Sporting Memorabilia & Equipment

Book on offer at fishing tackle fair tells story of East End taxidermists who preserved catches

Former champion jockey Joe Mercer 1934-2021) was a keen buyer of racing memorabilia.

One of the earliest items of football memorabilia to appear at auction emerged at Bonhams in Knightsbridge: an England international goalkeeper shirt from 1879.

Graham Budd Auctions is under new ownership, with its founder becoming chairman.

This 18ct gold and enamel medal was awarded to Reginald Arthur Whitcombe (1898-1957) for winning the 1936 Open Golf Championship of Ireland.

The potent mix of China, horseracing and the 1851 Great Exhibition yielded a strong price for this splendid ‘export’ silver trophy at auction.

Angling and fishing fans will be familiar with the firm Hardy of Alnwick. In 1872 William Hardy set up shop as a gunsmith.

On May 6, 1954 - the day British middle-distance athlete Roger Bannister (1929-2018) ran the first ever sub-four-minute mile - there were five official timekeepers plus a sixth watch manned by race commentator Norris McWhirter (1925-2004).

Perhaps established as early as 1735, the Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh holds claim to be the oldest golfing society in the world.

Arsenal FC’s familiar red jersey with white arms is instantly recognisable to football fans worldwide now. However, a pair of shirts sold at the Graham Budd (20.5% buyer’s premium) December 1-2 auction in London show an earlier look.

This silver medal sold for £3250 at Fellows (23% buyer’s premium) is one of a relatively small number awarded at the Intercalated Games in Athens in 1906.

If you ever encounter the pub quiz question ‘who is the smallest footballer ever to represent England at a senior level’ just remember an FA Cup winner’s medal sold at sporting specialist auction house Knights (20% buyer’s premium).

The game of golf (originating on the eastern coast of Scotland) and mauchlineware (the name given to a family of wooden souvenirs made in south-west Scotland over a period of a century) would seem ideal bedfellows.

If you wanted to keep the strings of a tennis racket taut, you could do with a tennis racket press – a device consisting of a frame closed by a spring mechanism.

Before match programmes grew into the glossy mini-magazines of today they were relatively simple affairs – most just a single sheet printed on both sides.

Stan Anderson (1934-2018) was a north-eastern football stalwart playing as captain for a hat-trick of local clubs.

A group of “rare and interesting” 20th century cycling ephemera relating primarily to the Olympic Games offered by Catherine Southon (20% buyer’s premium) came from the collection of cycling journalist David Taylor (1937-2020).

A humble table tennis bat bought at a car boot sale in Surrey for £3.50 served up a surprise at Hansons’ (25% buyer’s premium) London monthly auction on September 25.