SHAW & HUNTER TROPHY

This very rare and valuable Shaw & Hunter trophy will be offered at auction if it is not purchased outright before it goes to auction.  

The reserve is US$ 50,000. The highest bid received over the reserve will be the new owner. This trophy, which is the property of the now defunct EAST AFRICAN PROFESSIONAL HUNTERS ASSOCIATION, is now being sold to benefit its old and out-of-work professional hunter members, some of whom are now destitute. This is an extremely unique and valuable piece of African hunting history, and it is expected that a buyer in the region of US$100,000 will be found.

The trustees of this trophy are ROBIN HURT and ALICK ROBERTS. Robin Hurt can be contacted at email: robin.anthony.hurt@gmail.com 

Here are more details:

Dear Members,

I have at last received replies from Mappin & Webb, London, who cast the trophy and this now completes all available details. M&W's two replies are noted below. Beyond this, I have made the following measurements and approximate weight, done on a commercial scale as I am sure you will appreciate the risk of carting such a valuable item around Nairobi on foot to a jeweller, for more accurate weighing! Since it was hand-made, I have made measurements to the nearest round figure.

a. Height of the silver statuette: Inclusive of its integral silver base is 10.5" and the silver base is 6" x 3". This is further mounted on a wooden plinth which has four separate hallmarked silver plates for the inscription of winners (one on each of the four sides). The front side is as per the photograph attached, and inscribed 'The Shaw & Hunter Trophy' and the remaining three sides for the winners, of which only one is inscribed as per the below list. The total height, including the wooden plinth, is 14", the wooden plinth measures 5.5" x 8.5" approx. The list of winners is noted below and attached is a photograph of the trophy.

b. Weight (Avoirdupois): Inclusive of silver fittings - 3lbs 10 oz. N.B. For a valuation of the silver content alone, silver is measured in Troy weight in the UK, but I have no idea how this is done in the US, but I am sure this is obtainable in the US from a silversmith. The value of silver fluctuates almost daily, but an approximate value should be readily obtainable from the same source.

c. Silver Marks: All metal parts are Hall marked, and the figure is hollow cast sterling silver made by Mappin & Webb at their Sheffield factory with the letter 'M' , Lion and Crown denoting Sheffield 1954.

d. Additional information ex Robin Hurt: "The Shaw & Hunter trophy (the Hunters 'Oscar') for the most outstanding game trophy taken by a client, was the most prestigious annual accolade that could be earned by a member of the defunct East African Professional Hunters Association. Of hollow cast Sterling silver, it is a hunter aiming his rifle. It is modeled on one of the most famous Professional Hunters - Syd Downey - and was competed for avidly. It was a strong incentive for the competitors to ensure that their clients obtained the best of trophies. The EAPHA went into liquidation in 1977, after Kenya stopped all lawful sport hunting. Since then the S&H trophy has languished in a vault gathering dust".

Tony Dyer adds that the trophy was presented to the EAPHA by Shaw & Hunter, hence the name, who were the the principal gunsmiths in Nairobi at that time, presumably in recognition of the considerable custom to that firm by EAPHA members' puchase/hire of guns, ammunition, repairs etc?.

I hope this information proves useful, and on behalf of Tony Archer and myself, thank you all for offering to help in the sale of the trophy. May I suggest that all addressees copy in their progress to the other addressees so that all remain in the picture, and especially to Robin Hurt, as a Trustee, and who started the ball rolling at the outset.

With best wishes, and good luck.

David Mead

davidmead@kenya.com

E-mails from Mappin & Webb:

Dear Sir:
Thank you for your email regarding the silver trophy of a game hunter. I have looked through our archives and have found the original photograph when the trophy was made. Unfortunately this is all I have been able to find. The trophy was made in our royal works in Sheffield in1954 and was presented to The Big Game Association Nairobi. Who ordered and presented the trophy we have know records of. I sincerely hope the information is of help in your research.
Yours Faithfully
Victor Barley
Senior Manager

Aurum Holdings Ltd
Mappin & Webb, 132 Regent Street, London, W1B 5SF
Tel : 0207 478 8733
Fax : 0207 287 9500

Dear Sir:
Further to your email relating to the silver trophy , the photograph of the trophy shows the hall mark as being made in Sheffield the which is a crown mark with a letter m date 1954. I cannot tell the actual weight as we do not have this record. The trophy would have been hollow cast , so you would have to remove it from the plinth to get the exact weight in troy ounces. If you wish to remove the plinth you can by removing the baize on the bottom of the plinth and unscrew the securing nuts. But I would strongly suggest you take it to a silversmith to have this done. I sincerely hope this information will be of help.

VICTOR BARLEY
Corporate Manager

Aurum Holdings Ltd
Mappin & Webb, 132 Regent Street, London, W1B 5SF
Tel : 0207 478 8733 Mob: 07795 398 735

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WINNERS OF THE SHAW & HUNTER TROPHY

1955 Myles Turner (he was a hunter for Ker & Downey and later became warden of the Serengeti National Park)

1956 Syd Downey (the trophy was modeled on him and he is clearly recognizable from the sculpture, with Donald Ker he was the founder of Ker & Downey safaris)

1957 John Kingsley Heath (also a Ker & Downey hunter at that time, and one of the blue eyed boys of the hunting industry in that era)

1958 David Ommanney (the famous Winchester’s man in Africa)

1959 Syd Downey (second time winner)

1960 Kris Aschan (Also a Ker & Downey hunter, and the father of the well known safari operator Ulf Aschan)

1961 Tony Henley (Also a Ker & Downey hunter and close colleague of Harry Selby’s. Tony was also a game warden in both Kenya & Uganda)

1962 Mike Prettejohn (A well known and successful Bongo hunter in Kenya)

1963 John Alexander (National Park Warden, turned Professional Hunter)

1964 Rene Babault (A well known and highly successful Elephant Hunter in Kenya, Tanzania and CAR)

1965 John Sutton (A Ker & Downey Hunter and a very popular and highly successful Professional Hunter)

1966 Mohammed Iqbal (Bali) (A Ker & Downey Hunter, and probably the premier Elephant Hunter of his time. He had a nose for being in the right place at the right time, and bagged many 100 pounders)

1967 Edgar de Bono (Also very well known Kenya hunter of Maltese origin)

1968 Brian Herne (Uganda’s top Professional Hunter and the author of many books on hunting in East Africa)

1969 Tony France (Won the Sean Hunter trophy for probably the biggest Leopard any of us had ever seen)

1970 Tony Seth Smith (Famous Professional Hunter from Hunter’s Africa, now a member of Ker & Downey)

1971 Derick Dunn (Famous Tanzanian Professional Hunter. He was reputed to have forgotten more about hunting than more than the rest of us had ever learnt!)

1972 Derick Dunn (second time winner)

1973 Robin Hurt (winner for a huge Buffalo shot by Dr. F. K. Flick of Germany, and a Ker & Downey Hunter at the time of winning the trophy)

1974 There was no winner because there was no suitable trophy to win the award

1975 Alfredo Pelizzoli (well known Italian Professional Hunter, renowned for his integrity and great charm)

1976 Lionel Hartley (well known hunter related to the famous Kenya Hartley family)