Tuesday, Jun 20, 2023

The Ashes are underway. This is one of the most engaging of international sporting contests, England versus Australia, the home country versus the rowdy colonists. Except of course that this year the England coach and captain are both Kiwi colonial boys.

We have some early cricket related autograph letters/signatures, plus many old cricketing publications for sale, amongst them “50 Years of Cricket….’’ pictured here.

This includes information on the ‘Antiquity of cricket’, the 13 English teams from 1862 to 1895, test matches and tours, the Aboriginal cricketers touring England in 1868, the laws, incidents on and off the field, and a final chapter on W G Grace and his century of centuries, and cricketing superstitions.

On the frontispiece is a portrait of Grace, along with those of the other record-makers prior to 1895, A E Stoddard and  A C Mclaren, and a surprise, the fourth portrait is that of Miss Roselie Deane [Native of Australia], who scored 195 at Sydney in early 1891.

We will be happy to discuss our cricketing collection with you.