Boxing Prints Punch Above Their Weight At Auction
Posted On: 16 Aug 2024 by Felix TurnerA collection of boxing prints discovered in a local London house proved to be heavy hitters, selling for 32 times the high estimate in Wimbledon Auctions sale on 29th April 2024
The set of three Isaac Robert Cruickshank (1789-1856) prints depicting ‘Gabriel, The Suffolk Champion’, ‘Cooper The Gipsy’ and ‘Thomas Cribb’ carried an estimate of £100-150 but knocked down for £4800.
One of the bare-knuckle fighters featured, Jack Cooper, was notorious for killing opponent Patrick O’Leary in 1821 – for which he was charged for manslaughter and given a six-month prison sentence. Upon his release he returned to the ring, adding an extra layer of fear to his opponents and attracting a larger, more bloodthirsty crowd. Thomas Cribb was the All-England bare-knuckle boxing champion between 1808 and 1822.
Although rare, the high bidding was most likely down to collectors filling up gaps in their collections rather than anything unique to the set.
Other Cruickshank boxing portraits achieved favourable returns on the day, including a hand-coloured boxing print which sold for £3000 (estimate £80-120) and another set of three portraits which returned £1300 (estimate £80-120).
The prints were part of the collection of the late television quiz show host William G Stewart (1933-2017) with most being snapped up by one private collector.
Further boxing prints from the same collection were sold on 26th June 2024 and fetched a total of £7,290, with the highlight being a print after Thomas Rowlandson 'The Famous Battle Between Thomas Johnson and Michael Ryan', published by W. Fores, 1789, London, which sold for £2,800.
In total, the entire collection of boxing prints sold on 29th April and 26th June fetched a total of £19,000 (plus buyers premium)
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