Auction of Alderney Muratti memorabilia
RARE memorabilia from Alderney’s only Muratti Vase win will be auctioned when current restrictions are lifted.
On 29 April it will be 100 years since James Lihou scored the only goal of the game to give the Ridunians victory over Guernsey in the final at Jersey’s Westmount.
Caps belonging to two members of the Alderney team were set to be auctioned as one lot in a sale at Martel Maides Auctions next week [16 and 17 April] but it had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Martel Maides fine arts cataloguer Shaun Vidamour said the sale could not take place for at least three weeks after the current lockdown had ended.
‘We need the three-week period to advertise first and then it would depend on whether any conditions were in place,’ he said.
‘We could not have a sale if people were not allowed to gather in the auction room.’
The lot estimate is £650 to £700. Also in the catalogue is a pristine condition ticket, numbered 31, from that year’s semi-final in which Guernsey beat Jersey 1-0 at The Track on 15 April.
That has an estimate of £150.
Mr Vidamour said Muratti memorabilia did come up for auction from time to time but these were extremely rare pieces.
‘We auctioned one of these two caps on its own in 2017 and it sold for £400,’ he said.
‘The same year we sold a 9ct gold 1954 Muratti Vase winners medal for £170.’
Frank Cusack’s book Muratti Vase Centenary Celebration was published in 2005 and is the definitive record of the competition.
One of the caps has badges for the years 1920 to 1925.
‘On that basis it had to belong to either the captain, William McLernon or Tommy Baker,’ said Mr Cusack.
The cap with a 1920 badge only is thought to have been that of James Lihou, the goalscoring hero.
In his research, Mr Cusack found that Lihou and another member of the Alderney team, Sam Allen, emigrated to the United States the day after the match.
‘They sailed by mailboat to England the following morning,’ he said.
‘It speaks volumes about their commitment to Alderney’s cause in this important match.’
The fact the Alderney was playing Guernsey in Jersey did not deter spectators and some 4,500 of them packed into Westmount. On 5 April 1920, at Easter, Alderney had beaten Guernsey 6-2 in The Peace Cup at The Track. The 1920 Muratti was the first time the Vase had been played for following The First World War.
n Martel Maides is still able to deal with enquiries even though the auction room is closed. Contact can be made by going to www.martelmaidesauctions.com
