CHARLES LESKI AUCTIONS PTY. LTD.
13 Cato Street, Hawthorn East 3123, Victoria, Australia
Telephone: 61-3-9864-9999
Facsimile:
61-3-9822-2788
Email: contact@leski.com.au
A.B.N.13 081 928 921
Media Release
February 10, 2010
AMERICAN SCHOOLBOYS PLAN WORLD DOMINATION BY AUSSIE RULES
Was the
creation of the Australian Football League in 1990
the start of the code’s push towards global
recognition? Thanks to a remarkable collection of real-photo postcards we now know that attempts to send
‘footy’ offshore predated the later move by some 80 years.
In 1909, a group of schoolboys from Columbia Park Boys’ Club of San Francisco spent nine months
touring Australia and New Zealand, following
an approach to President Roosevelt by the West Australian
Football League with the object of establishing the Australian game in America.
The tour of city and regional centres was captured in a remarkable set of images including arrival ceremonies
and flag presentations in Sydney, the Gymnasium Football Club [Violet Town] premiership teams of 1908
and 1909, the boys outside the YMCA in Melbourne, and their arrival at the Lucas Hotel in Launceston.
There is also a statement by Major Sidney Peixotto of the National Guard of California, who declared that
Aussie Rules is “the greatest football game in the world.” There was also an editorial in The New York
Times on October 23, 1910 that observed “With the exception of Sydney....rugby is obsolete in Australia.”
“What is remarkable about this event is that while newspaper reports exist in Australia and the US, these are
believed to be the only known photographs,” says Charles Leski. “It adds immeasurably to our
understanding of the genesis of VFL/AFL as an international code.”
Lot 318 will be offered for sale by Leski Auctions in Melbourne on Tuesday, February 16th at 5.00pm. It
has a
pre-sale estimate
of $1,000
-
$1,500.
(NB: Image available
at
=jpg&width=550&height=550
Leski Auctions was established in 1973 and is one of Australia’s leading auctioneers of Sporting Memorabilia,
Australiana, Collectibles and World Philately.
Leski Auctions is a recognised leader in the area of early photography, art, wine, cameras, books, autographs,
entertainment memorabilia, medals, coins, stamps, aerophilately, cigarette and trade cards, maps, railway
memorabilia, advertising artwork and posters, and the Olympics, football and cricket..
It was the first auction house in Australia to introduce an on-line, real-time bidding system ‘Live Bid Online’™,
which allows participation from anywhere in the world. It currently runs 22 auctions per year.
Leski Auctions has previously sold many significant collections, including those of Shirley Strickland, Ron Clarke,
Sir Reginald Ansett and former RSL President, Bruce Ruxton. It has sold more ‘baggy green’ caps than any other
auction house in the world, and is one of the largest auctioneers of cricket memorabilia by value and volume.
Leski Auctions recently sold the newly-discovered Phar Lap horse tonic recipe book. It recently achieved a world
record price for a Bradman bat.
Managing Director Charles Leski is a registered valuer for the Cultural Gifts Program through the Department of
Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. He is also the valuer of the displayed items at the National Sports
Museum at the MCG, Melbourne.
The company is located at 13 Cato Street, Hawthorn East 3123 Australia. Tel +61-3-864 9999 and
CHARLES LESKI AUCTIONS PTY. LTD.
13 Cato Street, Hawthorn East 3123, Victoria, Australia
Telephone: 61-3-9864-9999
Facsimile:
61-3-9822-2788
Email: contact@leski.com.au
A.B.N.13 081 928 921
Issued by:
Charles Leski, Leski Auctions
Michael Krape, Michael Krape Consulting
Tel: 61-3-9864 9999
Tel: 0403 135 880
charles@leski.com.au
michaelkrape@krape.com.au
NEWS 
