CRICKET - LORD HAWKE'S TOUR OF INDIA AND CEYLON, 1892-3 Album of 87 photographs of Lord Hawke's ...

CRICKET - LORD HAWKE'S TOUR OF INDIA AND CEYLON, 1892-3 Album of 87 photographs of Lord Hawke's XI cricket tour party (some showing the team posing with their Indian opposition, 2 signed in the negative by 'Burke & Co.'), views of India and Ceylon/Sri Lanka, etc., compiled by Henry Fitzherbert Wright, a member of the touring party, albumen photographs (69 full-page, 18 half-page or smaller), uneven tones, some fading, mounted on 36 stiff sheets recto and verso, contemporary morocco, gilt lettered 'H.F.W.' on upper cover, gilt edges, oblong folio (310 x 410mm.), [1892-1893] Footnotes: IMPORTANT ALBUM COMPILED BY A MEMBER OF THE CRICKET TEAM LED BY LORD HAWKE TO INDIA AND CEYLON/SRI LANKA IN 1892-3. 'In the history of cricket... Hawke was its great exporter... responsible for organizing and leading cricket tours from England to the farthest corners of what was then the empire' (J.P. Coldham, ODNB). The team played 23 matches (of which 4 first-class), winning 15, drawing 6 and losing 2, mostly notably to a native Parsee XI at Bombay/Mumbai in December 1892, the other to the Behar Wanderers. An historic moment for the development of cricket in India was the first ever match, played at Allahabad in January 1893, held against an All-India XI, a team which included three ethnically Indian players (Mehallasha Pavri, B.D. Gagrat, Nasarvanji Bapasola), the other players Englishmen stationed in India. Hawkes's XI, which included six players who subsequently played for England (Hawke, G.F. Veron, F.S. Jackson, C. Heseltine, C. Wright, and A.J. Hill who top-scored with 132, the maiden first-class century scored in India) won. It was only in 1911 that the first All-India team toured to England. The images include five team photographs of the Hawkes XI, two of which were taken by 'Burke & Co.', including one of the team alone, the others with members of the opposition including the All-India XI. Members of the team are shown informally at other occasions. The majority of the other images, several by Samuel Bourne, are views of India, commemorating places visited by H.F. Wright and the touring party: Amritsar, Allahabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Poona, Bangalore, Agra, Lucknow, Peshawar, Radella, Muzaffarpur, etc. Provenance: Henry Fitzherbert Wright (1870-1947), gilt-stamped initials 'H.F.W.' on upper cover of the album. Eton-educated Wright made his debut for his native Derbyshire in the 1891 season, and the following winter was a member of Lord Hawke's XI. Whilst building his practice as a lawyer, Wright put aside first-class cricket before resurrecting his career with Derbyshire in the 1904-1905 seasons. In later life he was Conservative Member of Parliament for Leominster from 1912-1918. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing