[KELLY GANG; CRICKET] Signed studio portrait of Francis Augustus Hare, Superintendent of the Victorian Mounted Police, inscribed by Hare for Ivo Bligh, captain of the visiting English cricket team. “R

A$6,000 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Signed

Melbourne : Foster Martin, [1882]. Albumen print photograph in cabinet card format, 165 x 110 mm; verso with imprint of Foster Martin, Artists Photographers, 29 31 Collins St. East, Melbourne , and a presentation inscription in ink by the sitter: Francis Hare, for The Honbl. Ivo Blyth [sic *see note below]; the print has lost a small amount of contrast, but is in good condition, as is the mount. A unique artefact that connects two of the most famous events in Australian folklore: the capture of the Kelly Gang at Glenrowan in June 1880, and the birth of cricket s Ashes at Rupertswood, Sunbury, on 24 December 1882. Provenance: Florence Rose (Morphy) Bligh (1860-1944), wife of Ivo Bligh, captain of the England cricket team, whom she met at Rupertswood while employed as a governess in the summer of 1882-83. Note: the portrait of Hare is accompanied by a Paris Panel format outdoor photograph of the wedding group at Rupertswood on the day of the marriage of Miss Ada Mary Ryan, daughter of Charles Ryan and Marian (Cotton) Ryan, to Lord Charles Scott, on Friday 23rd February 1883. Francis Augustus ( Frank ) Hare (1830–1892), Superintendent of the Victorian Mounted Police, is famous for his role in the final pursuit and capture of the Kelly Gang. At the siege of Glenrowan, Hare led the police assault on Jones s Hotel, but was shot through the wrist in the first volley fired by the bushrangers. He was eventually forced to withdraw from the fray, and was initially taken to Benalla. From

• Binding: Hardcover

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