Arguably the most collected sought after prints amongst the over 2,000 Vanity Fair caricatures published are those on cricket. There are 32 in the set and by far the hardest to acquire is this lithograph of Mr. E.W Dillon. This is not least because he was the last to be published just prior to the magazine closing, but also because many of them were preserved in bound volumes published for each year. As the magazine closed in January 1914, none was published for 1913, adding to its rarity. As any collector knows, that last one in the set is the holy grail. Edward Wentworth (Ted) Dillon (1881-1941), played mainly for Kent County and is the only captain to take the club to three county championships between 1909 and 1913.

‘Vanity Fair’ was an English magazine published weekly in London between 1868 and 1914 and considered to be the literary and social voice of Victorian and Edwardian Britain. From 1869 to 1914, each issue featured a noteworthy national or international personality as a caricature, which was accompanied by a witty and sometimes biting biographical sketch. Famous artists who contributed are Sir Leslie Ward (1851-1922), who studied at Eton and then the Royal Academy and published under the pen name Spy, for who Vanity Fair will remain synonymous. He also contributed to the ‘World Magazine’ 1910-11. Others include Carlo Pellegrini (1839-89), Max Beerbohm (1872-1956), James Tissot (1836-1902) and the American Thomas Nast (1840-1902). Provenance: with the bookplate of James O’Byrne. Arlott (1952); Matthews & Mellini (1982); Naylor (1965); Savory (1979); Ward (1915).