inlays. The cues are lit with figure from the Macassar ebony. This type of ebony has rays of cinnamon color swirling through it. Macassar is more similar in appearance to Brazilian rosewood than it is to Gabon ebony, which is the really black type. I once sold a Schon with an ebony butt sleeve and the buyer complained that there was something wrong with the wood. I guess he never saw a real piece of Macassar ebony before. In the light, it has lots of colors.
