Cruikshank, Devon Wrestling (1824)
Although listed variously as ‘A Cornish wrestling match’, ‘Two Cornish men wrestling’ et al., this artefact produced by Cruikshank clearly depicts Moor-men (wrestlers from Dartmoor) who were known to wear Red/Green and Black Cockerels/Lions on their backs*. The pictures also show wrestlers wearing skillibegs (‘shin-padding’) and shoes, distinctive equipment of the Devon style.
Credit to Tom Billinge for tracking down the inventory reference.
Draft (1975,U.311):
“A sketch/ tracing associated with Reid 5120, ‘A Cornish wrestling match.’
1822-1825 (see comments)
Graphite with signature in ink”
Version 1 (1868,0822.2619):
“Two Cornish men wrestling, one, with a cockerel pictured on the back of his coat, grabbing the other by the collar of his jacket, a large crowd of rustic men gathered around the ring and watching with interest, some seated on a bench, a tavern with a sign with wrestlers beyond, flags flying from the covered stand behind; illustration to the unpublished “Herbet Letters” (1824)
Etching”
Version 2 (1978,U.3286):
“Two Cornish men wrestling, one, with a cockerel pictured on the back of his coat, grabbing the other by the collar of his jacket, a large crowd of rustic men gathered around the ring and watching with interest, some seated on a bench, a tavern with a sign with wrestlers beyond, flags flying from the covered stand behind; illustration to the unpublished “Herbet Letters” (1824)
Etching”
Version 3 (1859,0316.915):
“Two Cornish men wrestling, one, with a cockerel pictured on the back of his coat, grabbing the other by the collar of his jacket, a large crowd of rustic men gathered around the ring and watching with interest, some seated on a bench, a tavern with a sign with wrestlers beyond, flags flying from the covered stand behind; illustration to the unpublished “Herbet Letters” (1824). Etching”
* “He was a young man of extremely prepossessing appearance, stripped to the shirt, and enclothed with the linen jacket with a green cock on the back, which I have noticed to be the customary garment.” Howitt, 1838 ‘The rural life of England’. The purposse of these symbols were for betting purposes: ‘The combatants had on canvass jackets with a lion painted on the back of each—one red, the other black. When the wrestlers entered the arena betting commenced. Two to one on the red or black as the case might be was the language of the “betting ring,” and the public gave expression to their feelings by “bravo black” (or red), and “well done little one,” their sympathies always being with the latter. In some cases the contest was a mere trial of strength; in others a weaker opponent gained the victory over his adversary by his tactics, those of a Cornishman being different from the “science” of the Devonian, and it was said the Somersetshire style different again.’ (Western Times – Friday 04 June 1869) Note how the same colours can be found in a modern Casino.
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