Beschreibung:

'Australian cricket tours of England 1926 & 1930'. Large and impressive gold cigarette case presented to Mr Arthur Phillips, Chairman and Managing Director of Godfrey Phillips Ltd, by the Australian touring teams of 1926 and 1930. The front of the case has the engraved signatures of all sixteen members of the 1926 touring team and inscription to inside 'Presented to Mr Arthur Phillips with the compliments of the Australian touring team 1926'. Signatures include Herbie Collins (Cpt), Ponsford, Mailey, Oldfield, Grimmett, Woodfull, Richardson, Macartney, etc. To the back of the case there are the engraved signatures of all fifteen members of the 1930 touring team and the second inscription to inside 'Compliment confirmed by the Australian Cricket Team 1930'. Signatures include Bill Woodfull (Cpt), Bradman, Jackson, McCabe, Kippax, Richardson, a'Beckett, Hornibrook etc. The case is 9 carat gold and is hallmarked to the inside (marks worn), date letter for 1926, measures 3.25"x6.5" and weighs 210 grams. The case in exceptional condition. A unique personal presentation item given with the compliments of the both the 1926 and 1930 teams to Arthur Phillips
Godfrey Phillips featured the touring Australian cricketers heavily in their 1926 and 1930 advertising campaigns. The cigarette case has very good provenance, it was purchased by an Englishman Joe Letts at a war-time auction held by the Red Cross during the Second World War, he had a slight interest in cricket but he valued the case more for the link it gave him with the country in which his sister had made her home (she married an Australian in World War 1). Whilst visiting his sister in Australia in 1959 he decided to try and found out who Arthur Phillips was and found through a newspaper that Bill Woodfull, who was a member of the 1926 touring party and captain of the 1930 Australian team and then [1959] a principal of a Melbourne Boys School, recalled that Phillips was Chairman and Managing Director of a big English company which had shown a number of kindnesses to the Australian Test teams of 1926 and 1930. There is an original 'Daily News' [Australia] newspaper report, dated 9th December 1959 detailing this, sold with the cigarette case. The case was later purchased by the vendors uncle, a cricket lover and collector of auction items who died around 20 years ago and left the case to the vendor. It has been in her family ever since