Beschreibung:

AN IMPORTANT & IMMACULATE ENGLAND RUGBY UNION CAP AWARDED TO JOHN GUY GILBERNE BIRKETT (1884-1967) embroidered with references to every one of his record 21 England International appearances between 1906 and 1912The peaked cap is in stunning condition considering the age. With the maroon colour of the felt as fresh as it was when awarded to John Birkett. Braiding, embroidery, and tassel equally in awesome condition. There are tears to silk lining as is usual with antique caps, but tears are not extensive.The six-panel cap with two-leaf wirework England Rose emblem to front segment below F (France) 07-08, then the peak with 1905 S-1906 representing his first cap against Scotland, and then each of the five further panels embroidered with letters to represent International opposition and the season eg. W.I.S 11-12 (Wales / Ireland / Scotland in 1911 and 1912). John Birkett was the son of Reg Birkett (please see Lot 572). The 21 fixtures accounted for on the cap represent every one of J G Birkett’s total England International cap count, between 1906 and 1912, which was a record for England caps at the time. During this period, Rugby was starting to become more akin to the sport we are familiar with thanks to the inventive All Blacks ‘Originals’ on their inaugural tour of Europe, and with a great deal of thanks to John Birkett’s Harlequin team-mate - Adrian Stoop. Stoop saw the advantage of quick back play and releasing the wings as early as possible. Birkett was initially a half-back but when he arrived at Harlequins RFC, Adrian Stoop occupied one of the half-back positions and he saw Birkett as having the ideal skills and build to fulfil his vision of quick back play. Birkett had the natural ability to move the ball wide while being strong enough to withstand the pressure from oncoming defenders. So thanks to the foresight of Adrian Stoop, John Birkett became a legendary Harlequins and England centre, and played in the position for the remainder of his career.John Birkett’s England caps began in 1906 against Scotland, after England had suffered a seven match losing run. He played alongside his Harlequin partner Stoop, and the Quin’s Stoop-style of play paid dividends as they won the tie with tries scored on both wings. Five days later the partnership featured against France in Paris in what was the first International between the two countries.By the 1908 season John Birkett had established himself in the England side, and captained the side against Wales for the first of four occasions. He played in each of the inaugural Five Nations Championship matches in 1910, which England won. Birkett scored twice against Scotland.By John Birkett’s final match against France in 1912, he was England’s record cap holder and record try scorer with ten tries. He continued playing with Harlequins and when in October 1909, the club side adopted Twickenham as their new home, John Birkett scored the first ever try at the ‘Home of English Rugby’.This feat echoed that of his father Reg, who scored the first ever International try.In World War 1, John Birkett was captain in the Royal Field Artillery and was mentioned in dispatches 18 times. Later he was a committee member of the RFU for 12 years.Considering the sensational condition, provenance, and player history, together with the embroidered complete reference to each of John Birkett’s record England appearances, we believe the cap to be the most prestigious pre-war Rugby Union cap ever to be offered at auction.Provenance: the vendors of the Birkett Sporting Archive are the great grandsons of J G G Birkett (1884-1967), and the great-great-grandsons of Reg BirkettSee our digital catalogue for this collection with further images here https://bit.ly/2PixOMn