Catalogue for the auction of
Cricket, Football, Golf & Sporting Memorabilia

Australian tour of England 1896. Earl of Sheffield’s XI v Australians 1896. Excellent original folding menu card for the Luncheon given by Lord Sheffield on the 12th May 1896 during the match played at Sheffield Park, Uckfield from the 11th-13th May 1896. The highly decorative and colourful menu with front cover, with titles and dates, featuring to centre a scene of Sheffield Park House and Grounds and Lord Sheffield’s emblem and cricket emblem with highly decorative borders, the rear cover with raised Australian emblem to centre in cartouche with crossed cricket bats, stumps and ball above and below with what appears to be a coloured ribbon decoration to borders. To inside pages, equally decorative, are the menu and wine list to the left and to the right a listing of the players, both the Australian and Earl of Sheffield’s elevens, umpires and scorers with cricket themed borders of cricket bats, cricket bags, balls, stumps etc. Gilt to all edges. Players include Trott, Darling, Giffen, Hill, Iredale, Jones, Kelly, Trumble, Gregory, W.G. Grace, Shrewsbury, W. Gunn, Ranjitsinhji, Fry, Jackson, Mold, Lilley etc. The umpires were W.A.J. West and R.Thoms. The menu printed by John Beal & Son and Booth & Sons were the caterers. The menu has a split at the fold, probably due to the thick card used for the menu, which has been joined with clear tape otherwise in very good condition. A rare, decorative and exquisite item of ephemera from this early Australian tour