Historic Sports Illustrations

A collection of vintage sports scenes including American football, cricket, soldiers playing football, women's skating races, and tennis matches from the late 19th century.

Vignettes showing scenes at Wimbledon in 1887, including several of the fifteen year old Miss Lottie Dod serving the ball in the year she first won the Championship. Lottie Dod (1871-1960) was an all-round sportswoman, tennis player and five times Wimbledon champion. Excelled in golf, hockey and archery as well as tennis. Won a silver medal in archery at the 1908 Olympics and was the youngest person ever to win a ladies singles title at Wimbledon. She is listed along with Babe Zaharias as being

Running with the Ball - American Football, circa 1887

Cricket, after the painting by Francis Hayman (1708-1776).

Holiday in Camp - Soldiers Playing "Foot-Ball", 1865. Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910). Wood engraving;

Women's skating race in Friesland, Netherlands, from a drawing by Gauthier-Stirum, illustration from L'Illustration, Journal Universel, No 358, Volume XV, January 5, 1850.

Vignettes showing scenes at Wimbledon in 1887, including several of the fifteen year old Miss Lottie Dod serving the ball in the year she first won the Championship. Lottie Dod (1871-1960) was an all-round sportswoman, tennis player and five times Wimbledon champion. Excelled in golf, hockey and archery as well as tennis. Won a silver medal in archery at the 1908 Olympics and was the youngest person ever to win a ladies singles title at Wimbledon. She is listed along with Babe Zaharias as being

Children sledding and skating on ice (traineaux), early 19th century. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagne's Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d'Adresse), Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1903.

A melee, fencing, at the Albert Hall, England, in aid of the afghan war relief fund / Ein Nahkampf, der in der Albert Hall, England, zugunsten des afghanischen Kriegshilfefonds, historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert, Originaldatum nicht bekannt, koloriert, handcoloriert, Koloration.

A group of men playing golf. Date: circa 1860

Illustration depicting young men playing lacrosse. Dated 19th century

set of 16: 15.Change of Sport, Richard Purcell, active 1746-1766, Irish, 1823, Lithograph, Sheet: 5 3/8 x 8 1/4in. (13.7 x 21cm)

Women Baseball Players.

Life in Camp, Part 1: Tossing in a Blanket. Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836-1910 Prouts Neck, Maine). Dimensions: Sheet: 4 1/8 x 2 3/8 in. (10.4 x 6.1 cm). Publisher: Louis Prang & Co. (Boston, Massachusetts). Date: 1864. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

The Pike is a voracious fish and bites readily in the Winter months-Old Gentleman is VERY fond of fishing 1830-64 John Leech British. The Pike is a voracious fish and bites readily in the Winter months-Old Gentleman is VERY fond of fishing 363846

Le semeur The sower. Millet, Jean François (1814-1875). 1851. Avery, Samuel Putnam, 1822-1904. Prints. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection. Farming, Sowing, Croplands

Boys learning to fence with a fencing master in breastplate holding an epee. From the fencing lesson by Jean-Henri Marlet in le Bon Genie, 1829. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagne's Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d'Adresse), Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1903.

Scotland defeat England at Richmond. Date: 21 March 1903

LA CROSSE MATCH, PLAYED LAST SATURDAY AT KENNINGTON OVAL, BY NORTH OF ENGLAND AGAINST SOUTH, 1883

Chinese juggler keeping a long ribbon in the air.

Illustration depicting men playing cricket. Dated 19th century

'Curling, 1820', c1910. Creator: Tom Browne.

The cricket match between the gentlemen of england and the Montreal cricket club illustration 1872

Studies of a skating man, Simon Andreas Krausz, 1770 - 1825 drawing paper. pencil brush skates (winter sports)

Practice for the race. 'Now all of yis pull together.' , Men, Kayaks, 19th Century American Trade Cards

Illustration depicting the 19th century, Golfers 'striking off' 1857

Juggler and acrobats entertaining a crowd in the street.

Illustration depicting two schoolboys during an archery lesson. Dated 19th century

Winter landscape with four skaters.

Illustration depicting people skating on a frozen lake. Dated 19th century

Types from Holland around 1841, De Schaatsenrijder, the ice skater or the skater, Netherlands, authentic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century model, exact date of depiction unknown, historical

Engraving depicting a female tennis player in discomfort because of her new rubber shoes. Illustrated by George du Maurier (1834-1896) a Franco-British cartoonist and author. Dated 19th century

Baseball, Baseball

A skater who performed publicly between the Hague and Schevening, in August 1790. Date: 1790

Tag Out Causes Problems, Victorian Sports

The caption for this 1890s illustrations reads: Playing as if he owned the green.

Illustration depicting young ladies playing a game of lawn tennis. Illustrated by George du Maurier (1834-1896) a Franco-British cartoonist and author. Dated 19th century

Race on skates or roller skates, around 1895, Berlin, Germany, illustration, reproduction from a model from the 19th century. Authentic, file restored for optimal use, exact date of submission unknown, historical, men and woman competing on roller skates, spectators along the way

Illustration depicting a golfer 'striking off'. Dated 19th century

Instructions for the game of diablo or Chinese yo-yo, showing various tricks and techniques, early 19th century. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagne's Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d'Adresse), Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1903.

Competition of the Swiss wrestlers in front of the audience, wrestling, sport, Switzerland, digitally restored reproduction of an original from the 19...

Celebrated Jockeys, Celebrated Jockeys from the second half of the th century from Illustrated London News , Unknown

Cartoon depicting a game of lawn tennis. Illustrated by George du Maurier (1834-1896) a Franco-British cartoonist and author. Dated 19th century

Skater and saleswoman on the ice. A skater on the ice. Links a stall with a saleswoman and a few men at the counter. At the bottom left in the margin skate.

London street acrobats.

Vanity Fair: Jockeys; Frank Wootton, Leslie Matthew 'Spy' Ward, 1851-1922, British, 1909, Chromolithograph

Men fencing. Engraving by Scheltus a Bolswert.

Photo production of a drawing by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who skates on the Main by Wilhelm von Kaulbach, Anonymous, After Wilhelm von Kaulbach, 1850 - 1900 photograph This photo is part of a cover with 22 photos. cardboard. photographic support albumen print skates (winter sports) (+ sportsman, player, etc.). throwing snowballs Frankfurt. Main

Skating riders, Anthonij van der Haer, after Cornelis Dusart, c. 1745 - 1785 print Northern Netherlands paper etching skates (winter sports). sledge, sleigh (winter sports)

An engraving depicting young football players of the Football Association. Dated 19th century

Soldiers in the French army enjoy a game of football. Date: 1902

Illustration depicting Rugby football. The team sports rugby league and rugby union. Rugby union originated at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire and rugby league originated in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire after splitting to form the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, today called the Rugby Football League. Rugby football (both league and union) is one of many versions of football played at English public schools in the 19th century

Paper chase, a sport rarely performed today because of the risk of polluting the evironment and the destruction of trees involved. Date: late 19th century

Practical exercises in fencing. Engraving. 19th century. Colored.

This 1897 illustration of a lawn tennis player shows him hitting what is known as a smash. Asmashintennisis a shot that is hit above the hitter's head with a serve-like motion. It is also referred to as an overhead.

Illustration depicting 19th century, ice-skaters

Couple who tackle each other. Couple who tackle each other with a hairdress and a slipper.

Boxing, 1860, Artist Unknown

George Bellows, Tennis, 1920 Tennis

Madrid, Fontainebleau, Moscow - from top to bottom ... or causes and effects Madrid, Fontainebleau, Moscow - from top to bottom ... or the causes and effects . Estampe.

Cutting a figure , Ice skating, Skaters

Roller skating very much in fashion. Lady students from Girton on the towpath waving to oarsmen rowing on the river. George du Maurier cartoon from 'Punch', London, 15 April 1876

Cod. 11093, fol. 7r: Book on Swordsmanship and Wrestling Full page: fencing scene

Boxing match for 200 guineas, betwixt Dutch Sam and Medley : Fought 31 May 1810, on Moulsey Hurst near Hampton , Boxing, Boxers Sports, Sports spectators. Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827). Prints and Drawings

Leslie Matthew 'Spy' Ward, 1851-1922, British, Vanity Fair: Jockeys; 'The Demon', George Fordham, September 2, 1882, 1882. Chromolithograph.

ICE YACHTING ON LOCH COBBINSHAW, READY ABOUT, RESULT, MAN OVER BOARD

Baseball follows the flag' (Approximate, 1900 - 1912). Wash drawing, dimensions 14.5 x 20 in. (in mat 28 x 22 in.). Subjects include baseball and military personnel

Illustration showing Oxford students in practice for the Boat Race, 1879. The Boat Race is an annual rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between men's and women's open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The men's race was first held in 1829 and has been held annually since 1856, except during the First and Second World Wars.

'Barbarous Technicalities of Lawn Tennis', 1882 (1891). Artist: George du Maurier

Men fencing. Engraving by Robert Willemsz. Baudoux.

Types from Holland around 1841, De Kolver, golfer, Netherlands, authentic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, exact date of depiction unknown, historical

Men playing cricket. Engraving, 17--.

Leslie Matthew 'Spy' Ward, 1851-1922, British, Vanity Fair: Jockeys; 'Rick', Fred Rickaby, September 12, 1901, 1901. Chromolithograph.

F.A. CUP FINAL: NOTTINGHAM FOREST 3 DERBY COUNTY 1 At Crystal Palace, Benbow scores Forest's second goal. Date: 1898

'Cricket as Played in the Artillery Ground, London, 1785', (1947). A game of cricket being played at Finsbury (now in north London). In the mid-eighteenth century, the Artillery Ground was the home of the London Cricket Club. After a painting of 1743 in the Marylebone Cricket Club Collection. From "British Clubs", by Bernard Darwin. Collins, London, 1947

Engraving showing a number of scenes during a quoits match in Hampstead, 1888. Date: 11 August 1888

A group of crack gentleman cricket players in 1871 including the legendary W.G. Grace, third from left. Pictured at Lord's cricket ground in 1871. Date: 1871

A Fair Catch - American Football, circa 1887

Tennis player. 19th century. Europe.

Lost his row-locks, but bound to win.. Lost his row-locks, but bound to win.

Munsey, Golf

Vanity Fair: Jockeys; James Woodburn, June 21, 1890, Leslie Matthew 'Spy' Ward, 1851-1922, British, 1890, Chromolithograph

Man Holds Broken Golf Club in Astonishment.

From the Sports Girls series (N463) for Old Port Plug Tobacco ca. 1889 Issued by Old Port Plug Tobacco The "Sports Girls" series of trading cards (N463) was issued by Old Port Plug Tobacco in the late 1880's to promote the company's tobacco products. This series was issued twice, by Cameron & Sizer and Old Port Plug. Each version of the series is identical except for the tobacco company named on the card recto.. From the Sports Girls series (N463) for Old Port Plug Tobacco 421098

Duel with swords between Boulanger and Floquet Date: 1888

Vanity Fair: Sports, Miscellaneous: Sport Riders; 'Clocks', Sir John Bennett, January 13, 1883, Leslie Matthew 'Spy' Ward, 1851-1922, British, 1883, Chromolithograph

Illustration date d1917, showing two women on a tennis court

'No doubt you can make money in this field, my friend, but there's only one field to-day where you can get honour.' A severe looking Mr. Punch comments on the intention of the Football Association to carry out the full programme of the Cup Competition, despite the outbreak of World War One. Date: 1914

A hectic scramble for the ball during an England vs Scotland match at the Oval. Date: 1872

Published by Vincent Robert Alfred Brooks, 1814-1885, British, Jockeys of the Victorian and Edwardian Turf executed by Spy and others for the 'Vanity Fair' Series. Chromolithograph.

Illustration depicting members of the Thames Hare and Hounds Club taking part in a paper chase at Roehampton. Paper Chase, a racing game played outdoors (best played within a wood or even a shrubbery maze) with any number of players. At the start of the game, one person is designated the 'hare' and everyone else in the group are the 'hounds'. The 'hare' starts off ahead of everyone else leaving behind themselves a trail of paper shreds (or chalk marks in an urban environment) which represents the scent of the hare. Just as scent is carried on the wind, so too are the bits of paper, sometimes making for a difficult game. After some designated time, the hounds must chase after the hare and attempt to catch them before they reach the ending point of the race. It is generally done over a long distance, but shorter courses can be set. If the hare makes it to the finish line, they get to choose the next hare, or to be the hare themselves. Similarly, the person who catches the hare gets to ch

The lady footballers: an anticipation. The Sketch anticipates the brave new world of women footballers: a good looking goalkeeper recieves much attention, the referee is mobbed by a posse of argumentative women, and two over enthusiastic ladies attempt a dirty tackle on a member of the opposite team. Date: 1894

First Grand Match of Cricket Played by Members of the Royal Amateur Society on Hampton Court Green, August 3rd, 1836. Date/Period: 1836. Painting. Oil on canvas. Height: 559 mm (22 in); Width: 813 mm (32 in). Author: UNKNOWN ARTIST.

Deer-Stalking in the Adirondacks in Winter, from Every Saturday, January 21,1871. Artist: Winslow Homer, American, 1836-1910

Published by Vincent Robert Alfred Brooks, 1814-1885, British, Jockeys of the Victorian and Edwardian Turf executed by Spy and others for the 'Vanity Fair' Series. Chromolithograph.

Illustration showing a game of football, played a group of apprentices, in the streets of London, 16th century. Football, then a game with no rules, had been banned by Elizabeth I, but continued to be enjoyed until the time of Cromwell. Date: 1910

Great Fight for the Championship.

8th All Sokol Rally in Prague. A rally to promoting public exercise as a way to stimulate national self importance (through organised gymnastic and athletic demonstrations - usually mass-participation). The Sokol (which translates as 'Falcon') arose as the first Czech Gymnastic organisation in the 1860s. Between the First and Second World Wars the organisation grew to have a million members. The Sokol programmes were organised to have mass appeal across all strata of Czech society and across a

Vanity Fair: Jockeys; 'The Favorite Jockey', Fred Archer, May 28, 1881, Leslie Matthew 'Spy' Ward, 1851-1922, British, 1881, Chromolithograph

Bicycling / Hy Sandham ; aquarelle print by L. Prang & Co. | Library of Congress

James Hammill, and Walter Brown, great five mile rowing match for $4000 & the championship of America: at Newburg Bay, NY

Junge Frau beim Tennis, 1899, digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert, Originaldatum nicht bekannt

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