Lot Essay
Almost every plate in this copy and some leaves of text have been used for autographs. The pattern changes but the plate is often autographed by the player shown on the image and by members of a team on the verso. In total, the book is autographed by over 80 teams, the majority teams of 1921 and 1926, but also including some teams of 1902. In addition to this, it contains over 120 autographs of players as individuals (some repeated). The teams include: county sides for 1921 and 1926, M.C.C. 1920-21, Natal 1921, Lionel Robinson's XI 1921, England First, Second, Third and Fourth Test 1921, Eastbourne England XI 1921, South of England 1921, Transvaal XII 1921, South Africa First, Second and Third Test 1921, Australian Tour of England Team 1921, Australian Touring Team 1924-25, England First, Second, Third, [?] Fourth and Fifth Test 1926, C.J. Thornton's England XI 1926, Australian Touring Team 1926. Among the individual autographs are those of Ranjitsinhji, W. G. Grace [3], William Gunn, Laver, Woods, R.E. Foster, Macgregor, Lord Hawke, Jackson, Rhodes, Denton, Haigh, Palairet, Turner, Mason, Llewellyn, Trumble, Clem Hill, Murdoch, Mailey, Oldfield, Hornby, Stoddart, Hayward, Lord Harris, Dillon, Kelley, Marchant and Blythe. It seems probable that an earlier owner of the book concentrated on the collection of individual signatures, some of which certainly pre-date the war, while Jack Gregory himself focussed on the acquirement of the team photographs. With some 1500 autographs in total, this is the largest single collection which Christie's have yet offered for sale, and perhaps the most extensive collection of cricket autographs within the covers of one book that has ever been amassed.