George Lohmann : The beau ideal

65 pages, illustrated. The front cover came with a label marked 'RECEPTION' running vertically along the inner edge, and there are still remnants left as well as scratch marks caused by its removal (fingernails - leave well enough alone, except the label was really annoying me!); it also carries a stamp on the half title page 'Archive Copy Property of Pluto Press Australia '. The pages are tanned but overall, a clean, solid and, apart from fingernail scratches, unmarked copy.The book was issued in a numbered and signed copy edition of 500 copies. As this copy belonged to Pluto Press aechives, it is neither numbered nor signed. "George Alfred Lohmann (2 June 1865 – 1 December 1901) was an English cricketer, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically, he holds the lowest lifetime Test bowling average among bowlers with more than fifteen wickets and he has the second highest peak rating for a bowler in the ICC ratings. He also holds the record for the lowest strike rate (balls bowled between each wicket taken) in all Test history. He bowled at around medium pace and on English pitches of his time could gain spin, so that when rain affected the pitch he was unplayable. Against the best batsmen, too, Lohmann possessed skill and guile, and he could vary his pace, flight and break deceptively, so as to worry batsmen on better pitches. He was the finest slip fielder of his time and in county cricket a hard-hitting batsman who scored two centuries for Surrey and averaged 25 in 1887. In 2016, Lohmann was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame." (Wikipedia) Ruth Sissons is the author of "The Players", a social history of the professional cricketer.…