Our last auction was held on 06th, 07th & 08th August 2023
Knights Auctioneers last auction of Cricket, Football & Sporting Memorabilia was held on Sunday 6th, Monday 7th & Tuesday 8th August 2023. The sale included over 1600 lots and we have included some highlights below.
To view the results from the auction click here.
Results of our recent action of the collection of Lord Botham (Ian Botham) held on 15th July 2023 can be downloaded here.
Lot 169. M.C.C. tour of Australia & New Zealand 1936/37. Official 'Orient Line. England-Australia S.S. Orion' headed paper nicely signed in ink by all seventeen members of the touring party. A rare sheet Hammer: £400
Lot 251. Australia tour to England 1926. Page beautifully and fully signed in black in ink to the verso of a S.S. Otranto headed page by all seventeen members of the Australian touring party. Hammer: Unsold
Lot 243. South Africa tour to England 1901. Two pages comprising excellent ink signatures of all seventeen members of the South African touring party. One page is a Cambridge University C.C. letterhead nicely signed in ink to both sides by sixteen members of the touring party, this being signed during the tour match playing Somerset at Taunton. A very rare collection of signatures Hammer: £2000
Lot 297. West Indies tour to Australia and New Zealand 1951/52. Very rare official autograph sheet nicely and fully signed in ink by all eighteen members of the touring party on official tour letterhead. Hammer: £420
Lot 301. India tour to Australia 1947/48. Very rare official autograph sheet with printed title and players' names, fully signed in ink by all eighteen listed members of the touring party. Hammer: £500
Lot 318. Edgar Arthur 'Ted' McDonald. Lancashire, Tasmania, Victoria & Australia 1909-1931. Australian green wool Test cap with Australian emblem to front with kangaroo and emu embroidered in metal thread and coloured thread with the legend 'Advance Australia' in scroll worn by Ted McDonald in the 1921 Test series played in England. A very early Australian Test cap, the earliest sold by this auctioneer Hammer: £9500
Lot 422. Ronald Graham Archer. Queensland & Australia 1951/52-1958/59. Australian dark myrtle green wool test blazer worn by Ron Archer during the Australian Test series against England in Australia 1954/55. The blazer, by Farmers of Sydney, embroidered with the Australia emblem to breast pocket and below '1954-55' in gold thread, with gold trimming to blazer edging, pockets and sleeves. Hammer: £1800
Lot 428. William Lloyd 'Billy' Murdoch. New South Wales, Sussex, London County Australia & England 1875-1904. A pair of brown leather wicket-keeping gloves, inscribed on the left glove 'Presented to Harry Musgrove.... Lords XI by Billy Murdoch 18[..] worn on the tour of England 1878’ presented in a beautifully carved framed with decoration of cricket bats, stumps, bails and balls. A very rare and early item from Australia's inaugural tour of England Hammer: £26000
Lot 429. A mid eighteenth century circa 1740-1750 cricket bat of light wood, possibly willow, with right-handed curve and distinctive hook-shape to base, no shoulders, made by William Pett of Sevenoaks, Kent with two impressed marks 'W. Pett 4' on top of handle and 'Will. Pett Sevenoaks Kent' on the base of the bat. A very rare and early cricket bat Hammer: Unsold
Lot 452. John Richard 'Jack' Mason. Kent & England 1893-1914. A large leather cricket bag containing a set of cricket pads, a cricket bat, a pair of batting gloves, a pair of cricket boots and a Kent C.C.C. County cap, all belonging to and worn by Jack Mason who played over 330 matches for Kent and played five Tests for England as a member of A.E. Stoddart's England touring party to Australia 1897/98. Hammer: Unsold
Lot 471. Cricket at Windsor Castle soup tureen'. A very rare, large and impressive Goodwin & Harris 'Metropolitan Scenery' soup tureen with two blue handles and separate lid with finial printed in blue and embellished with a scene of Windsor Castle and the Thames featuring a cricket match with trees, woodland, buildings and foliage. 17" wide by 11" tall , circa 1830/40's. A rare and magnificent ceramic soup tureen with cricketing scene Hammer: £9500
Lot 477. Doulton Lambeth large stoneware two handled loving cup, in brown, impressed with a delicate white flower and floral decoration, with two moulded relief vignettes in roundels of a batsman playing a shot and a fielder or bowler holding the ball in green on a brown background to either side. 6.5" tall. Excellent example of this rare cricketing ceramic Hammer: £1100
Lot 490. Don Bradman. Australian tour of England 1934. Green glass and ceramic ashtray with chrome metal band to top, made to commemorate Australia winning the Ashes series at The Oval in August 1934. The ashtray was made and presented to Don Bradman after the Ashes win. The sides of the ashtray have the following wording in gold letters 'Cricket. England v Australia. 'The Ashes' won by Australia at The Oval, London. August 22nd 1934' and to the other side 'D.G. Bradman (Vice Captain). Hammer: £750
Lot 535. Alfred Percy Freeman. Kent & England 1914-1936. A two handled hallmarked silver cup presented to Freeman for taking 304 first class wickets in a season and breaking the previous record of Tom Richardson in taking 298 wickets in 1898, this is still the world record today. The cup, on wooden black plinth, stands 10.75" tall and was made by 'Oclee & Son of Folkestone' with hallmarks for London Hammer: £3800
Lot 555. Joseph Durham 1814-1877. Excellent collection of four classic bronze figures of a cricketers in various poses by Durham. The figures with rich brown patina are entitled 'The Bowler', 'The Catch', 'Throwing' and 'Waiting his Innings', the first three stand on a circular bases and the fourth on an oval base, the bases all signed in the bronze 'J. Durham' and the reclining figure 'Waiting his Innings' is also dated '1863’. Hammer: Unsold
Lot 618. William Barlow Carkeek. Victoria & Australia 1903-1915. Excellent sepia real photograph postcard of Carkeek, full length, wearing Australian cap and wicket-keeping attire, taken on the 1912 Australian tour of England for the Triangular Series with England and South Africa. E. Hawkins & Co, Brighton Hammer: £1000
Lot 766. 'Denton Bros.'. Northamptonshire. Excellent mono real photograph postcard of the three Denton brothers, William, Arthur and John, standing full length wearing cricket attire and matching striped blazers, with arms linked. Undated but probably c.1920. E. Hawkins & Co. of Brighton. Hammer: £220
Lot 823. A.E.R. Gilligan and Maurice William Tate. Excellent original sepia real photograph postcard of Gilligan and Tate standing together full length wearing cricket attire and Sussex caps, very nicely signed in ink to the image by both Gilligan and Tate. Hammer: £170
Lot 986. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1875. 12th edition. Bound in black quarter leather with green boards, lacking original paper wrappers, with titles in gilt to spine, marbled page edge. Probably the rarest Wisden edition. From a full run of the early first fifteen editions Hammer: £12000
Lot 1144. Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1896. 33rd edition. Original hardback. The very rare first issue of the original hardback with titles bright Hammer: £8000
Lot 1353. Australia inaugural tour to England 1878. 'Australians v. Hastings and District'. Early and rare official double sided scorecard for the tour match played at Central Recreation Ground, Hastings, 26th- 28th August 1878. From an excellent selection of early cricket scorecards Hammer: £1000
Lot 1376. The Ashes. 'England v. Australia' 1882. Early and original double sided official scorecard for the second Test match to be played in England, Kennington Oval, 28th- 30th August 1882. Australia's famous victory over a full strength England team inspired the legend of 'The Ashes' with the Sporting Times running a mock obituary of English cricket following their defeat Hammer: £10000