Felix on the Bat; Being a Scientific Inquiry into the use of The Cricket Bat;Together with the History and Use of the Catapulta. Also the Laws of Cricket, as Revised by the Marylebone Club, 1845.
London: Baily Brothers, Cornhill MDCCCXLV [1845].
First Edition. 4to, original half morocco gilt with marbled boards, edges worn; title + pp.41, coloured litho. frontis. & 9 plates, 6 coloured, a few wood-engraved text illustrations. Some faint soiling, remains of ink library stamp on title, occasional ink mss. and spotting.
Nicholas 'Felix' Wanostrocht (1804-76), noted English gentleman cricketer, played for Kent from 1830 until 1852, alongside Alfred Mynn, Fuller Pilch, William Hillyer and Ned Wenman. Besides writing this famous instruction book he invented a bowling machine called the 'Catapulta', described and illustrated here, and batting gloves made from india rubber. According to Abbey this is 'The only colour plate book prior to 1850 devoted to cricket'. The illustrator was George Frederick Watts (1817-1904), who exhibited at the R.A. from 1837. The frontispiece is a visual pun: Felix is shown while standing on the back of a bat flying over a cricket pitch. Further original editions were published in 1850 & 1855.
Abbey Life: 396.
[Ref: 42814] £850.00
First Edition. 4to, original half morocco gilt with marbled boards, edges worn; title + pp.41, coloured litho. frontis. & 9 plates, 6 coloured, a few wood-engraved text illustrations. Some faint soiling, remains of ink library stamp on title, occasional ink mss. and spotting.
Nicholas 'Felix' Wanostrocht (1804-76), noted English gentleman cricketer, played for Kent from 1830 until 1852, alongside Alfred Mynn, Fuller Pilch, William Hillyer and Ned Wenman. Besides writing this famous instruction book he invented a bowling machine called the 'Catapulta', described and illustrated here, and batting gloves made from india rubber. According to Abbey this is 'The only colour plate book prior to 1850 devoted to cricket'. The illustrator was George Frederick Watts (1817-1904), who exhibited at the R.A. from 1837. The frontispiece is a visual pun: Felix is shown while standing on the back of a bat flying over a cricket pitch. Further original editions were published in 1850 & 1855.
Abbey Life: 396.
[Ref: 42814] £850.00