19th Century Tennis Player

by Maj Seda

Title

19th Century Tennis Player

Artist

Maj Seda

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Edward Hughes Ball-Hughes
The Regency Dandy

Known as “The Golden Ball,” Edward Hughes Ball-Hughes was a tennis-loving Regency dandy. He was known both for having invented the black cravat, and his heavy gambling. He inherited an immense fortune in 1819, but his extensive tastes and constant betting wiped out the lot within ten years!

The first tennis court at Hampton Court was built for Cardinal Wolsey, between 1526 and 1529.

As a young man, Henry VIII was a keen and talented tennis player, who spent hours on court. His second wife Anne Boleyn was gambling on a game of tennis when she was arrested to be taken to the Tower of London. She even complained that she couldn't collect her winnings!

One of the first English guides to tennis in 1553 claimed that this game has been created for a good purpose, namely, to keep our bodies healthy, to make our young men stronger and more robust, chasing idleness, virtue's mortal enemy, far from them and thus making them of a stranger and more excellent nature.

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October 8th, 2013

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