This week's Throwback Thursday from the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum takes a closer look at the prizes on offer.

Championships Trophies

The Championships trophies are perhaps the most enduring symbols of the triumph and glory associated with winning The Championships. The most famous are the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy and the Ladies’ Singles Trophy.

Since 1887, winners of the Gentlemen’s Singles event have been presented with the same prestigious trophy. The trophy was purchased by the All England Club for 100 guineas (worth around £10,000 in today’s money) after William Renshaw became the owner of the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy, after winning three times in succession.

This was the second trophy that Renshaw had won outright and to prevent this from occurring again, it was decided that the new trophy would never become the property of the winner. The Ladies’ Singles Trophy dates back to 1886 when it was first won by Blanche Bingley, and like the Gentlemen’s trophy, it never leaves the Grounds.

For nearly 130 years, winners have in moments of victory raised above their heads, hugged, kissed and even dropped to the ground, these prestigious and priceless trophies. Yet, each year the trophies look pristine when presented to the winner. We asked Shelley Blake, Conservator at Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, how she looks after the trophies to make sure that they are kept in excellent condition in time for The Championships.

First of all, how were the trophies made and what are they made of?

The Ladies’ Singles Trophy was electro-formed in sterling silver. The gold layer was then electro-plated on to sections of the dish as a decorative finish. The Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy was made in the more traditional silversmith manner of shaping the various parts, joining these together and finishing with decorative wires. The sterling silver ‘cup and cover’ were finally electro-plated with gold all over. The distinctive pineapple, part of the original design, was made separately.

The trophies have been presented to Champions for nearly 130 years. What can be done to make sure that the trophies will remain in excellent condition for another 100 years?

The trophies are on public display in the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum all year round (except during The Championships). You can read more about the Championships trophies here. The best way to treat silver is not to rub it. If you polish silver with abrasive cleaning agents, you will remove a little more of the surface each time. So I wet-clean them, and then dry them in a warm air oven. Hopefully this method will keep them looking their best for a long time.