Rare 1910 All England Championship - Married Couples large Silver Tennis Trophy hallmarked London 1907, makers James Wakely and Frank Wheeler engraved to the front “Married Couples All England Championship 1910” together with names of all the winners from 1910-1914 and 1920-1923 on the back, mounted on the original dark stained wooden plynth together with engraved shields of all the previous winners to include Mr and Mrs G.W Hillyard 1910, 1911, 1912, again in 1914 the competition was played in Nottingham and was terminated in 1923. George Hillyard was Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1908, 1910 and his wife, maiden name Blanche Bingley, was 6x Wimbledon Ladies Champion from 1886 onwards as well as being runner-up on no fewer than 7 occasions from 1885-1901. Trophy weighs 45oz – measures 10”h x 13”w overall height 13.25”. It also comes with an interesting collection of photographs and ephemera to incl 3x Trim Wimbledon postcards of: 1. George Hillyard signed; 2. Mrs Hillyard; and 3. Mrs Lampugh who with her husband won the 1913 All England Championship Married Couples Trophy breaking a winning sequence by The Hillyards who returned to winning ways in 1914 prior to the outbreak of war. 2x 1905 Extracts from the bystander featuring the Hillyards and guests at Thorpe House, Satchville, Leics, and finally an enlarged photograph of 1912 Wimbledon Championships of Hillyard in The Royal Box with George V, Queen Mary and Duke of York (Future King George VI and Princess Mary). Note: George Hillyard was one of the most important and influential figures in lawn tennis, he married Blanche Bingley and they lived at Thorpe Satchville, Leicestershire and with its own golf course and 2x tennis courts, all the top players of the era played their (see Bruce Tarran’s superb book which is included in this lot for further information) - where they influenced the world tennis scene for the next 40 years. Hillyard who was Commander in the Royal Navy was a personal friend of George V (they were at the naval college together) when he became secretary of the All England Lawn Tennis Club in 1907, invited the then Prince of Wales and Princess Mary, during the visit Prince accepted the position of President of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Hillyard was also one of the founder members of the LTA and was largely responsible for moving Wimbledon in 1922 from Worple Road to its present site. Hillyard was Olympic Tennis gold medallist in 1908 playing with RF Dougherty, he was also Middlesex County cricketer and went on Lord Hawke’s tour to the USA in 1894. Besides being an accomplished tennis player and cricketer he was also a very notable golfer as well. In 1928 Hillyard moved to West Sussex and was involved in the building of the West Sussex Golf Club which opened in 1931. In 2011 West Sussex GC was rated the 76th best golf course in the world. This trophy offers the opportunity for the serious tennis collector to acquire a most sought-after trophy linked to two pioneering players in the early days of tennis, as well as being a most influential tennis administrator and player when “tennis was novel and evolving rapidly” both at home and abroad. An opportunity to acquire a remarkable trophy steeped in the history of the day.