Lives in Cricket No 7 - Richard Daft

wrote on 12 December, 1891 that Richard was ‘especially wishful to bring out a private edition for personal friends, got up in superior style and at a price of about one guinea or, at least, half a guinea.’ The book was to be publicised in the magazine Cricket ; and Richard told a correspondent that it would be serialised in the newspapers from about the end of April and would run on to September, 1892. He continued: ‘When it comes out in book form it will contain between 70 and 80 illustrations. You might say that it contains my experiences from quite a boy until the present day. Giving an account of all the great players I have met during that time and other celebrities in different walks of life . . . together with a great stock of anecdotes. An account of the development of cricket during the last fifty years and hints of [ sic ] the game, with engravings illustrating all the positions and hits almost that a batsmen can make.” In addition to the well-known photographers, Hawkins of Brighton, two long-established collectors, Charles Pratt Green of Malvern and Thomas Padwick of Redhill, supplied pictures. The development of reproduction had reached the stage where the volume could be quite inexpensively filled with illustrations in photogravure. On 29 February 1892, Athletic News and Cyclists’ Journal reported: ‘The proprietors of Athletic News have pleasure in announcing that they have arranged to publish a new work on our national pastime by Richard Daft, who has played in first-class cricket since 1858. It will be entitled The King of Cricket .’ The mere suggestion of that title must have been enough to bring a change of mind; either it would have brought a charge of arrogance against the author, or misled readers into thinking that the book was by, or about, W.G. Grace. When the first instalment did appear on Monday, 11 April, the title was changed to Kings of Cricket , and so it remained as instalment succeeded instalment until, on 15 August, Athletic News carried an article ‘Cricket’ by Andrew Lang, which was to form the Introduction. Kings of Cricket , subtitled ‘Reminiscences and Anecdotes with hints on the game’ appeared in two editions. One was published by Simpkin and Marshall, London and Arrowsmith, Bristol in 1893: the other in a subscribers’ limited edition by Tillotson and Son. But how limited? The generally accepted number is 150 copies, but there are indications that that number was greatly exceeded. In February 2003, John McKenzie’s catalogue contained a copy of the Kings of Cricket 119