Two Upcoming Auctions

Previews of James and Sons’ June Auctions.

INTRODUCTION

My empoloyers, James and Sons, have two auctions coming up in the next week. On Wednesday we are at Fakenham Racecourse for a general sale featuring a wide range of items, and on Saturday we are at The Maids Head Hotel, Norwich for an auction of old, rare cigarette cards. In tbe rest of this post I will give you a preview of both auctions.

CIGARETTE CARDS

The cigarette cards are the first part of a huge collection submitted to us by former Lord Mayor of London Sir Brian Jenkins (he has already expressed his appreciation of this catalogue). Here, as a link to the official catalogue listing on the-saleroom.com is a picture of the front cover of our printed catalogue:

2157 FC

It was my employer who selected the 1896 cricketers set to feature on the front cover, and me who chose the particular cricketers to feature (and, of course, took the photograph). Although W G Grace turned 48 during the course of the 1896 season he still also scored over 2,000 first class runs in it (in 1895 he had set two new records, completing his 100th first class hundred, the first to so, and also scoring 1,000 first class runs in the month of May (starting his season on the 9th and reaching his 1,000 21 days later) including 301 against Sussex. K S Ranjitsinhji deprived the old master of a record he had held since 1871 by racking up 2,780 first class runs in the season beating WGs old tally of 2,739. He also made an extraordinary test debut. On day 2 after Australia had racked up a big score he contributed 62 to England’s first innings, and then in the follow-on he reached 41 not out by the close. Then, having totalled over 100 runs on his first day as a test match batsman he added another 100 before lunch on his second, taking his overnight 41 to 154 not out. In spite of these heroics Australia needed only 125 to win, although a lion-hearted spell of fast bowling from Tom Richardson (6-76) ensured that they had to work for them, the eventual margin being three wickets. 

Here a few photographic highlights:

2001
This is the first lot of the auction
2010
Lot 2010 features in our printed catalogue…
2010-d
This being the picture used.

2010-e2010-f

2010-a
I also gave The Bard the close-up treatment.

2010-b2010-c

2027
Another cricket set…
2027-a
…from which I singled out Herbert Sutcliffe, an embodiment of the phrase “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” – first-class average 52.02, test average 60.73, ashes average 66.85.

2027-b2027-c

2029
Not difficult to select Meteora from this set!

2029-a2029-b2029-c

2050
A Railway set given exhaustive treatment.

2050-a2050-b2050-c2050-d2050-e

2237
Having earlier honoured Herbert Sutcliffe with a close up…
2237-a
…I now did likewise for his most famous opening partner, Jack Hobbs

2237-b2237-c

2267
Lot 2267, a set I already have.

2267-a2267-b2267-c

2279
The close-up I chose from this set features in our printed catalogue.
2279-a
This card is the first time I have even seen mention of a middle name for Hedley Verity (1956 wickets at 14.91 in a decade of doped pitches and Don Bradman’s batting).

2279-b2279-c

2291
Lot 2291

2291-a2291-b

2291-c
The Rocket, officially the world’s first steam locomotive.

2291-d2291-e

2500
Lot 2501
2545
The last lot of the sale, number 2545.

LOTS 2412 AND 2413

These are the two really old sets of cricketers, one of which is valued very highly, the other somewhat less so.

2412
This is the lot from which the front cover image came…

2412-a

2412-b
…and this is the front cover image

2412-c

2413
For this lot I added a couple to the close-up images
2413-a
As well and as Grace and Ranji I featured C B Fry and Gilbert Jessop (the fastest scorer in first-class cricket history – 79 runs an hour, in spite of the fact that for virtually his entire career a ball had to be hit right out of the ground as opposed to merely over the ropes to count six) – I reckon that if you could send a time machine to fetch him he would fetch decent money at an IPL auction!

2413-b2413-c

THE GENERAL AUCTION

I finish this auction by linking to the catalogue listing for Wednesday’s auction:

2156 FC

Most of the books in this auction were described and valued by yours truly, which may give them a chance of selling (but I am not holding my breath.

Author: Thomas

I am a founder member and currently secretary of the West Norfolk Autism Group and am autistic myself. I am a very keen photographer and almost every blog post I produce will feature some of my own photographs. I am an avidly keen cricket fan and often post about that sport.

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