Speech Delivered by Irving Rosenwater

Martin Chandler | 8:56am BST 14 April 2024

Published: 2004
Pages: 8
Author: Rosenwater, Irving
Publisher: Private
Rating: 3 stars

The actual title of this one is too long for WordPress to handle, which isn’t really surprising and no criticism of that particular service; Speech Delivered by Irving Rosenwater on the Occasion of the Opening of the Copinger Cricket Library at the home of T.B.Bunting, Rotherwick Hampshire, October 24, 2004 is not exactly snappy.

Geoffrey Copinger was one of the great collectors of cricket books, and a friend and confidante of Rosenwater. The other character who features in the story told in this monograph is Tim Bunting, a man who retired early from investment bank Goldman Sachs, and who acquired the Copinger collection in its entirety.

Eventually the Copinger collection, combined with Bunting’s own, was moved into a purpose built library in a converted church in a Hampshire village. Rosenwater was an obvious candidate to pay tribute to Copinger at the opening of the library and this booklet contains the speech he made.

The speech is an interesting one, and rather different in content to the obituary that comprises another of Rosenwater’s limited editions. The speech is much more in the way of a celebration of Copinger’s achievement, and of books generally.

Any cricketing bibliophile is going to enjoy reading Rosenwater’s speech, although for once this one is not without its frustrations. I would have loved to have known who the speech was made to, in addition to Bunting and Copinger’s widow, but that detail is missing. Also absent are any photographs, either of any of the attendees or, perhaps more importantly, of the library itself and its contents.

What I do know is that the library is not even half an hour’s drive from where I live so, with a bit of luck this review might get in front of Mr Bunting’s eyes, and earn me an invitation to view what I have no doubt must be a stunning display of cricket books and cricketana.