1888/96 Hugely Rare, Eyton's Earliest NZ Tour Book: One of the most sought-after rugby writings ever, this was the first rugby tour book to appear in NZ. A description of the 1888-89 NZ Native team's remarkable international tour in Great Britain, Australia and NZ, it is the definitive C.19th volume detailing the saga of 26 heroes on their pioneer trek. Written by the promoter, Thomas Eyton, and needed partly because of the inadequate contemporary press coverage of the tour, it was not published until 1896, in response to numerous public inquiries. Only the Lyttelton Times had had a regular UK correspondent: others republished a scattering of accounts from different regional British papers, about seven weeks later. of Britain. It contains humour, triumph and tragedy and its great rarity has been bemoaned by rugby museums and leading booksellers. 128pp, 7" x 4.75", paper-covered & with cartoons & illustrations, it has been skilfully restored to a front cover corner, has staple rust remnants, but is entire, in marvellous condition for its near-130 years, and retains all the many advertising pages, unlike some of the few other examples to have survived. A neat, crisp black leatherette case with gilt titles has been made for the slip-out, free-standing book. Lovely: a magnificent opportunity, unlikely to recur soon!