A match at foot-ball; or the Irish champions. A mock-heroick poem, in three canto’s. London: printed for R. Francklin, W. Chetwood, J. Woodman, and J. Graves, 1721. [Bound with: six other poetical pamphlets.]

Price realised GBP 2,750

Estimate

GBP 1,000 – GBP 1,500

Loading details

Try our

CONCANEN, Matthew (1701-1749)

A match at foot-ball; or the Irish champions. A mock-heroick poem, in three canto’s. London: printed for R. Francklin, W. Chetwood, J. Woodman, and J. Graves, 1721. [Bound with: six other poetical pamphlets.]

Price realised GBP 2,750

Details More from

CONCANEN, Matthew (1701-1749)
A match at foot-ball; or the Irish champions. A mock-heroick poem, in three canto’s. London: printed for R. Francklin, W. Chetwood, J. Woodman, and J. Graves, 1721. [Bound with: six other poetical pamphlets.]
First London edition of a very early account of ‘foot-ball’, a pre-cursor to modern day Association Football, Rugby, and Gaelic Football, which were not separately codified until the mid-nineteenth century. ‘Concanen's opening lines “I sing the pleasures of the rural throng/and mimick wars as yet unknown to song” indicate that in writing a long poem about a football match, he was breaking new ground […] The ball, we are told, was constructed of “three folds of bullock's hide with leathern thongs bound fast on either side” and stuffed with hay. There were goals at either end of the pitch constructed by sticking two willow rods in the ground some feet apart, bending them towards each other and tying the ends together so that a semicircle was formed.’ The first edition appeared at Dublin in 1720. A full list of the works and a condition report is available upon request. ESTC T39033; Foxon C328.

7 works in one volume, octavo (192 x 120mm). (Some light staining and browning.) Contemporary speckled half calf (light wear and soiling). Provenance: John Mills (erased inscription on title of A Match at Foot-ball) – Lloyd Kenyon (1696-c.1773; inscription on first title) – Roger Kenyon (1735-1796; various inscriptions throughout).

No VAT on hammer price or buyer's premium.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Sophie Meadows Senior Specialist

smeadows@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7752 3144

More from Valuable Books and Manuscripts

View All