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Details
SAMUEL BRITCHER
A Complete List of All the Grand Matches of Cricket that have been played in the Year 1793. London: [Cane and Glindon], printed in the year 1793. 8vo (220 x 132mm). 28p. Title woodcut. (Heavy creasemarks and some soiling to title, soil mark on p. 7, printing fault on p. 17, some soiling and creasing to corners.) Original plain blue wrappers with contemporary manuscript date '1793' (neatly rebacked), modern blue cloth folder. Provenance: contemporary annotations (on pp. 8, 16 and final blank) -- [A.L. Ford (1843-1924)].
FOURTH YEAR OF ISSUE. UNCUT COPY IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS, ONE OF ONLY FOUR COPIES RECORDED in Allen's census. Two copies are in institutional libraries (the Hammond copy at Lord's and the Brockbank-Cole copy at John Rylands), while one is in private ownership. The 28 pages (the last blank) cover 26 matches, most played for wagers of either 500 or 1000 guineas. Page 8 is devoted to a match at Lord's in mid June when Seven of Surrey and Sussex and Four Gentlemen played Seven of All England and Four Gentlemen. In Surrey's massive score of 453, Tom Walker, whose name is mid-way down the batting order, made 138 before being bowled by Boxall; the Earl of Winchilsea 56 bowled Fennex; and Beldam, though last in the order, 77 before hitting his wicket. All England were dismissed for 66 and 68, giving Surrey victory by an innings and 299 runs. The owner of this copy was an eye-witness, calling it 'an astonishing match. I saw T. Walker & Ld. Winchelsea went in first & J. Wells went in when Ld. Winchelsea was bowled out.' An observation which reveals that in pratice the actual batting order could differ from the order given in the scores (Walker opened with Lord Winchilsea and Beldam may not have batted last). The blank verso of the last leaf has been used to make a note of overall batting averages, for example: 'T. Walker 481 in 13 matches, Beldam 438 in 13 matches, Ld Winchelsea 373 in 17 matches.' Top of these averages is T. Walker who 'on an average in every match he playd got 37 runs'. That interest should be shown in averages so early in the history of the game is truly remarkable. Bowlers do not receive the same attention from the annotator, and Britcher does not credit them with wickets that fall to catches. The names of Cane and Glindon are omitted from the imprint, but the attractive vignette on the title-page is the same as that used in their previous edition of 1792. AN ISSUE OF GREAT RARITY, UNCUT AND IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS, WITH CONTEMPORARY ANNOTATIONS OF THE HIGHEST INTEREST. Allen 9; Allen, Samuel Britcher: The Hidden Scorer, p.9; Allen, Britcher's Scores, pp. 42-50; Padwick 869.
A Complete List of All the Grand Matches of Cricket that have been played in the Year 1793. London: [Cane and Glindon], printed in the year 1793. 8vo (220 x 132mm). 28p. Title woodcut. (Heavy creasemarks and some soiling to title, soil mark on p. 7, printing fault on p. 17, some soiling and creasing to corners.) Original plain blue wrappers with contemporary manuscript date '1793' (neatly rebacked), modern blue cloth folder. Provenance: contemporary annotations (on pp. 8, 16 and final blank) -- [A.L. Ford (1843-1924)].
FOURTH YEAR OF ISSUE. UNCUT COPY IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS, ONE OF ONLY FOUR COPIES RECORDED in Allen's census. Two copies are in institutional libraries (the Hammond copy at Lord's and the Brockbank-Cole copy at John Rylands), while one is in private ownership. The 28 pages (the last blank) cover 26 matches, most played for wagers of either 500 or 1000 guineas. Page 8 is devoted to a match at Lord's in mid June when Seven of Surrey and Sussex and Four Gentlemen played Seven of All England and Four Gentlemen. In Surrey's massive score of 453, Tom Walker, whose name is mid-way down the batting order, made 138 before being bowled by Boxall; the Earl of Winchilsea 56 bowled Fennex; and Beldam, though last in the order, 77 before hitting his wicket. All England were dismissed for 66 and 68, giving Surrey victory by an innings and 299 runs. The owner of this copy was an eye-witness, calling it 'an astonishing match. I saw T. Walker & Ld. Winchelsea went in first & J. Wells went in when Ld. Winchelsea was bowled out.' An observation which reveals that in pratice the actual batting order could differ from the order given in the scores (Walker opened with Lord Winchilsea and Beldam may not have batted last). The blank verso of the last leaf has been used to make a note of overall batting averages, for example: 'T. Walker 481 in 13 matches, Beldam 438 in 13 matches, Ld Winchelsea 373 in 17 matches.' Top of these averages is T. Walker who 'on an average in every match he playd got 37 runs'. That interest should be shown in averages so early in the history of the game is truly remarkable. Bowlers do not receive the same attention from the annotator, and Britcher does not credit them with wickets that fall to catches. The names of Cane and Glindon are omitted from the imprint, but the attractive vignette on the title-page is the same as that used in their previous edition of 1792. AN ISSUE OF GREAT RARITY, UNCUT AND IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS, WITH CONTEMPORARY ANNOTATIONS OF THE HIGHEST INTEREST. Allen 9; Allen, Samuel Britcher: The Hidden Scorer, p.9; Allen, Britcher's Scores, pp. 42-50; Padwick 869.