Wool House Books | Sport
Details coming soon
On Lawn Tennis, R.F. & H. L. Doherty. their classic work dates from 1903, but this second edition appears to be rare; I can find no other copy around online. Quarto sized cream coloured boards, a little grubby, splashy foxing due to paper quality. A good solid copy of a rare edition. It reprints an edited version of their earlier classic work.
Modern Lawn Tennis, P. A. Vaile, Heinemann, 1904, first edition. Green cloth, a few tiny marks, but nice and clean, gilt titles to front panel, no fade to spine. Tiny bit cokced. tiny dink to foredge of front panel, corners very little bit knocked, tidily inked name to front free endpaper, but very a good copy of this rare early tennis classic. All photo illustrations present, in fact two extra illustrations, which I imagine have been taken from another, later edition and left in the book?
Lawn Tennis Up to Date, S. Powell Blackmore, Methuen, 1921, first ed. Green cloth, faded to spine and adjacent edge of rear and front panel, top of front panel a little faded, also, slight bubbling to cloth of front panel. Front hinge tender, but holding. 233 pages, photo illustrations all present and correct. page edges dusty little bit of foxing. Large octavo.
On and Off the Court by Anthony F. Wilding, Methuen 1915 seventh edition. Turquiose cloth, spine just a touch faded and strip to front panel adjacent to spine, but not disfiguringly so. Gilt titles to front panel and spine. Tiny abrasion to foot of spine and top edge of rear panel. Little dink to foredge, but overall a nice copy of the tennis champion's autobiography originally published just a couple of years previously in 1912. This is the first edition after he died in France during the Battle of Aubers ridge in May 1915. Pages edges little bit foxed and dusty. 268 pages & index. catalogue of Methuen publications at end. I am selling wallis Myers' book on Wilding also this week, published in 1916. He was at the time of his death perhaps the best Lawn Tennis player the world had ever seen.
Captain Anthony Wilding, by Wallis Myers, Hodder and Stoughton, 1916 1st ed. Navy blue cloth, spine just a touch faded, one small stain to front panel else VG. Pages edges little bit foxed and dusty. 306 pages. A nice copy in the hand. Complete with all photo illustrations. A eulogy to Captain Anthony Wilding tennis champion, who died in WW1 just the year before.
The Salt of My Life, F. G. Aflalo, Isaac Pitman, 1905 first ed. A Vg copy. Blue decorated cloth, gilt motif of fish and titles. Slight wrinkling to cloth front and back board by spine. Aflalo's experiences of sea fishing at home and abroad.
The English Angler in Florida, Rowland Ward, published by Rowland Ward Ltd, 1898 first edition. 122 pages well illustrated. All illustrations present. Red cloth, separation between some signatures and one signature slightly loose, one or two page corners a little grubby, but a good solid copy. Bookplate of the late Alan Davidson, the food writer. This is an ex lib copy BUT without stamps, AND actually with some interest because of its library history. One ticket of Norfolk and Norwich Library to front board and one to front pastedown which states "this book is part of the salvage from the fire which occurred in August 1st 1898" ! The book is mainly concerned with fishing for tarpon, one of the great sporting fishes renowned for their size and ability to leap.
Greenock Cricket Scores 1862 -74, by John Steven, published by James M'Kelvie & Sons, Greenock, 1875. Green cloth with gilt vignette illustration of cricketer at the bat to front board, blind stamped mirror image to rear board. Spine has small gilt vignette of stumps and bat. Gilt to spine faded as have titles. Blind stamped decorative border to front and rear boards, with cricket bats in each corner. 518 pages, thick octavo.Full title is; The Book of Greenock Cricket Scores from 1862 to 1874 compiled from official score sheets and news reports with Tables of Averages and explanatory and biographical notes prefaced by The History of Cricket in Greenock prior to 1862 by John Steven Ex-captain of the Greenock Cricket Club.Pencilled name and date E. P. Burrows, May 3rd 1876 to title page.Both front and rear hinges have cracked, but text block secure, bit of scuffing to corners, top edge dusty, but all in all a very acceptable copy of an exceptionally rare cricket title. A further point of interest is that the book has a photograph mounted facing the title page, titled Glenpark 1865 from a painting by J. S. Dewar. Photographically illustrated books from this period are relatively scarce.
According to one website Edward Ray was the original 'John Daly' of Golf. He was an unorthodox player, but a great crowd pleaser. A large man he could drive the ball down the fairway with some force, but would often end up in the rough - he was known for his outlandish recovery shots. Inland Golf was published c. 1913 and is usually found bound in red cloth, but this is a variant light blue. Boards with some small markings, three small library stamps to front endpapers Worcestershire Regiment Library and British Red Cross Library. 234 pages plus ten page catalogue of publisher Werner Laurie books at the back. 31 b/w photographic plates showing Ted in a variety of golf poses, with pipe in mouth. 31 plates as per list - no missing plates. One plate with some creasing and wear to bottom margin, but not affecting image.Ted was immortalised in film by the actor Stephen Marcus in The Greatest Game Ever Played which immortalised the 1913 US Open win by Francis Ouimet, the first American golf hero. More...
1st ed. A unique copy of a rare tennis title. Pictorial boards, rebacked preserving 99% of original spine. New endpapers. Around 30 pages have been annotated in pencil by a tennis aficionado adding interesting biographical details to the text and photos; clearly many of those portrayed were known to him/her. Very well illustrated book giving an overview of the sport in the early twentieht century. A number of contributors supply the different chapters. The first half of the book covers tennis in the UK and the latter half looks at tennis around the world.InformationAuthor: Arthur Wallis MyersPublisher: NewnesDate: 1903Printer: Dalziel & Co. Click for more photos...
Rare boxing title. Red cloth rebacked with original backstrip laid down. Spine darkened, covers little age toned but good. Original pictorial endpapers retained. Old bookplate pasted to verso frontis. Staining to rear endpapers from cloth. 10 photo plates of boxers all present. 266 pages, plus 4 pp catalogue for Werner Laurie. The book is subtitled A history of Some of the Chief English and American Prize Fights since the year 1788. Chapters cover famous bouts of the past including Jackson vs Mendoza; the Game Chicken vs John Gully; Bendigo vs Deaf Burke; Jem Corbett vs John Sullivan and many others. InformationAuthor: Henry SayersPublisher: Werner LaurieDate: 1904 Click for more photos...
A very nice copy of the second impression of this rare skiing title. Complete with all photographic plates. Boards & binding in VG condition, slight loss in small patches of the colour to front board illustration. 'Without pretending to have any new system to propound, I have attempted a closer analysis of the manoeuvres by which the best ski runners control their skis' - from the preface. 244 pages 3p catalogue 59 photo plates and some diagrams. Some foxing to foredge, slight dustiness to top edge, but really a very good copy.Author: Vivian CaulfeildPublisher: Nisbet & CoDate: 1912Printer: Ballantyne Click for more photos...
A rare item of lawn tennis ephemera from the Lawn Tennis Tournament held in Buxton in 1884. The Ladies Doubles that year was called the 'All England Ladies Doubles', the first time the designation was used. The Wimbledon club whose own tournament had begun in 1877 liked the phrase and began to use it themselves. To this day the Girls' Singles Championship Cup is inscribed 'presented by the directors of the Buxton Garden Company' who promoted the Buxton event during the 1880's. The cup was one of two presented to the winners of the Ladies Doubles. After Miss Bertha Steedman and Miss Blanche Hillyard had won the trophy for three years in succession between 1893-1895, their trophies were 'retired' and given to them. After Miss Steedman died her trophy was given to the Wimbledon club and thenceforward presented to the winner of the Girls' Singles. This pamphlet recounts in a humourous parody of Hiawatha how the tournament unfolded. Illustrated by little line drawings it is a wonderful example of exuberant Victorian humour applied to the still in its infancy sport of lawn tennisTHIS ITEM IS NOW SOLD
