On your wall
Archival print, framed and hung — a styled render, not the exact frame shipped.
Portraits, the Grand Match, and the Clubhouse Wall · The Spy Caricatures
“Mr John Ball jun.”
“Lib” (Liborio Prosperi), Vanity Fair, 1892 · chromolithograph
What it is
John Ball of Hoylake, the great amateur, caricatured for Vanity Fair mid-address.
Why it matters
Ball beat the professionals at their own championship; Vanity Fair filed him among the men of the day.
What to notice
Drawn by “Lib” (Liborio Prosperi), not Spy — the wall’s favourite Ball plate, honestly attributed.
Play a course long enough and it becomes your surname.
Provenance
- Maker
- “Lib” (Liborio Prosperi), Vanity Fair, 1892
- Era
- The Gutty (1848–1900)
- Chapter
- The Golden Age
- Medium
- chromolithograph
- Made
- 1892
- Figure
- John Ball
- Course
- Hoylake (historical-document doctrine)
- Source
- Vanity Fair, “Men of the Day” No. 534 (public domain)
Publicity
Clear — a long-deceased figure with no post-mortem right of publicity in play. Sold as history, freely and openly.
Historical document
This is a period artefact that names its own ground. The place-name appears here as the historical record shows it — never as a house mark, a keyword, or an endorsement, and never pre-populated anywhere in this shop.
Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. 95-year rule (published 1930 or earlier). Gated by the work’s own year of publication. Cleared by registry on 2026-07-18.
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan's resolution doesn't clear our floor for a physical print, so this piece is offered as a digital download only.
Size
$29.00
