Between the Covers

Unbound. Three volumes. Quartos Contains 109 sepia-toned or black and white gelatin silver photographs measuring between 1" x 1" and 11" x 14", some with captions. Additionally included are newspaper clippings, programs, and other ephemera. Albums are very good with tears and edgwear with very good or better contents.

An extensive collection of newspaper clippings, photographs, and ephemera detailing the polo careers of Arthur Perkins and his son, Peter. Over three scrapbooks they compiled ephemera from various matches and events beginning in the 1930s starting with Arthur Perkins career until Peter’s retirement in the 1960s. Born in New York, Peter and his family moved to California when he was young and they eventually moved to Hawaii where his father Arthur, a polo player in his own right, became the manager of the Hawaii Polo and Racing club. The younger Perkins served during World War II as a calavaryman who survived the Bataan Death March. At one point his troop ate their mules and horses as they had run out of food and were trying desperately to stay alive. He worked for United Airlines after the war and began a career as a polo player under the tutelage of his father, becoming an accomplished player winning numerous tournaments including the U.S. Open in 1948 and 1951. According to fellow polo player, Bennie Gutierrez, “Peter Perkins had the most perfect form hitting a polo ball that I ever saw.” He was able to reach a +8-goal handicap during the course of his career. An article from the early days of his career reads, “Young Perkins, who was caught in the Philippines when war broke and survived the Bataan death march and two years of imprisonment, hopes to meet some of his wartime friends who are now in Hawaii (for a match).”

The albums contain numerous clippings discussing both Perkins’ matches as well as the polo community as a whole. Many of the photos included here are large format action shots of polo matches, Perkins posed in winner’s circle with his horse and fellow athletes, and dinners and parties afterwards. A few personal snapshots show Perkins in traditional Hawaiian dress. Often described as “dashing,” Peter was often photographed for magazine advertisements, photos of which are included here. One of these features Perkins atop his horse smiling down at three fashionably dressed female fans. In the 1950s Perkins joined the Chicago polo team for a time where he was quickly dubbed “player of the week” and became an invaluable member of the team. One clipping reads, “Stop him? Peter Perkins will be the chief threat in the high scoring Chicago polo team Friday night at the Honolulu stadium.” Another reads, “the presence of Peter Perkins, Chicago’s eight-goal star and a member of the United States team, puts the Windy City poloists in the favorite’s role.”

Peter played polo internationally for a few years in England, France, and Argentina before retiring. Later he became a horse breeder and trainer eventually buying horse farms in 1966 with his wife in Buenos Aires and a domestic one in Paris, Kentucky. Their most famous horse was “Lord of War” who won the 1985 California Santa Anita Handicap. In 2014 he was posthumously inducted into the Polo Hall of Fame.

A large and interesting collection of material pertaining to the careers of two important polo players.

Item #435544