GRACE, W. G.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Wickets in the West; or, the Twelve in America. First edition, association copy, given by A. N. Hornby, a member of the touring twelve and Grace's partner at the top of the order, to Oswald Philip Lancashire, his teammate at Lancashire cricket club. Playing across Canada and the east coast of the United States, Grace drew huge crowds, "giving him a taste of celebrity that continued even after he had packed his bag at the end of the day's play" (Rae, p. 127).Lancashire's ownership inscription, found on the front free endpaper, reads, "O. P. Lancashire, Lords, 1886. From A. N. H." He likely received the copy during Lancashire's May fixture against the MCC at St John's Wood, during which Hornby, captaining the county side, made a fine second-innings 50. Mounted to the front pastedown is the clipped signature, dated 1897, of William M. Rose (1842-1917), a bowler who debuted for the gentlemen of the MCC in 1867.

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