Ernie Presto was one of better 3-cushion players in the country in the mid 20th century. His self-admitted claim to fame was playing Willie Hoppe a number of times and losing to him every time. Presto was a Chicagoan who was friendly with Herman Rambow, the premier cue maker of the time. In 1940, Rambow delivered this cue to Presto.

This cue stick was made around 1940, and delivered before the Titlist cue was made available to the open market. The blank appears to be a prototype evidenced by the fact that the bottoms of the points come to a sharp point, a much higher standard than production Titlists. Uncharacteristic traits of Rambow's work make this one of the rarest examples of his cues and clearly marks the early 1940s as a transition time for Rambow. There is no wrap area over the full splice, and the handle wood is Oak (rare). The joint is ivory and is reversed with the pin in the shaft, instead of in the butt section like later Rambow examples. Rambow's earlier cues were jointed this way, but it is rare to find a Titlist conversion with this joint. The look of the joint is that of Rambow's later joints.

Only three owners have possessed this cue stick. After Presto's death, Deno Andrews was approached by the gentleman to whom this cue was left by Presto. Presto and Andrews's grandfather George Pentaris were close friends, so when this gentleman asked Andrews if he was interested in purchasing the cue, he didn't hesitate to add the cue to his collection, where it remains today. Presto kept a diary of his billiard matches from 1938 to 1945. In it are data on matches against some of the best players ever.