This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/2/2012
Measuring 12" x 16", this lithograph depicts the famous bout between Tom Cribb and Tom Molineaux. Printed on the bottom reads, "The Battle between Crib and Molineux, fought at Thifsleton Gap in the county of Rutland. Sept. 28th, 1811 for 600 Guineas. Print remains 100% intact with heavy signs of aging throughout. Super rare item, printed in accordance with the style of the era. Very rare, early lithograph.
Background
It is December of 1810. Britain is the only country with a large, organized boxing establishment--and boxing in Britain has entered its golden age. The Queensberry Rules do not yet exist. Boxing is bare-knuckled. Its rules are simple and few:
•
Fights are with bare fists.
•
No kicking, biting, gouging, or elbowing.
•
Grappling and throws are allowed above the waist.
•
A round ends when one fighter is knocked down. Fighters are given 30 seconds to rest, and the next round begins
•
There are no judges to score the bout. The fight ends only with complete unconsciousness from one of the fighters or when a fighter quits.
It is an era of high patriotic feeling--Napoleon is reigning over most of the continent, and Britain has been waging a costly war against him for years. This bellicose, war-ridden environment is perfect for pugilism, which is flourishing. Although well-known and well-attended during the 18th century, bare-knuckle pugilism reached its peak in Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A succession of brilliant champions--Daniel Mendoza, John Jackson, Jem Belcher, Henry Pearce, John Gully--made their appearance. Right now, the champion is Tom Cribb, who many hail as the greatest of the lot. He is 30, at the height of his powers, and undefeated.
Tom Cribb
Height--5'10"
Weight--Around 200lbs
Cribb was a hard, accurate puncher. While considered by some critics to be slow, Cribb's style was awkward and effective. He was a skilled man in the ring, and his style gave many of the best of his era considerable problems. He was also quite strong, a good wrestler (important in those days), and incredibly durable--he took massive beatings in many of his fights and refused to quit.
Enter Tom Molineaux. Molineaux was a former slave from America. He learned English pugilism, of a sort, in order to fight in the brutal matches that slave owners arranged from time to time between their slaves. When he came to England, he was still considered an extremely crude fighter, but time and the tutelage of Bill Richmond (another former slave and a skilled pugilist) slowly managed to shape Molineaux into a very dangerous fighter. By 1810, he had defeated Tom Blake--the major challenger to Cribb's title--and put forward a challenge to Cribb himself.
Tom Molineaux
Height--5'8"
Weight--About 200lbs
Molineaux was a tough, durable fighter. In his fights with Cribb and Blake, he showed himself able to take a huge amount of punishment--perhaps the only man tougher than Molineaux at the time was Cribb himself. Molineaux was also a massive puncher, having blown out Blake and an earlier, unnamed Bristol fighter quite handily. He was also very strong and had incredible endurance. The only weak point in his armour was his relative lack of skill--while Richmond managed to eliminate some of his stylistic problems, the raw edges were still obvious.
Cribb was in a state of semi-retirement by this point, and had been looking forward to the quiet life. Unfortunately, the quiet life looked like it had to be put off for a while, as all of England was calling for Cribb to beat the upstart. People who had never been interested in pugilism before were suddenly enthralled by the possibility of the Cribb-Molineaux fight. It was discussed in church sermons, social gatherings, and even in Parliament.
Strangely, the main problem that England had with Molineaux had nothing to do with his color--the extreme racism of the late 19th century was still some time off. In fact, the British people were quite willing to give Molineaux credit as an excellent boxer, and his numerous affairs with white women were by and large overlooked. The much greater offense, in their eyes, was the hideous fact that he was an AMERICAN! The idea that a foreigner could take the sacred trophy of British sporting was unthinkable.
Whatever their reasons, the English made it quite clear to Cribb that he couldn't dodge Molineaux, and that retirement had to wait. Cribb consented, and he and Molineaux met at Copthorne Gap in December of 1810. The defending champion was still out of shape from his semi-retirement, and was carrying several excess pounds of fat. Molineaux was in much better shape, but he was still comparatively crude stylistically. Most importantly, though, Cribb underestimated Molineaux. He would come to regret this misjudgment in the fight to come.
The Fight
ROUND 1--Molineaux lands the first punch of the fight--a left handed punch which does little real damage. Cribb returns and misses, blocks Molineaux's counterpunch, and lands a solid left under Molineaux's eye. The two exchange two more blows and then go into a clinch. Cribb throws Molineaux, ending the round.
ROUND 2--Molineaux rallies and lands an ineffective left on Cribb, who returns with a vicious hit to Molineaux's right eyebrow, staggering him. Cribb moves in on the staggered Molineaux, and they land several shots on each other. Cribb is already showing his advantage in skill, but Molineaux manages to land a brutal blow to the mouth which makes Cribb's teeth chatter. Cribb's mouth starts bleeding.
ROUND 3--Both fighters look for openings. Molineaux throws a shot to Cribb's head, which is blocked. Cribb smartly counterpunches with a vicious right hand to the ribs, which floors Molineaux.
ROUND 4--Molineaux rallies, moving forward after the champion until Cribb stops him with a punch to the face. He is knocked down, due in part to the wet and slippery ground (it is a cold, stormy winter day in England).
ROUND 5--Both fighters show a great amount of skill. Molineaux begins by swinging and missing at Cribb, who counterpunches spiritedly. Molineaux blocks his counterpunche and lands a huge punch on the champion's left eye. They move to inside fighting (half-arms length), where they exchange several nasty punches for half a minute. Molineaux is floored with a weak punch from the champion.
ROUND 6--Molineaux plants a nice punch on Cribb's face, who collapsed to the ground in bad shape.
ROUND 7--Cribb rallies, flooring Molineaux with a punch to the side of the head.
ROUND 8--Cribb manages to block and slip Molineaux's punches, but he is confronted by an adversary who keeps coming. Cribb lands brutal punches to the head and body, mostly with his left, but Molineaux seems impervious to punishment. Molineaux stands and exchanges blows with Cribb until he is finally dropped from a huge accumulation of punches.
ROUND 9--The fight no longer looks like an easy win for Cribb. Molineaux is much more durable than anticipated. Cribb's head is badly swelled up on the left side, and although Molineaux's head doesn't look much better, Cribb is starting to tire. He has been fighting too fast, and is out of shape. Molineaux bores in on Cribb again, landing a blow on Cribb's head and knocking him off his feet.
ROUND 10--Molineaux is starting to show weakness of his own, but once again charges in against Cribb. Cribb replies with many punches to Molineaux's head, but Molineaux, incredibly, ignores the punishment. They keep fighting close, wrestling one another until both fall.
ROUND 11--Cribb starts to box on the retreat (this is considered to be Cribb's specialty). Molineaux keeps after him, but his blows start to seem feeble. Nevertheless, he manages to throw Cribb heavily.
ROUND 12--Molineaux rallies again, punching at Cribb several times. Cribb returns with a vicious body blow (which doesn't seem to bother Molineaux). Molineaux then hits Cribb repeatedly to the head and throws him.
ROUND 13--Molineaux charges in in typical style, and receives a blow to the face from Cribb. Cribb is exhausted and badly damaged, and falls from his own blow.
ROUND 14--Molineaux charges in, shoving at the champion until he falls without a blow being exchanged.
ROUND 15--Cribb revives slightly, hitting Molineaux over his guard. Both show skill in a rapid exchange of blows, until Cribb knocks Molineaux down with a punch to the throat.
ROUND 16--Both exchange punches, but Molineaux falls from exhaustion.
ROUND 17--Both fighters' spirits seem to be reviving, and they both exchange good punches. Molineaux then closes with Cribb, throws him, and deliberately lands on him.
ROUND 18--Cribb lands a brutal body shot on Molineaux, who returns to Cribb's head. The champion knocks Molineaux off his feet with a blow to the forehead. Both are exhausted.
ROUND 19--Telling the two apart by this stage would be impossible if they weren't of different colors. Cribb boxes defensively, retreating as Molineaux bores in. Molineaux traps Cribb against the ropes, crushing him against them as he punches the champion. Cribb is unable to fall down, and takes massive punishment. He then puts Cribb into a headlock and hammers away, not allowing him to fall. Molineaux finally drops Cribb, who seems unconscious.
ROUND 20--Molineaux charges in, bringing Cribb down.
Cribb's face, and then throws the champion.
ROUND 22--"of no importance"--Egan
ROUND 23--Both combatants are unable to do much to each other, as they are both exhausted. Cribb lands a blow to Molineaux's left eye. Molineaux runs in, lands a great body shot, and throws him heavily.
ROUND 24--Molineaux begins to revive; the two exchange punches and Cribb is thrown.
ROUND 25--Cribb is still stunned from the last throw. He tries to land a punch on Molineaux's left eye, but his blow is blocked and he is knocked down.
ROUND 26--Both try to recruit their strength again for a great effort. Molineaux's left eye is closed, and Cribb goes after his right. Molineaux wards Cribb's blows off for the most part, but falls from a slight hit.
ROUND 27--The two wrestle and lean on each other, and both collapse.
ROUND 28--Cribb misses a blow at Molineaux, and is knocked off his feet.
ROUND 29--Molineaux runs in, but is stopped by Cribb with a hit to the right eye, and he falls down
NOTE: It is in the 29th round that a "long count" was said to take place. Cribb was unable to come up for the 29th round, having taken too much punishment. Sensing this, his seconds accused Molineaux of holding pistol balls in his hands to increase punching power. A row ensues, giving Cribb time to clear his head. It should be noted that Cribb himself had no part in these proceedings.
ROUND 30--Molineaux, sensing that his eye was a severe problem, tries to end the contest. He dashes in, ignoring the punches to his head that he receives, and throws the champion hard. He decides that if he wins, he must do so by wrestling, since his distance is incorrect.
ROUND 31--Molineaux is fatigued from the last round, and is knocked down by a blow to the throat.
ROUND 32--Both stagger against each other like drunken men, and fall without a blow exchanged
ROUND 33--Molineaux astonishes the crown and rushes in, shoving Cribb down. Neither of their blows are forceful by this stage.
ROUNDS 34-39--Cribb is battered, but manages to land slightly better than Molineaux. In
ROUND 39, Cribb clearly has the better round, having his way with his opponent. Molineaux declares "me can fight no more" but is persuaded to try one more round. He agrees, and then collapses unconscious. Cribb is declared the victor. The fight is over.