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1888 Jake Kilrain Mammoth Plate Albumen Photograph
Jake Kilrain is best known for challenging John L. Sullivan in 1889 in the last world heavyweight championship prizefight decided with bare knuckles under London Prize Ring rules in history. In a hard-fought contest, Kilrain lost at the start of the 76th (that's right, 76th!) round when Mike Donovan, his second, threw in the sponge. Kilrain was recognized by Richard K. Fox of the National Police Gazette as Heavyweight Champion of the World in 1887. The awarding of the championship belt to Kilrain was part of a strategy by Fox to draw Sullivan into a fight. Any remote claim Kilrain had to the title of World Champion was lost in that 76th round. But in any case, the Sullivan-Kilrain fight can rightly be listed among the greatest fights of the pre-modern era. The offered photograph of the bare-chested Kilrain with his handlebar mustache is a classic pose of the bare knuckle era. As far as we know, it is the only large format photograph of Jake Kilrain in existence. It is a mammoth plate, albumen print, measuring 27 x 30 1/2" framed and 12 x 16" unframed and is in amazing NM condition for a photograph that is over 120 years old. It is dated 1888 with "Copyright J. O'Neil" above the date. The photo also bears the stamp of the Massachusetts photographer that took the photo. Kilrain was living near the town in MA where the photo was taken around the time of the Sullivan fight. Nineteenth century photography of this size, quality and historical significance is almost impossible to find. Duke Hott found it and purchased it for his legendary boxing collection. His collection was sold in an historic auction in 1994.
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