William Lloyd ‘Billy’ Murdoch. New South Wales, Sussex, London County Australia & England 1875-1904. A pair of brown leather wicket-keeping gloves, inscribed on the left glove ‘Presented to Harry Musgrove.. Lords XI by Billy Murdoch 18[.] worn on the tour of England 1878’. The wording indistinct, fading and worn in certain parts particularly on the year 18.?. Both gloves mounted and box framed, with modern plaque which reads ‘The wicket-keeping gloves used by W.L. Murdoch during the Australian t Auction of Cricket, Wisden Cricketers' Almanacks, Football and Sporting Memorabilia including the David Frith Collection- 2 Day Auction

Catalogue Auction Information

Knight's Sporting Auctions

Auction of Cricket, Wisden Cricketers' Almanacks, Football and Sporting Memorabilia including the David Frith Collection- 2 Day Auction (#10) 06/08/2023 10:30 AM BST Closed
Starts Ending 06/08/2023 10:30 AM BST

Auction Info

Lot #428William Lloyd ‘Billy’ Murdoch. New South Wales, Sussex, London County Australia & England 1875-1904. A pair of brown leather wicket-keeping gloves, inscribed on the left glove ‘Presented to Harry Musgrove.. Lords XI by Billy Murdoch 18[.] worn on the tour of England 1878’. The wording indistinct, fading and worn in certain parts particularly on the year 18.?. Both gloves mounted and box framed, with modern plaque which reads ‘The wicket-keeping gloves used by W.L. Murdoch during the Australian t

Click image to enlarge

Lot closed - Winning bid:N/A

Estimate: £10,000 - £15,000

Ask a question

Description

William Lloyd ‘Billy’ Murdoch. New South Wales, Sussex, London County Australia & England 1875-1904. A pair of brown leather wicket-keeping gloves, inscribed on the left glove ‘Presented to Harry Musgrove.. Lords XI by Billy Murdoch 18[.] worn on the tour of England 1878’. The wording indistinct, fading and worn in certain parts particularly on the year 18.?. Both gloves mounted and box framed, with modern plaque which reads ‘The wicket-keeping gloves used by W.L. Murdoch during the Australian tour of England in 1878’. The beautifully carved framed with decoration of cricket bats, stumps, bails and balls. Overall the frame measures 20”x16”. Sold with a copied image of the 1998 lot description, the cover of the catalogue and an image of the gloves in the catalogue [see below]. A very rare and early item from Australia’s inaugural tour of England.

Murdoch began his career as a wicket-keeper, but at Test level kept wicket only once, with Jack Blackham being preferred, Murdoch acting as stand-in when needed. He played in the second Test match ever played, the 1877 clash against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Murdoch captained Australia in sixteen Test matches, on the tours of 1880, 1882, 1884 and 1890 tours of England, one of which, in 1882, gave rise to The Ashes. As a batsman, Murdoch scored both the first double century in Test cricket, 211 against England in 1884 and the first triple century in Australian domestic cricket, 321 against Victoria in 1882. In later years, he settled in England, playing county cricket for Sussex, 1893 to 1899, as captain and London County, 1900 to 1904. In 1892, he toured South Africa with England and played in one Test match, making him one of the few cricketers to represent more than one international team. Murdoch’s final first-class match came at the age of 49 in 1904. He died in Melbourne in 1911, aged 56.
Murdoch kept wicket in one Test match for Australia against England, in the 2nd Test at Sydney in 1882 and for England in Cape Town in 1892, tour match. In total, Murdoch kept wicket in forty seven first class matches including twenty seven tour matches in England on the 1878, 1880, 1882 1884 and 1890 tours of England. In 1878 he kept wicket for Australia in seven tour matches.
The gloves were originally sold in the Phillips Auctioneers auction held at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, Melbourne on the 23rd August 1998 as lot 369. The gloves then were described as being signed, there is not sign of this through the frame but his signature may be on the hidden undersides of the gloves.
Henry ‘Harry’ Alfred Musgrove was an Australian theatrical manager and cricketer who played for Victoria and in one Test match in the second Test of the 1884/1885 series against England at Melbourne. He was the successful manager of the Australian team in England in 1896, ‘where his tact and courtesy contributed significantly to a harmonious tour’.
‘He was good enough as a keeper for demon Spofforth to refuse to play in the first of all Tests at Melbourne, March 1877, because Murdoch was not the keeper. In the face of Blackham’s success behind the stumps, Billy concentrated on his batting but often on tour he would keep while Blackham fielded’. Jack Pollard. Australian Cricket, the Game and the Players’ 1989.
‘Behind the stumps Blackham was the equal of the best English wicket-keepers and Murdoch acted efficiently as his stand-in’. Peter Wynne-Thomas.’The Complete History of Test Tours. 1989.
Shipping info

Please note that Knights Sporting Auctions pack in house and post out to clients. We pack items first and then send out an invoice so please be patient.

Postage and packaging will be charged at current rates for all postal deliveries. Packing will be charged at £3.00 per customer.

Please contact the office regarding postage. (0)1263 768488.
Terms and conditions

Conditions of Sale

1. A buyer's premium of 20% (Plus V.A.T. @ 20%) of the hammer price is payable by the buyers of all lots.

2. Cheques to be made payable to 'Knights Sporting Limited'.

3. Knights Sporting Ltd, Registered Office, The Thatched Gallery, The Green, Aldborough, Norwich, Norfolk. NR11 7AA

4. Postage and packing will be charged at current rates for all postal deliveries.

4a Postage and packing is subject to V.A.T. at 20%.

5. The seller warrants to the Auctioneer and to the buyer that he is the true owner or is properly authorised to sell the property by the true owner and is able to transfer good and marketable title to the property free from any third party claim.

6. The highest bidder to be the buyer. If during the auction the Auctioneer considers that a dispute has arisen he has absolute authority to settle it or re-offer the lot. The Auctioneer may at his sole discretion determine the advance of bidding or refuse a bid, divide any lot, combine any two or more lots or withdraw any lot without prior notice.

7. The buyer shall pay the price at which a lot is knocked down by the Auctioneer to the buyer (the hammer price) together with a premium of 20% (Plus V.A.T. @ 20%) of the hammer price, all of which are hereafter collectively referred to as 'the total sum due'. By making any bid the buyer acknowledges that his attention has been drawn to the fact that on the sale of any lot the Auctioneer will receive from the seller commission at its usual rates in addition to the said premium of 20% (Plus V.A.T. @ 20%) and assents to the Auctioneer receiving the said commission.

8. The buyer shall forthwith upon the purchase give in his name and pay to the Auctioneer immediately after the conclusion of the auction the total sum due.

9. If the buyer fails to pay for or take away any lot or lots the Auctioneer as agent for the seller shall be entitled after consultation with the seller to exercise one or other of the following rights:

i) Rescind the sale of that or any other lots sold to the buyer who defaults and re-sell the lot or lots whereupon the defaulting buyer shall pay to the Auctioneer any shortfall between the proceeds of that sale after deduction of costs of re-sale and the total sum due. Any surplus shall belong to the seller.
ii) Proceed with damages for breach of contract.

10. Ownership of the lot purchased shall not pass to the buyer until he has paid to the Auctioneer the total sum due.

11. The seller shall be entitled to place a reserve on any lot and the Auctioneer shall have the right to bid on behalf of the seller for any lot on which a reserve has been placed. A seller may not bid on any lot on which a reserve has been placed.

12. As from June 2011, all unsold lots will attract a fee per lot of £10.00 + VAT.

12a. Where any lot fails to sell, the Auctioneer shall notify the seller accordingly. The seller shall make arrangements either to re-offer the lot for sale or to collect the lot.

13. Any representation or statement by the Auctioneer in any catalogue, brochure or advertisement of forthcoming sales as to authorship, attribution, genuineness, origin, date, age, provenance, condition or estimated selling price is a statement of opinion only. Every person interested should exercise and rely on his own judgement as to such matters and neither the Auctioneer nor his servants or agents are responsible for the correctness of such opinions. No warranty whatsoever is given by the Auctioneer or the seller in respect of any lot and any express or implied warranties are hereby excluded.

14. Notwithstanding any other terms of these conditions, if within fourteen days of the sale the Auctioneer has received from the buyer of any lot notice in writing that in his view the lot is a deliberate forgery and within fourteen days after such notification the buyer returns the same to the Auctioneer in the same condition as at the time of the sale and satisfies the Auctioneer that considered in the light of the entry in the catalogue the lot is a deliberate forgery then the sale of the lot will be rescinded and the purchase price of the same refunded. 'A deliberate forgery' means a lot made with intent to deceive.

15. A buyer's claim under the above condition shall be limited to the amount paid to the Auctioneer for the lot and for the purpose of this condition the buyer shall be the person to whom the original invoice was made out by the Auctioneer.

16. Lots may be removed during the sale after full settlement.

17. All goods delivered to the Auctioneer's premises will be deemed to be delivered for sale by auction unless otherwise stated in writing and will be catalogued and sold at the Auctioneer's discretion and accepted by the Auctioneer subject to all these conditions. By delivering the goods to the Auctioneer for inclusion in his auction sales each seller acknowledges that he/she accepts and agrees to all the conditions.

18. The Auctioneer shall remit the proceeds of the sale to the seller no later than forty days after the day of the auction provided that the Auctioneer has received the total sum due from the buyer. In all other cases the Auctioneer will remit the proceeds of sale to the seller within seven days of the receipt by the Auctioneer of the total sum due. The Auctioneer will not be deemed to have received the total sum due until after any cheque delivered by the buyer has been cleared. In the event of the Auctioneer exercising his right to rescind the sale his obligation to the seller hereunder lapses.

19. In the case of the seller withdrawing instructions to the Auctioneer to sell any lot or lots, the Auctioneer may charge a fee of the lot withdrawn and any expenses incurred in respect of the lot or lots.

20. Live telephone bidding

i) Live telephone bidding can be arranged (subject to paragraph 20iii) below) by contacting the Auctioneer two days prior to the day of the Auction.
ii) Knight's have a mandatory minimum lot estimate of £80.00 on all live calls.
iii) The arrangement referred to in paragraph 20i) above will be at the buyer's risk and no guarantee can be given by the Auctioneer that telephone facilities will be available or working on the day of the Auction.

21. These conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.

Online Bidding.

In completing the bidder registration on Knights Live <https://knights.auctionary.com/> and providing your credit card details and unless alternative arrangements are agreed with Knights Sporting Limited Ltd you:
authorise Knights Sporting Limited Ltd, if they so wish, to charge the credit card given in part or full payment, including all fees, for items successfully purchased in the auction via Knights Live and
confirm that you are authorised to provide these credit card details to Knights Sporting Limited Ltd through Knights Live and
agree that Knights Sporting Limited Ltd are entitled to ship the goods to the card holder name and card holder address provided in fulfilment of the sale.

Please note that any lots purchased via the Knights Live auction service will be subject to an additional 2.5% commission charge + VAT at the rate imposed on the hammer price.

Auction of Cricket, Wisden Cricketers' Almanacks, Football and Sporting Memorabilia including the David Frith Collection- 2 Day Auction (#10) 06/08/2023 10:30 AM BST Closed Starts Ending 06/08/2023 10:30 AM BST

Auction of Cricket, Wisden Cricketers' Almanacks, Football and Sporting Memorabilia including the David Frith Collection- 2 Day Auction (#10) 06/08/2023 10:30 AM BST Closed
Starts Ending 06/08/2023 10:30 AM BST