'Close of Play'

‘The Altham-Bradman Letters’. A collection of twenty three original typed, copy and handwritten letters between Harry Altham and Don Bradman covering the period August 1958 to June 1963, and three other documents including minutes of meetings running up to, and after, the Imperial Cricket Conference in July 1960, when Altham was President of the M.C.C. and Bradman was an Australian delegate. Seven original letters from Bradman are signed ‘Don’ or ‘Don Bradman’ with copy letters from Altham. The collection was published by Christopher Saunders Books in 2020, edited by Robin Broadhurst, Altham’s grandson. The Conference dealt, amongst other things, with the subject of bowlers’ actions and ‘throwing’, and documents resulting from the conference highlight the fact that the English and Australian delegates were not always in agreement with each other. Bradman had not originally been expected to attend, but the Australian board eventually decided to send both him and Dowling. A fascinating collection of correspondence highlighting the mutual respect between the two, the diplomatic skills of Altham, and the extent to which Bradman and Australia were frustrated by what they had to deal with. Some wear and creasing to page edges, otherwise in good condition.