Contest Collection

The Tennis Championships at Wimbledon
The Tennis fortnight at Wimbledon is for many the most thrilling period of the summer season

Supermarine aeroplane, Rolls-Royce S. 6
The Supermarine aeroplane, Rolls-Royce S.6, winner of the International Schneider Trophy Air Race in 1922, 1927 and 1929, and holder of the world speed record of 357.7 mph

Pub Darts Match
A serious darts match held in the Merlins Cave, Clerkenwell, between the home team and the Lord High Admiral in the Barclay League

The Interport Field Gun Competition - Royal Navy
The Royal Navys field gun competition is a contest between teams from various Royal Navy commands

Schneider Trophy Air Race
Souvenir programme cover design, Schneider Trophy Contest. Date: 12 September 1931

Programme cover, Schneider Trophy Contest
Souvenir programme cover, The Schneider Trophy Contest, September 12th 1931, The Royal Aero Club. Showing a seaplane in flight. 1931

German Railway gun captured at the Battle of Amiens - WW1
A huge German Railway gun captured at the Battle of Amiens on 8th August 1918 became a source of some Allied controversy

Cover design, Doncaster Aviation Contest Programme
Cover design, programme for the Doncaster Aviation Contest, 15-23 October 1909. Claimed to be the first flying meeting in England. October 1909

Bathing Belle Parade
Three disgruntled beauty queens look particularly annoyed at a sassy woman in a red bikini holds a placard boasting that she can cook too!

Ladies Swim Contest 1905
A ladies swimming contest on the river Thames, from Hampton Court to Richmond

Sutherland Fire Engine
Merryweathers Sutherland fire-engine, which gained first prize at the international contest at the Crystal Palace. The engine continued in use for 27 years

HMS Contest, British destroyer, WW1
HMS Contest, British Acasta-class destroyer, launched 1913, served during the First World War, torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in the Western Approaches, 1917. Date: 1914-1918

The Ironstein Theory of Golf, by William Heath Robinson
A prospective competitor in our 500 golf contest makes one of those fance drives that are so bewildering to the ordinary member of a local golf club

Female Gurner
A woman gurner pulls a truely awful face through a leather ring during the gurning contest at Egremont Crab Fair, Whitehaven, Cumbria, England

A race of six lifeboats at Mounts Bay, Penzance, Cornwall. Date: 1867

Pulling the Wishbone
Pulling a wishbone to see who will come away with the larger part and the corresponding wish

Bartlett Cycle Champion
C H Bartlett, British cycle champion of the 50-mile contest. Date: 1911

King Henry VIII watching archery contest
Henry VIII and one of his wives attend an archery contest at Shooters Hill, London. circa 1530

Crystal Palace Brass Band Festival
View of the Central Avenue leading to the Crystal Palace in south London at the time of the annual Brass Band Festival. Bands from all over the country took part

Schneider contest nerve centre by G. H. Davis
The Schneider contest nerve centre: timing at over 300 mph. How the amazing speeds of the seaplanes were recorded: the timekeepers and their work on Ryde Pier. Date: 1929

The Sopwith Tabloid seaplane at Monaco, 20 April 1914, when it won the Schneider Trophy contest flown by Howard Pixton. Date: 1914

Perfuming probable prizewinners: dog show perfume, 1911
A patient Pomeranian stands on a folding chair while being squirted with perfume at the Ealing and District Canine Society dog show. Date: 1911

Winner of Miss World, Miss India - Reita Faria
Winner of Miss World, Miss India - 23 year-old Reita Faria, a medical student

Tmolus, King of Lydia and mountain god, judge of the flute contest between the Phrygian satyr Marsyas and Pan or Apollo

A man climbing a greasy pole for a prize, France, 19th century
A man climbing a greasy pole for a prize goose, France, early 19th century. A soldier, tisane vendor, orange seller, and others watch. Le Mat de Cocagne

Inspired by the current aviation mania, a new water sport is invented - the aim, to glide across a swimming pool with the aid of a kite. Date: 1909

Water-kiting (for want of a better name) inspired by the current aviation boom, the first contest, demonstrated by ladies of Clepton ladies swimming club at Hackney Baths. Date: 1909

WW2 - A drag show by British PoWs held at Stalag XXI-D, a German World War II PoW Camp based in Poznan (Posnan)

Edgar & Madge Syers in Olympics Games, ice skating 1908
Edgar Syers dancing with his wife Madge Syers in the Olympic Games of 1908, winning the bronze medal at the Princes Skating Club, Knightsbridge, London. Date: October 1908

Wrestling Match (Wrestlers - Luchadas) - Canary Islands
Canarain Wrestling Match (Wrestlers - Luchadas) - Canary Islands, Spain. Canarian Wrestling is a form of folk wrestling, originally from the Canary Islands, where it is known as Lucha Canaria

Hoover Vacuum Cleaner Window Display with a musical theme Date: 1948

An interior view of Harry's New York Bar, 5 Rue Daunou, Paris, 1920s showing a beer drinking contest Date: 1920s

Sir Thomas Lipton on a yacht
Sir Thomas Lipton (May 1848- October 1931) on board his steam yacht Erin'

Davis Cup Tennis
Scenes from the Second Round of the Davis Cup tennis contest, played between Great Britain and Rumania in Torquay

Miss Dowson, Angler
Miss M. S. Dowson won the ladies competition in a fly and bait casting tournament held at Norwood in London. Date: 1931

Stills from The Beauty Prize
The Beauty Prize (here captioned as The Beauty Contest') was a silent film from 1924, now lost. It starred Viola Dana (1897-1987). Date: 1924

Boxing at Brighton
Scenes from a boxing match held at Brighton between Bombardier Billy Wells (1889-1967) and Soldier Jones (1897-1942), also known as John Beaudin. Date: 1925

Eve Gray
A portrait photograph of actress, Eve Gray, born Fanny Evelyn Garrett, who was taken to Australia as a child, where her stage career began

Glider Aircraft at National Gliding Contests, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, July 1938 Date: 1938

Catford Cycling Club, Hill Climbing Contest
Catford Cycling Club certificate, Open Hill Climbing Contest, Westerham Hill, Kent, June 1909 Date: 1909

Ann Sidney, beauty queen and actress
Ann Sidney (b 1944), winner of the 1964 Miss World contest, representing the UK. She later acted in TV and film. Seen here looking coy with a drink in her hand. Date: circa 1960s

Bowman Findhaven Myth Scotland Enraged Losing
bowman, findhaven, myth, scotland, enraged, losing, twice, sir, john, ogilvy, archery, contest, lord, lindsay, about, strike, down, lets, shriek, falls, dead, history, historical, 10110950

Meistersinger Contest Music Opera Wagner Die
meistersinger, contest, music, opera, wagner, die, first, performed, 1868, singing, act, scene, walther, competition, guild, history, historical, 10103203

Medieval Jousting Tournament, arrival and contest

Bathing Beauties at Steeplechase Park Pool, Coney Island, NY, USA. Date: circa late 1930s

Miss England Speedboat
Miss England was the name of a series of speedboats used by Henry Seagrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s. Date: circa 1950

Edgar & Madge Syers the 1908 Olympics
Husband and wife team who were in the Olympic Games of 1908, winning the bronze medal at the Princes Skating Club, Knightsbridge, London. Madge Syers winning in her own right, first in free skating

Contract Bridge Contest, 1932
Scenes at the Anglo-Dutch-German contract bridge contest played at Grosvenor House in January 1932

59th (Staffordshire) Division Memorial St Contest
The 59th was one of the first formations into Caen on 9 July 1944. It had been the last to arrive at the end of June. It was nickname the Pithead Division after its sign

Grand Professional Competition
Golfer James Braid, who was a probable contestant for the Sphere and Tatler cup which was being played at his home club, Walton Heath. Date: 1911

The Open Golf Championships at Prestwick
The Open Golf Champion James Braid putting at the Turn at Prestwick in the final round of the match, circled by the crowd. 1908

WInner at the Open Golf Championship, St Andrews
Scottish golfer James Braid putting for the match at the Open Golf Championships of 1910 Date: 1910

Aeroplane flight by Henri Farman 1908
Record aeroplane flight at Paris by Henri Farman (1874 - 1958), Anglo-French aviator

Women Archers - Kent vs. Surrey at Beddington, Surrey
Women Archers - A Match between Kent and Surrey at Beddington, Surrey. Note the quite spectacular hats!! Date: 1908

Cartoon advert for Shuck Maclean and Co Ltd, makers of printing inks. The winner of a beauty competition writes: I ascribe my success entirely to the use of your charming inks. 20th century

Cartoon, A sharp Contest for a Rotten Seat. early 19th century

MODEL PLANE CONTEST 1938
Model aircraft competition at Frankfurt-am-Main Date: 27 November 1938

United States Navy - Pratt-Read XLNE-1 31506, competition #32, at Harris Hill, Elmira, NY in 1946 for the first US soaring contest held after WWII

Prize-Winning Class Date: 1950

Duke of York - Stable Lads Boxing Tournament
Albert, Duke of York (1895-1952) (later King George VI), pictured with two contestants in the Stable Lads Boxing Tournament, which took place at the National Sporting Club in aid of St

George Stephensons Rocket 1815
George Stephensons Rocket, coming first in Rainhill Trials, 1829. Date: 1815

Tilting at the ring
Horseman rides at full gallop towards a small metal ring to hopefully insert his lance through, this was a medieval sport. Date: 17th century

German Singing Contest
Landgraf Hermann von Thuringen and wife Sophia preside over a singing contest featuring such top-flight minnesingers as Wolfram von Eschenbach and Walther von der Vogelweide. Date: 13th century

SCOTSMAN THROWS STONE
A kilted Scotsman launches a heavy stone during a stone throwing contest. Date: 1847

TOWN CRIER / CONTEST
The parade at the start of the Town Criers Contest, Southampton, Hampshire. Date: 1950s

Roman Javelin Contest
A herdsmens javelin contest in Rome Date: ancient

Lady Fencer Miss G M Davis - 3rd place in Hutton Cup Contest. Date: 1921

Beauty Contest Participant and Proud Parents
A Bathing Beauty Contest Participant and her Proud (if slightly shy) Parents! Date: circa 1949

Beauty contest lineup for Miss County of Cornwall
Beauty contest lineup in swimsuits for Miss County of Cornwall. Date: circa 1980s

Good Friday skipping contest, Alciston, East Sussex
Good Friday skipping contest outside the Rose Cottage Inn at Alciston, East Sussex, an annual event for which the road is officially closed. Date: 1960s

Maya Civilization. Ball game
Maya Civilization. Mesoamerican ballgame. Litography

Beautiful Legs Contest
A group of young women competing in a contest to decide which of them has the most beautiful legs, the prize being a pair of silk stockings! Date: early 1930s

Clipper Ship Contest sailing at sea under full sail Date: 1853

Gurning Man
A male gurner with his ugly face through a leather ring at the gurning contest at Egremont Crab Fair, Whitehaven, Cumbria, England

Matilda of Tuscany (1046-1115). Italian noble. Engraving. Co
Matilda of Tuscany or Matilda of Canossa (1046-1115). Italian noblewoman. Supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy. Engraving by R. Brend Amour. La Ilustracion, 1887. Colored

APOLLO
After Apollo has successfully defeated the Phrygian musician Marsyas in a contest, who can best play the flute, he rather unsportingly flays his rival alive for his presumption

MARSYAS
A Phrygian flute-player who challenged Apollo to a contest of musical skill, lost, and was flayed alive for his presumption

Miss Wales at St Ives for Miss UK Finals
Miss Wales (Barbara Christian) posing at St Ives during a break in the Miss UK Finals. Date: 1985

Poster design, Amherst Villiers
Poster design featuring the Amherst Villiers seaplane, which took part in the Schneider Trophy Air Races. Date: circa 1930s

FLEETWOOD
The beach at Fleetwood-on- Wyre, Lancashire, where an annual bathing beauty contest elects Miss Wyre. Date: circa 1835

Louis Paulhan flying in Farman III 1909
Louis Paulhan, pioneering French aviator flying in Farman III biplane, in a competition in Blackpool, September 1909. Date: September 1909

Cheeky Beauty Contest - Bottoms
A Beauty Contest A beautiful pair of buttocks often bring tenderness. A line up of Parisienne beauties, offering a cheeky angle on life in the French capital. Date: circa 1908

Sam and Carter Livesey - The Village Blacksmith
Sam Livesey (18731936) a British film and stage actor and his brother Carter (or Joseph) Livesey (rear)

Medieval singing contest, Wartburg
Medieval singing contest held at Wartburg Castle, Germany. In the lower picture, competing singers include Biterolf, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Heinrich von Ofterdingen and Walther von der Vogelweide

All products are expertly crafted, using premium materials, tailored to your specifications and promptly shipped