HOME       About Us

Mr. Albert Hornby

Cricket and Rugby Star and Member of Parliament

"Monkey"

This original 1891 Vanity Fair lithograph is a tribute to the English adoration for sporting men. Mr. Albert Hornby was a star cricket player at a young age and later distinguished himself as a rugby player and in riding to the hounds. He was one of only two persons to be captain of the British national teams in both cricket and rugby. Those accomplishments and his general popularity led him to be elected to Parliament.

This print also comes with a typed biography of Hornby by Jehu Junior that was originally published in 1891 with the print. Jehu Junior gives the genesis of Hornby's nickname,

At Harrow he quickly attracted attention by his sublime indifference to the educational advantages of the place and by the startling unorthodoxy of his batting; and though he failed to achieve a great reputation as a scholar, he was put into the School Eleven so soon as he was about the same height as his bat; so that he presently appeara at Lords as the smallest cricketer there known; and became the little idol of his schoolfellows, who put him on a high pedestal and worshipped him and his extraordinary style of "Money"; by which name he is still known.

A British contemporary cricket web site also describes Hornby:

A small man, he compensated for his lack of stature with an excess of energy and earned the nickname "Monkey" although his players always referred to him as "the Boss". A forceful front-foot player, who excelled in the off-drive, he was also a splendid field, and an inspirational captain.

This print comes already matted to a standard 16 x 20" frame size so it will be easy and inexpensive to frame and is enclosed in a protective plastic sleeve. The scan of this print on the Vanity Fair index page is a better representation of the colors than the digital photograph above.

Price: $210