Grosvenor Prints

Caleb Baldwin.
Published by John McGowan, G.t Windmill S.t [1826].
Stipple. 190 x 110mm (7½ x 4¼"). Stained.
Caleb Ramsbottom (1769-1827), aka Caleb Baldwin, lightweight bare-knuckle boxer. From John Badcock's 'The Fancy; or The True Sportsman’s Guide: Being Authentic Memoirs of the Lives, Actions, Prowess, and Battles of the Leading Pugilists, from the Days of Figg and Broughton, to the Championship of Ward. By an Operator'.
[Ref: 50616] £70.00 (£84.00 incl.VAT)

Les Boxeurs anglais.
Lith de C.Molle, R.des marais.
[n.d., c.1840.]
Lithograph. Sheet 160 x 190mm, 6¼ x 7½".
A rare boxing print,.with the fighters using rudimentary gloves.
[Ref: 10341] £180.00 (£216.00 incl.VAT)

[La boxe.] [Boxing.]
Chaurand [signed in plate lower right.]
[n.d., c.1930.]
Limited edition proof lithograph, numbered 4/24 in pencil lower left. Sheet 450 x 560mm, 17¾ x 22".
A black and a white boxer fighting. From a series of lithographs depicting Olympic sports, 'Les jeux Olympiques', possibly designs for posters, by Jean Raoul Chaurand-Naurac (1878 - 1948).
[Ref: 11358] £250.00 (£300.00 incl.VAT)

Scènes Anglaises dessinées à Londres, par un français prisonnier de Guerre. Les Boxeurs. [&] Le Boxeur Blesse et ses Parieurs Consternes.
A Paris, chez Martinet Libraire, Rue du Coq St. Honore. [1814.]
Pair of hand coloured etchings, each c.255 x 330mm. 10 x 13".
Interesting scenes of an informal street boxing match, as viewed by a Frenchman in England; in the first plate a crowd of interested onlookers (including a ragged woman, to left) watch two pugilists, stripped to the waist, square off. In the second, one fighter is slumped exhausted on the knee of a supporter; a fat publican pours the contents of a tankard into his mouth. Two deeply dejected men stand by, having presumably lost their bets, and the woman kneels, gazing up at the injured man. Behind (right) the other boxer stands in back view, surrounded by a little group of backers. For the series 'Scènes Anglaises dessinées à Londres...' by Aaron Martinet (1762 - 1841). Plates numbered '3' and '4'.
BM Satires: 12352.
[Ref: 14007] £650.00 view all images for this item

Boxiana; or Sketches of Antient & Modern Pugilism.
[Pierce Egan.]
[n.d. c.1813.]
4to; green-speckled board covers with title in gilt on green leather spine. 63 pages, illustrations and frontis; some doubles.
Boxiana was the title given to a series of volumes of boxing articles written by Pierce Egan (1772-1849). He gathered his boxing articles in a bound volume and published them under the title "Boxiana; or Sketches of Antient & Modern Pugilism". Includes images of Broughton, Dan Donnelly, Harry Jones, Peter Crawley, Jem Ward, Thomas Belcher, Tom Owen, Ned Painter, Cribb, Dick Curtis, Bill Neat, Molineux, Johnson and Slack.
[Ref: 23818] £1,450.00

A Prize Fight.
H. Alken del.t. I. Clark sculp.t.
London, Published by T. McLean, Jan.y 1. 1820.
Fine hand-coloured aquatint. Plate: 280 x 380mm (11 x 15"), with very large margins. Stain on left margin
A sporting scene showing two men in a boxing match watched by a large crowd. From 'The National Sports of Great Britain' by Henry Alken.
[Ref: 46245] £340.00

Le Maitre de Chausson.
Pouquet. Porret.
[n.d., c.1842.]
Etching. Sheet: 250 x 165mm (9¾ x 6½''). Foxing.
A portrait of a boxer from Théophile Gautier's 'Le Maitre de Chausson' 1842.
[Ref: 49029] £45.00 (£54.00 incl.VAT)

True Nobility of Blood, a scene at Brighton.
[n.d.]
Etching with hand colouring. 170 x 110mm (6¾ x 4¼"). Trimmed
Four dishevelled men in noble dress stand with their fists poised in the street, a couple of their hats lay discarded on the ground. A crowd is gathered behind them and an older man in a nearby first floor window cries out gesturing for them to stop.
Not in BM
[Ref: 56584] £260.00 (£312.00 incl.VAT)

[Boxing. Set of 12 Plates].
Ch. Genty.
[n.d. c. 1923.]
Set of twelves coloured etchings. 135 x 110mm (5¼ x 4¼").
A set of twelve etchings by Charles Genty that follow the narrative of a boy who is inspired to become a boxer and, with hard work, achieves his goal.
[Ref: 56648] £480.00 view all images for this item

[Going to a Fight.]
Isaac Robert Cruikshank.
Sherwood & co [n.d. September 1st 1819.]
Etching and aquatint. 60 x 495mm (2¼ x 19½"). Some creasing and staining with nicks and holes in the margins.
The seventh strip in Cruikshank's 'Going to a Fight' series, which measured roughly four feet in total. When altogether the strips were rolled tightly into a container with a printed inscription reading '[Illustra]ting the sporting world in all its variety of style and costume along the road from Hyde Park Corner to Moulsey Hurst.' In this strip parts 27-34 are labelled from right to left. The central scene depicts a popular boxing match, with large semi-circular crowd and a 'betting stand' at the back.
F. Siltzer: 325.
[Ref: 56766] £480.00

December_ ''Boxing Day''.
George Cruikshank.
[n.d. 1843]
Etching. 95 x 140mm (3¾ x 5½"). Laid on album paper with trimmed corners.
A boxing day scene with a distinct 'boxing' theme; each sign or activity has is relating to box or boxing, from the 'Box Office' to two men boxing.
[Ref: 56649] £45.00 (£54.00 incl.VAT)

Voila-t-on Mort!!! Boxing Extraordinary _ or _ a Noble Fall _!!!!!!
Etch'd by G. Cruikshank.
Pub.d July 17.th 1819 by G. Humphrey 27 S.t James's S.t London.
Etching with letterpress, on Turkey Mill Whatman paper; 210 x 250mm (8¼ x 9¾").
A man lies on the floor of a stately room in complete disarray with blood gushing from his nose after the man to his right has just thrown a punch. A third man exclaims in the doorway, dropping his bottle of champagne. A small dog barks in the corner.
[Ref: 56586] £260.00 (£312.00 incl.VAT)

Description of a Boxing Match, June 9th 1812.
Rowlandson 1812.
Pub.d March 1st 1812 by Th. Rowlandson, N1 James Street, Adelphi.
Coloured etching. 355 x 255mm (14 x 10"). Paper slightly toned. Cut without nine-line description of the fight.
A caricature of the brutal bare-knuckled match with Rowlandson giving as much attention to the braying spectators as to the boxers. Ward, the better boxer, was beaten by Quirk, the stronger man.
Not in the BM.
[Ref: 58502] £650.00

[Modern Boxing - The Referee.] [Mss. to verso in pencil, also to label in ink.]
Harry Rountree [signed in paint, lower right.]
[British, n.d., c.1920.]
Original pencil, watercolour and bodycolour study for an illustration; paper mounted on original "Whatman" artists' board, rare. 365 x 270mm, 14¼ x 10½". Some foxing and surface blemishes.
A striking composition showing two boxers "holding" in the centre of a ring, the referee in black a tiny and marginal figure lower left; and utterly helpless spectator, he is powerless to separate the fighters and wrings his hands. A crowd is skilfully suggested through the ropes in the background. Harry Rountree (1880 - 1950) is most famous for his work illustrating Bernard Darwin's The Golf Courses of the British Isles; but he was also an illustrator for several British magazines.
[Ref: 21072] £680.00

Mr. Iohn Broughton, Famous for his skill in the Athletic Art of Boxing, & Now one of his Majesty's Yeoman of the Guards.
Pubd. Novr. 18, 1787 by W. Richardson at his Ancient & Modern Print Warehouse No.174 Strand.
Mezzotint printed in brown ink, a 19th century impression from the reissued plate by Richardson. 330 x 220mm, 13 x 8¾".
Oval portrait of John ('Jack') Broughton (c.1703 - 1789), boxer. Broughton was a heavyweight boxing champion, the formulator of the first set of boxing rules, and the inventor of mufflers, the forerunners of modern boxing gloves. Originally a waterman on the River Thames, Broughton fought semi-professionally throughout the 1730s. His fights attracted large audiences, and he gained a sizable reputation. Broughton became England's third champion heavyweight boxer after beating George Taylor in 1734, and he held this title until 1750. He taught boxing and operated a boxing arena in Hanway Street, London, from 1742 until his death. The rules of boxing that he codified in 1743 remained in effect until 1838, when they were superseded by the London Prize Ring Rules. He was probably appointed as Yeoman of the Guards by 1743.
See Chaloner Smith: 11, II (Engraver not ascertained: Class II).
[Ref: 17769] £280.00 (£336.00 incl.VAT)

Broughton, many years Champion of England.
Published by J. McGowan, G.t Windmill S.t [1826].
Stipple. Sheet 210 x 125mm (8¼ x 5"). Trimmed within plate, small tear in bottom edge.
Half-length portrait of John Broughton (1705-1789), possibly after John Ellys (1701-57). As a Thames Waterman, he fought a colleague so successfully he turned professional. He was patronised by the Duke of Cumberland, who procured him a place in the Yeomen of the Guard, but the relationship ended when Broughton lost a fight on which the Duke had wagered £1000. At his funeral his pall-bearers included the boxers Humphries, Mendoza, Big Ben, Ward, Ryan and Johnston. From John Badcock's 'The Fancy; or The True Sportsman’s Guide: Being Authentic Memoirs of the Lives, Actions, Prowess, and Battles of the Leading Pugilists, from the Days of Figg and Broughton, to the Championship of Ward. By an Operator'.
[Ref: 50613] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

[John Smith, alias Buckhorse.]
[after Daniel Dodd.]
Published by J. McGowan, Great Windmill Street, 1825 [but 1826].
Stipple. 160 x 100mm (6¼ x 4"), large margins.
Half-length portrait of John Smith, a.k.a. Buckhorse (boxer, fl.1720-50), adapted from the portrait by Daniel Dodd. He earned his nickname riding for the Duke of Queensberry, the inveterate gambler. In later life, for a few shillings Buckhorse would allow people to punch him in the head as hard as they could, so such a blow became known as a 'Buckhorse'. Probably as a result of these blows, a common expression of the period was 'as ugly as Buckhorse'. From John Badcock's 'The Fancy; or The True Sportsman’s Guide: Being Authentic Memoirs of the Lives, Actions, Prowess, and Battles of the Leading Pugilists, from the Days of Figg and Broughton, to the Championship of Ward. By an Operator'.
[Ref: 50610] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Buckhorse.
[after Daniel Dodd.]
[n.d, c.1760.]
A very scarce mezzotint, proof before letters. 355 x 250mm (14 x 10").
John Smith, alias Buckhorse, boxer, fl.1720-50. 'Memoirs of the Noted Buckhorse' is the earliest known autobiography of an English boxer.
CS: ENA 142; NPG D9151. Ex: Collection of The Hon. C. Lennox-Boyd.
[Ref: 1834] £480.00

Carter and Fairbairn. [&] Pat in a Difficulty [verso].
Bey.n Bingley Lithographer. 1 Nomalds Row Alban St. Leeds.
[n.d.]
Lithograph. 280 x 360mm (11 x 14"). Some creasing.
Two men box beside a country road while two others consider placing bets. On verso is a satirical scene in which a young peasant man is persuaded to join the navy by a conservative MP. Boxing item.
[Ref: 56588] £140.00 (£168.00 incl.VAT)

The Doctor. of the National Sporting Club taken from Life.
Drawn & Etchd by George Belcher March, 1918.
Hand coloured etching, signed by the artist in pencil. 290 x 210mm (11½ x 8¼"). Unexamined out of frame.
The sitter is identified as 'Dr Collins' in ink on plate lower right. Doctor Collins was medical officer of National Sporting Club, a private boxing club founded in London in 1891, at 43 King Street, Covent Garden. The founders were John Fleming and A.F. “Peggy” Bettinson, and Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale was its first president. The club was run under very strict rules regarding both the boxers and the members. Bouts would take place after dinner, before about 1,300 members and guests. The bouts would be fought in silence as no talking was permitted during the rounds. The club built up a great tradition of sportsmanship and fair play. In 1909, the president introduced the Lonsdale Belt as a prize to be awarded to the British champion at each weight. The belts were made from porcelain and twenty-two carat gold. By George Frederick Arthur Belcher ARA (1875 - 1947).
[Ref: 11721] £220.00 (£264.00 incl.VAT)

Rural Sports. Cornish Wrestling.
Published March 1. 1800, by J. Wheble, Warwick Court.
Etching on india, 110 x 175mm. 4¼ x 7". A fine example, with wide margins, uncut.
West Country villagers crowding around to watch a one-armed wrestling contest between two men; a church and inn in the background. For the 'Sporting Magazine' periodical.
[Ref: 23543] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Tho.s Cribb.
Eng.d by Percy Roberts from a painting by Sharples.
Published by Sherwood, Jones & Co, May 1. 1824.
Stipple. Sheet size: 205 x 135mm (8 x 5¼"). Trimmed inside platemark.
A bust portrait of English bare-knuckle boxer of the 19th century Tom Cribb (1781 - 1848), directed to the left, facing the front, with his left fist raised in front of him. On 10th December 1810, Cribb fought an American, former slave Tom Molineaux, at Shenington Hollow in Oxfordshire. Cribb beat Molineaux in 35 rounds and became World champion.
[Ref: 50252] £65.00 (£78.00 incl.VAT)

Cribb's Parlour. Tom introducing Jerry and Logic to the Champion of England.
Drawn & Eng.d by I.R. & G. Cruikshank.
Pub'd by Sherwood, Neely & Jones, Jan. 1, 1822.
Coloured aquatint. Sheet 145 x 230mm (5¾ x 9"). Trimmed within plate, binding notches affecting publication line.
The interior of the Union Arms, Panton Street, which Tom Cribb ran after retiring from boxing, the walls filled with boxing pictures. A man holds up a prize cup. From Pierce Egan's "Life in London; or, the Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn, Esq. and his elegant friend Corinthian Tom, accompanied by Bob Logic, the Oxonian, in their rambles and sprees through the metropolis".
[Ref: 60991] £70.00 (£84.00 incl.VAT)

Crib Uncorking Blackstrap. 98.
W. E_s [William Elmes] Scu.t.
16 Octo.r 1811 Publ.d by Tho.s Tegg. 111 Cheapside London. Prince One Shillin Coloured.
Coloured etching. 350 x 250mm (13¾ x 9¾"). Colour slightly faded, laid on card.
Tom Cribb uncorking a bottle containing a negro's face, with admirers cheering him on. Tom Cribb (1781-1848) retained his title of boxing champion of England by beating American Thomas Molineux (1784-1818), a former slave, at Thissleton Gap, Leicester, on 28 September, 1811, breaking his jaw and knocking him out. Black Strap was a low-quality thick sweet port.
BM Satires 11755.
[Ref: 58504] £550.00

W.m Eales.
Published by J. McGowan, G.t Windmill S.t [1826].
Stipple. 200 x 120mm (8 x 4¾"). Trimmed within plate at sides.
Bill Eales, a carpenter, bare-chested, fists raised. A sparring expert with a superior knowledge of the science, he sparred with Jem Belcher and George Head, but made only two prize ring appearances, gaining an unexpected win against Jack Lancaster in 1814 but losing to Jack Scroggins in 1815. From John Badcock's 'The Fancy; or The True Sportsman’s Guide: Being Authentic Memoirs of the Lives, Actions, Prowess, and Battles of the Leading Pugilists, from the Days of Figg and Broughton, to the Championship of Ward. By an Operator'.
[Ref: 50618] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

W.m Eales. The Scientific Professor in his attitude of Seld Defence. Height 5 feet 8½ Inch. Weight 11 Stone 4lb. Age 27. N.B. Portraits of all the Principal Pugilists will be executed in a uniform style.
Drawn from the life & Etch'd by Easto.
London Pub. Feb. 23 1819 by S.W. Fores 50 Piccadilly.
Etching on Whatman paper watermarked 1816. 415 x 290mm. Trimmed to plate at sides, some wear.
[Ref: 6888] £240.00 (£288.00 incl.VAT)

Gorilla Fight. He awoke the next Morning and found Himself Famous!!
London: Published by T. McLean 26 Haymarket [n.d., c.1860]
Four very scarce engraved plates in original wrappers, slim oblong folio, 215 x 285mm (8½ x 11¼"). Wrappers chipped and soiled, small tears and slight foxing to plates.
Attributed to William Makepeace Thackeray and possibly Thomas Landseer. The copy in the Morris L. Parrish Collection of Victorian Novelists (Princeton University Library) has an additional leaf of letterpress and Thomas Landseer's name inscribed on the wrapper. Probably issued as a reaction against bare-knuckle prize fighting in Britain.
[Ref: 19411] £990.00 view all images for this item

Tom Hickman.
Drawn by G. Sharples. Eng.d by Percy Roberts.
[n.d. c.1823.]
Stipple and etching with large margins. Plate 190 x 140mm (7½ x 5½").
Tom Hickman (1785-1822), boxer. In 1821 he was said to have engaged in a fight with Bill Neate. Hickman was a controversial fighter, dubbed 'the gas-light man', because he had been to London to construct the boilers and restorts of the new gas light factories. Plate to Pierce Egan's 'Boxiana'.
For Egan's 'Boxiana' see ref. 23818.
[Ref: 29568] £50.00 (£60.00 incl.VAT)

David Hudson.
[Published by John McGowan, Great Windmill Street, 1826.]
Stipple. 200 x 120mm (8 x 4¾"). Trimmed.
David Hudson, bare-chested, fists raised. Brother of John Hudson. From John Badcock's 'The Fancy; or The True Sportsman’s Guide: Being Authentic Memoirs of the Lives, Actions, Prowess, and Battles of the Leading Pugilists, from the Days of Figg and Broughton, to the Championship of Ward. By an Operator'.
[Ref: 50621] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Humphreys. The Celebrated Boxer.
Painted by W.Whitby. Engrav'd by J.Young.
London, Publish'd by W.m Whitby Sep.r 1788 No 99 Holborn.
Mezzotint with scratch letters. 340 x 250mm.
Known as the 'gentleman' boxer.
CS: 40, state ii of ii, but an unlisted third state is known, with closed letters. Ex: Collection of The Hon. C. Lennox-Boyd.
[Ref: 6588] £360.00

Humphreys The Celebrated Boxer.
Painted by W.Whitby. Engrav'd by J.Young.
Publish'd Jan.y 1789, by W.Whitby, No 59 Poland Street London.
Mezzotint. 340 x 250mm, 13½ x 9¾". Late impression. Platemark cracked.
Richard Humphreys, known as the 'gentleman' boxer, painted just before his famous bout with his protegé Daniel Mendoza, 1788.
CS: 40, this example a later state not listed, not 1788 as CS.
[Ref: 16954] £220.00 (£264.00 incl.VAT)

"I Will Fight."
Painted by Philip Simpson. Engraved by H. Meyer, 3 Red Lion Square, Bloomsbury.
London. James Hawkings, Printseller, 4 Great Surrey St. Blackfriars.
Stipple. 293 x 236mm. 11½ x 9¼". Trimmed to the plate. Laid some repairs.
A boy holds his young brother, who bears his fists ready to fight, sporting a face of anger and anguish. A boxing item.
[Ref: 17869] £120.00 (£144.00 incl.VAT)

Tom Jones, (Commonly called Paddington Jones.)
Published by J. McGowan, G.t Windmill S.t [1826].
Stipple. Sheet 200 x 115mm (8 x 4½") Trimmed within plate left and bottom. Staining on left.
Paddington Tom Jones (1766-1833), active as a bare-knuckle boxer from 1785 to 1805, belived to have fought more bouts than any other. In 1799 he lost to Jem Belcher in the Middleweight Championship of England. Jones was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010. From John Badcock's 'The Fancy; or The True Sportsman’s Guide: Being Authentic Memoirs of the Lives, Actions, Prowess, and Battles of the Leading Pugilists, from the Days of Figg and Broughton, to the Championship of Ward. By an Operator'.
[Ref: 50614] £90.00 (£108.00 incl.VAT)

Les Lutteurs des Alpes.
F. Volz, del. L. Staub, sc.
[n.d. c.1800.]
Aquatint. 260 x 324mm. 10¼ x 12¾". Some slight foxing.
Two pairs of men fighting with male and female spectators around; the Alps seen behind as a backdrop.
[Ref: 25115] £140.00 (£168.00 incl.VAT)

John Martin. He was by trade a baker...
Drawn & Etched from the life by Easto.
London Pub. Feb.y 1st 1819 by S.W. Fores, 50 Piccadilly [but later].
Coloured etching. 415 x 285mm (16¼ x 11¼") very large margins Some restoration lower left.
A boxer, fists raised.
[Ref: 57979] £260.00 (£312.00 incl.VAT)

Daniel Mendoza & Richard Humphreys. This Boxing Match took place at Doncaster Sep.r 29th 1790, on a Twenty four foot stage and was the third public contest between those two pugilists. It lasted for about an hour & five minutes & was decisive in favour of Mendoza.
Drawn by C.R. Ryley. Engraved by J. Grozer.
[n.d., engraved c.1790 but printed later.]
Stipple with etching and hand colour. 275 x 355mm (10¾ x 14"), large margins. Repaired tears, one entering plate top right.
Daniel Mendoza (1763-1836), a Jewish boxer from Whitechapel, fighting a grudge match against Richard Humphreys, his former mentor, trainer and manager.
[Ref: 57977] £260.00 (£312.00 incl.VAT)

George Nichols.
Published by J. McGowan, G.t Windmill S.t [1826].
Stipple. Sheet 210 x 120mm (8¼ x 4¾"). Trimmed within plate at sides.
George Nichols, a butcher from Bristol, George Nichols, was the only boxer to defeat Tom Cribb, after 52 rounds in 1805. He returned to his original trade and many accounts expunge his victory, describing Cribb as undefeated. From John Badcock's 'The Fancy; or The True Sportsman’s Guide: Being Authentic Memoirs of the Lives, Actions, Prowess, and Battles of the Leading Pugilists, from the Days of Figg and Broughton, to the Championship of Ward. By an Operator'.
[Ref: 50615] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Henry Pearce, scientifically denominated The Game Chicken.
Published by J. McGowan, G.t Windmill S.t [1826].
Stipple. 200 x 120mm (8 x 4¾"). Trimmed within plate at sides.
Henry Pearce (1777-1809), known as "The Game Chicken" probably because he signed his name "Hen" instead of Henry. The recognised English Champion from 1804 until his retirement due to ill health in 1807, he beat Jem Belcher in a Championship decider in 1805. From John Badcock's 'The Fancy; or The True Sportsman’s Guide: Being Authentic Memoirs of the Lives, Actions, Prowess, and Battles of the Leading Pugilists, from the Days of Figg and Broughton, to the Championship of Ward. By an Operator'.
[Ref: 50619] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

A Prize Fight.
H. Alken delt. I. Clark sculpt.
London, Published by T. McLean, Jany, 1, 1820.
Etching with coloured aquatint. 375 x 275mm. Faint trace of old mount window inside plate mark.
First edition.
[Ref: 62] £380.00

A Prize Fight.
H. Alken del.t I. Clark sculp.t
London, Published by T, Mc.Lean, Jany. 1. 1820.
Hand-coloured aquatint, Arthur Ackermann framed. Visible sheet area 229 x 324mm. 9 x 12¾". Slight offsetting. In mount.
Two men poised to fight with two men behind each fighter; spectators behind a bar. Plate 38 from 'National Sports of Great Britain'.
Siltzer: p.70.
[Ref: 25715] £480.00

The Pugilistic Society. Engraved for the Carlton House Magazine.
[London, c.1794.]
Engraving. 185 x 110mm (7¼ x 4¼"), with page of letterpress with description of the plate. Small margins
A satirical scene showing a drinking club with a picture of a boxing match on the wall. Two of the members seem to be sparring. The description takes the form of a letter, from 'Frederic Fisticuff' to the editor of the Carlton House Magazine, describing how he was introduced to the club by 'A Certain duke, skilled in the science of pugilism'.
[Ref: 45826] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)

[Bill Richmond] Richmond the Black.
Published by J. McGowan, Great Windmill Street [1826].
Stipple. 195 x 120mm (7¾ x 4¾"). Trimmed to image at sides.
Bill Richmond (1763-1829), born a slave on Staten Island, NY. In his early teens a tavern brawl with several Redcoats brought him to the attention of British general Earl Percy, fighting contests arranged by Percy as entertainment for his guests. In 1777 Percy sent Richmond to England to apprentice as a carpenter, but he continued to fight, beating George Moore, Paddy Green and Frank Mayers, but was defeated by Tom Cribb. He then started training with Thomas Molineaux, another freed slave, and opened a boxing academy in London . From John Badcock's 'The Fancy; or The True Sportsman’s Guide: Being Authentic Memoirs of the Lives, Actions, Prowess, and Battles of the Leading Pugilists, from the Days of Figg and Broughton, to the Championship of Ward. By an Operator'.
[Ref: 50612] £190.00 (£228.00 incl.VAT)

A Striking View of Richmond.
Drawn, Etch'd & Pub'd By Dighton, 6 Charing Cross, March 1810.
Etching with hand colour. 325 x 220mm (12¾ x 8¾''), paper watermarked 1812? Colour faded.
A portrait of Bill Richmond (1763-1829), born a slave in Richmondtown, Staten Island, Richmond moved to England in 1777 and spent the rest of his life there. After being educated Richmond was apprenticed to a cabinet maker in York. While in Yorkshire he fought in several boxing matches, and then in 1795 he moved to London and ran the pub the Horse and Dolphin in Leicester Square, he made his name boxing and he fought against Tom Cribb, George Maddox, Tom Molineaux and Tom Shelton. The title jokily refers to topographical views of Richmond, Surrey.
Siltzer:p327. BM Satire 11587.
[Ref: 57975] £260.00 (£312.00 incl.VAT)

Jack Slack, the Conqueror of Broughton.
Published by J. McGowan, Great Windmill Street [1826].
Stipple. 145 x 95mm (5¾ x 9¾"), with very large margins. Split in top platemark.
Half-length portrait of John ‘Jack’ Slack (c.1721-68), aka the ‘Norfolk Butcher’ or ‘Knight of the Cleaver’. A bare knuckle fighter, he was the first boxer to beat Jack Broughton (a fight on which it is rumoured the Duke of Cumberland lost £1,000); and in 1754 he beat Frenchman Jean Pettit, winning what is regarded to be the first international Heavyweight fight. From John Badcock's 'The Fancy; or The True Sportsman’s Guide: Being Authentic Memoirs of the Lives, Actions, Prowess, and Battles of the Leading Pugilists, from the Days of Figg and Broughton, to the Championship of Ward. By an Operator'.
[Ref: 50611] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Duel entre Noirs.
N. Maurin del. Lith. de Villain. d'apres le Croquis de J. Arago.
[Paris, c.1839.]
Lithograph, sheet 145 x 240mm. 5¾ x 9½".
Two fighting Africans, possibly slaves on a South American plantation. Plate to 'Souvenirs d'un aveugle (blind man)' by Jacques Etienne Victor Arago (1790 - 1855). A French writer, artist and explorer, Arago joined Louis de Freycinet on his 1817 voyage around the world aboard the ship Uranie, which inspired his witty 'Voyage autour du monde'. Although he lost his sight in 1837, he went on travelling and writing for the theatre.
[Ref: 11027] £95.00 (£114.00 incl.VAT)

Ye roaring Blades who nightly rove, / Ye fam'd Broughtonian Sons; / With pleasure cast your Eyes above / And stag poor Bucky's Muns. / Like greater Blackguards he ne'er rails / For Pension, Place or Fee; / But honest Industry prevails / Nor dreads the fatal Tree.
Publish & Sold by Tho.s Bowen Printseller at ye Golden Pallet in Shug Lane near the Haymarket St James's. [1742]
A very scarce copper engraving. 322 x 204mm. 12¾ x 8". Small tear to the right-hand edge. Trimmed just inside platemark.
Portrait of John 'Buckhorse' Smith [1732-1746] running through Covent Garden holding his hat; St Paul's Church behind to the right. Buckhorse Smith was another famous fighting man, whose ugliness was probably a result of some form of infantile encephalitis. Whatever the reason, his head was big and bulbous at the top and his face pinched and narrow. He was born, according to Eccentric Magazine, “in the house of a sinner” in the notorious Lewkner’s Lane near Drury Lane, where rogues, thieves and ne’er-do-wells gathered to eke out their grimy, violent and precarious existences. Buckhorse learned to steal, and then to fight, with equal mastery and through his appearances at Figg’s Academy and then under Broughton, he became something of a cult celebrity. He ranked high for courage and strength among the boxers of his day and displayed great muscular powers in the battles he had contested. “As ugly as Buckhorse” became a cliché of the time. Buckhorse was never a champion, but apparently his strange looks belied his talents. He was sought after by ladies, who it was said regarded him as enthusiastic and energetic in the arts of love. He died in a ditch one wintry night, cuddling his last bottle of gin. The earliest known autobiography of an English boxer, Memoirs of the Noted Buckhorse, is printed in London. He was never much of a boxer, and reportedly earned his living picking pockets and singing in the streets (it is said that he "sucked in the love of gin" from his first nurse). In 1767 Buckhorse was also the subject of an ode by Christopher Anstey; this too celebrated the man about town rather than the pugilist. The 1745 rebellion brought the heads of fresh victims to the Bar, and this was the last triumph of barbarous justice. Colonel Francis Townley's was the sixth head. Townley was hanged on Kennington Common. Before the carts drove away, the men flung their prayer-books, written speeches, and gold-laced hats gaily to the crowd. As soon as they were dead the hangman cut down the bodies, disemboweled, beheaded, and quartered them, throwing the hearts into the fire. A monster—a fighting-man of the day, named Buckhorse—is said to have actually eaten a piece of Townley's flesh, to show his loyalty.
[Ref: 21298] £230.00 (£276.00 incl.VAT)

Thomas Spring, Champion of England.
[Published by John McGowan, Great Windmill Street, 1826.]
Stipple. 200 x 120mm (8 x 4¾"). Trimmed within plate at sides.
Tom Spring (born Thomas Winter, 1795-1851), an English bare-knuckle fighter, who was heavyweight champion of England from 1821 until his retirement in 1824. From John Badcock's 'The Fancy; or The True Sportsman’s Guide: Being Authentic Memoirs of the Lives, Actions, Prowess, and Battles of the Leading Pugilists, from the Days of Figg and Broughton, to the Championship of Ward. By an Operator'.
[Ref: 50620] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Taking Courage.
R. Dagley del. W. H. Brooke sculp.
London published by John Warren, Old Bond Street, and g. & W. E. Whittaker Ave Maria Lane.
Coloured etching. 150 x 240mm (6 x 9½").
Three men stand on a raised deck, two stripped to the waist with fists raised and one, fully clothed, propping up one of the fighters who leans against his back. Two discarded bottles lie at their feet.
[Ref: 56591] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Taking Courage.
R. Dagley del. W.H. Brooke sculp.
London, Published by John Warren, Old Bond Street, and G. & W.B. Whittaker, Ave Maria Lane. [n.d. c.1821.]
Fine hand-coloured etching. 147 x 241mm. 5¾ x 9½".
On a jetty, two men prepare to box; obviously influenced by the red-faced man stood with his back against one; bottles on the ground. From "Takings or, the Life of a Collegian".
[Ref: 24028] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)

A Visit to the Fives Court. Engraved for the Annals of Sporting & Fancy Gazette
Designed & Etched by J. R. Cruikshank.
Pub.d by Sherwood. Neely & Jones Aug.t 1.st 1822.
Coloured etching. 205 x 255mm (8 x 10"). Two vertical creases as normal, time staining and some foxing in the top margin.
Two professional boxers fight in a ring for a large crowd.
[Ref: 56587] £220.00 (£264.00 incl.VAT)

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