Catalogue for the auction of
Cricket, Football & Sporting Memorabilia

‘George Hirst’s Benefit’. Yorkshire v Lancashire, Headingley, Leeds 1904. A large and original mono photograph of the Yorkshire and the Lancashire teams prior to Hirst’s Benefit Match on 1st, 2nd and 3rd August 1904. The players and umpires standing and seated in rows, wearing cricket attire and a varied assortment of blazers, caps and boaters. From left to right, standing are John Moss (umpire), Slack (reserve), Willis Cuttell, Ernest Smith, Wilfred Rhodes, Albert Hornby, David Hunter, Alexander Kermode, Reggie Spooner, William Findley, Henry Wilkinson and Walter Wright (umpire), players seated are David Denton, Frank Stanley Jackson, John Tyldesley, Leslie Poidevin, Archie MacLaren, George Hirst, Lord Martin Hawke, Walter Brearley and John Tunnicliffe, sitting on the ground Lees Whitehead (reserve), Hubert Myers and James Hallows. Interestingly, a number of other figures ‘lurking’ in the background have been scratched out on the original negative. The photograph by ‘Altior’ Studios, Leeds, measures 14”x6.75”, laid to photographer’s mount with printed title and players’ names to mount above and below the image. Overall 16.25”x10.5”. Very minor surface blemishes to the photograph, otherwise in very good condition. A wonderfully evocative and rare image of the ‘golden age’ of cricket, a very large version of which was sold by Knights in March 2021, hammer price £1500.