Details
HAMPTON COURT PALACE ROYAL TENNIS COURT, a single ticket to the Championship match, 11/5/1885, Seat No.8, admitting one spectator to Subscriber's Gallery, 3 5/8 x 4¾ in. (9.2 x 12 cm.)
Special notice
VAT rate of 17.5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer’s premium.
Further details
Thought to have been one of the greatest Real Tennis matches ever to have taken place at Hampton Court, the final game for the 1885 Championship was between the Englishman George Lambert and Tom Pettitt, with Pettitt defeating Lambert and thus the title left Europe for the first time. Born at Beckenham in 1860, Pettitt went to America as a boy and learned the game in Boston from Ted Hunt. Pettitt defeated Lambert 2 sets to 0; 6-2-, 6-1. The third set was not finished as Lambert broke down owing to a strain. The marking of the service in this match was taken from the galleries.