Catalogue for the auction of
Cricket, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanacks,
Football & Sporting Memorabilia
Held on Friday, Saturday & Sunday
22nd, 23rd & 24th March 2024
Lot 524
Estimate: £80/120
Hammer: £65
Eton v Harrow, Lord’s, July 1873. Four original photographs of Eton players, Francis Buckland, Eustratius Pandeli Constantine Ralli, Alfred Lyttlelton and Frederick John Bruce who all played in this early Public School match. The photographs cameo mounted, the mount ornately annotated and decorated for each player, giving match title, school motto to top and centre and each player has his performance figures from the match annotated below his image with colourful Eton emblem to centre. Three of the four photographs appears to have been hand painted in colour, the caps painted in Eton light blue. Harrow won the match by five wickets, Buckland made 37 and 16 and took nine wickets. Mounted, framed and glazed. Overall 13.5”x16.5”. An attractive early cricket item
The Eton v Harrow cricket match at Lords in July 1873 ended in a vulgar brawl and police had to be called to restore order. The game, watched by 20,000 people, had comprised two days of the finest all round school cricket that had been seen for some time at Lord’s and was closely contested. On the last day however, Harrow overcame the favoured Etonians by five wickets and happy Harrovians rushed on to the pitch to hoist their heroes upon their shoulders. The celebrations soon turned into noisy and riotous proceedings. The MCC said that any repetition must inevitable end in the discontinuance of the match and luckily the 1874 match went off without incident.