Photographic portrait of champion Anglo-New Zealand-Australian-American bare knuckle boxer Bob Fitzsimmons in a fighting stance, taken in New York in 1893.

A$1,300 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Albumen print photograph, cabinet card format, 162 x 106 mm (mount); the print is embossed at lower left Copyright 1893 Richard K. Fox ; removed from an old frame, the print and mount have suffered some surface loss around the edges, particularly at the bottom margin where Fox s imprint with his Franklin Square, New York address has been partially lost; peripheral damage notwithstanding, the albumen print remains a strong image with excellent clarity and, aside from a small pale water stain around the boxer s knees, is in good condition; verso has remnants of old paper backing with early pencilled inscription B. Simmons (sic). A rare photograph of Bob Fitzsimmons (1863–1917), generally acknowledged as one of the greatest boxers in the history of the sport. Fitzsimmons was born in England, but emigrated with his family to New Zealand as a young boy and spent his teenage years in Timaru. In 1883, at the age of 20, he moved to Sydney, New South Wales, where he learned his craft and fought his first 27 fights over seven years before heading to America in 1890. During his incredible 24-year career in the States Fitzsimmons enjoyed immense success: he knocked out Jack Dempsey to win the world middleweight championship, and later won the world heavyweight title by knocking out Gentleman Jim Corbett. This cabinet card was published in New York in 1893 by Irish-born media magnate Richard Kyle Fox (1846-1922), owner of the sporting publication The Police Gazette . Fox was a boxing fana

• Binding: Hardcover

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