This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/1/2002.
One of the most famous championship boxing fights of the 19th Century took place at Farnborough on April 17, 1860 when J.C. Heenan, the Benicia Boy, squared off against England's Thomas Sayers. The fight lasted two hours and six minutes and resulted in a draw after Sayers' arm was broken and Heenan could no longer see. This 13" x 16" J.B. Rowbotham and J. Brown color lithograph, entitled "The Great Contest Between Sayers & Heenan", depicts the fight in one of its early rounds and shows in detail the dozens of onlookers attending the match. The lithograph is in splendid near-mint condition with no apparent defects and is housed in a 30" x 24" wooden frame.