WILDING ANTHONY: (1883-1915) New Zealand Tennis Player, Wimbledon Champion 1910, 1911, 1912 & 1913. Rare, brief T.L.S., A. F. Wilding, one page, 4to, Westminster, London, 19th June 1914, to P. W. Rootham, on the attractive printed stationery of The Victor Tyre Co. Ltd. Wilding writes, in full, 'It was really nice of you to go to the trouble of getting out the list of motorists, and I thank you very much indeed'. Autographs of Wilding are rare in any form as a result of his untimely death at the age of 31 when he was killed in action serving in World War I. Some very light, minor overall age wear, otherwise VG
Percy W. Rootham - Vice President of the Lawn Tennis Association.
Wilding did not only excel at tennis, but also played for the Canterbury Cricket team (participating in two first class matches), represented Trinity College, Cambridge, in their Rugby team and, as the present letter suggests, was also a keen motorcyclist winning a gold medal in a reliability trial in 1908. Wilding regularly travelled by motorcycle between tennis tournaments on the European continent.