457 Extremely rare ‘Fall of Fitz-Illium’ Booklet [The Tennis Supplement to “The Jarvey”] (Dublin, 1889) - W. French & R. Orpen,


a delightfully witty 20 page booklet, written by William Percy French (1854-1920) and illustrated by Richard Francis Caulfield Orpen (1863-1938), relating to the events at Dublin’s premier lawn tennis tournament on the courts of Fitzwilliam Square. (cartoon illustrations of both of them at work feature on the front cover), the text verse includes the titles ‘Fall of Fitz-illium’, ‘The Battle’, ‘The Kerry Man and the Maid’, ‘Song of the Chaperone’, and ‘The Battle of the Tennis Ball’, all the verses refer to the tournament of 1889 and are written and illustrated approaching the subject as a parody of the classical wars and gods recalled by Homer, many of the players and committee are referred to including; Ernest Browne, Tate, St. Leger, Chatterton, McKay, Algernon Aylmer, Hamilton, Lawford, Lewis, Hillyard, Bingley, Maud Watson, Miss Martin, Miss Stanuel, Boyd, Meers, Taylor, Renshaw and etc, Orpen illustrates the text delightfully with comical illustrations showing many of the principal players and officials, advertisements for Lunn and Murton, the booklet is soiled and worn, with various splits and folds commensurate with a fragile item of this period


Unlisted in Phelps & Sabine (Tennis Bibliography 1874-2000)


This booklet was once owned by Arthur H. Courtenay (1852-?), (Soldier, Barrister and Hon. Secretary of the Fitzwilliam Tournament - he is referred to in the verse and a cartoon of him is included too), who then presented it to his daughter Mary. (See cover inscription) It may have been Courtenay who has neatly written the names of the players next to whom the cartoons refer. £500 - 700


458 A reproduction of the first letter to the Dublin Society on the use of mathematical reasoning by J. Fenn, arguably the most obscure book on real tennis dealing with the probability of winning matches etc., 52 pages in cloth covers £150 - 200


460 Tompkins (Frederick Charles) Court Tennis Racquets and Squash,


the first American book published on these games, J B Lippincott Company, 1909 £250 - 350


133


459 Miles (Eustace) The Game of Squash, scarce, 8vo, brown suede covers, embossed title, published by J F Taylor & Co., New York, 1901 £300 - 500


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