Cricket fan and lover of all things old and collectable, Jasper Jennings casts his discerning eye over the month in memorabilia.

Available from Sportspages (01252 727 222, www.sportspages.com) is a first edition of ‘The Cricketing Record Of Major Warton’s Tour’, 1888-89. A post-tour account of the first English tour to South Africa, led by Charles Aubrey-Smith, every match played is described in great detail. One of the scarcest tour books, it’s priced at £3,800; an inferior copy fetched £4,560 at a sale in May 2006.

The 20th anniversary catalogue issued by Boundary Books (01235 751 021, www.boundarybooks.com) is a must-see for new and experienced collectors alike. It is full of fine examples of the books, prints, match souvenirs and signed photographs and letters that should form the cornerstones of every collection. And their prices always seem very reasonable.

Sale dates and highlights:

Convery Auctions Ltd (01506 657 957, www.converyauctions.com) Sporting Memorabilia sale at Lord’s 16th November features an original autographed photograph of W.G. Grace, at the wicket. Taken at London County and signed and dated in ink 1903, it’s a good size at 21.5 x 29cm: £1,500-2,000.

Special Auction Services (0118 971 2949, www.specialauctionservices.com), 20th November. I like the look of the vintage cricket bag bearing label for `J.B. Priestley, Port Said`, possibly the novelist, playwright and broadcaster: £50-80.

November 23rd at Christie’s South Kensington (020 7930 6074, www.christies.com), a highly rare group of signatures of the second England team in Australia, 1863-64. Pencil signatures include William Caffyn (1828-1919), Thomas Lockyer (1826-1869, wicket keeper), Julius Caesar (1830-1878), and George Parr (1826-1891, captain), formerly in the possession of a Melbourne family long associated with the Melbourne Cricket Club.

George Parr’s team, stronger than that of H.H. Stephenson, was unbeaten in 16 matches against teams of 22. Rowland Bowen in his ‘Cricket: A History of Its Growth’ (1970) regards this tour as “of singular importance, for, in describing it, the phrase ‘test match’ was used for the first time, in a perfectly correct context to describe matches between the English team and each of the colonies”.

Mullocks (01694 771 771, www.mullocksauctions.co.uk) will include some cricket lots in their Football, Rugby & Sporting sale of 2nd December.

Read Jasper’s regular blog at www.jenningsprints.com