A rare original engraving produced in 1827 etched by the renowned London caricaturist Robert Cruickshank and engraved by George Hunt. It depicts soldiers playing a form of football on a parade ground decades before association football and rugby union were codified. The aquatint is widely regarded as one of the first images of football (soccer and rugby).
"For a long time there was no clear distinction between football and rugby. There were also many variations concerning the size of the ball, the number of players and the length of a match.
"The game was often played in schools and two of the predominant schools were Rugby and Eton. At Rugby the rules included the possibility to take up the ball with the hands and the game we today know as rugby has its origin from here. At Eton the ball was played exclusively with the feet and this game can be seen as a close predecessor to modern football. The game in Rugby was called the running game; while the game in Eton was called the dribbling game.
"An attempt to create proper rules for football was done at a meeting in Cambridge in 1848, but a final solution to all questions of rules was not achieved. Another important event in the history of football came about in 1863 in London when the first Football association was formed in England. It was decided that carrying the ball with the hands wasn't allowed. The meeting also resulted in a standardization of the size and weight of the ball. A consequence of the London meeting was that the game was divided into two codes: association football and rugby". footballhistory.org
As an original image from the very early days of sport it has great historical value.
- Overall Condition: Good
- Size: 36.5x28 cm
