Autographs of John Arlott

Leslie Thomas John Arlott, OBE (25 February 1914 – 14 December 1991) was an English journalist, author and cricket commentator for the BBC's Test Match Special. He was also a poet and wine connoisseur. With his poetic phraseology, he became a cricket commentator noted for his "wonderful gift for evoking cricketing moments" by the BBC. More about John Arlott

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John Arlott was born in 1914 at Cemetery Lodge, Chapel Hill, Basingstoke in Hampshire, the son of cemetery registrar William John Arlott and Nellie (née Jenvey-Clarke). He attended Fairfields Primary School in Basingstoke before winning a scholarship to Queen Mary's Grammar School. Once at the school, however, he became embroiled in a feud with the headmaster, as the school "had not been wholly receptive to his young, independent, inquiring mind." Arlott eventually left the school of his own accord. He meanwhile showed an early interest in the local cricket matches; in 1926 he watched England and Australia play at The Oval, becoming a fan of Jack Hobbs, and later watched Sussex play Lancashire.

After leaving school, following a brief stint at the local town hall where he learned to type, he spent four years working at Park Prewett Mental Hospital in Basingstoke as a records clerk (1930–34). His friend David Rayvern Allen noted that it was there that "he discovered humanity in often dislocated forms, was fundamental to his personal development." This was followed by twelve years as a policeman (1934–1946) in the Southampton County Borough Police Force, which later amalgamated with the Hampshire Constabulary in 1967. He progressed to the rank of sergeant while stationed at Southampton, and enjoyed the opportunity to watch Hampshire play at the County Ground while on duty at Northland Road. Though his cricket skills were not sufficient to play for the Southampton Police cricket XI, he was called upon at times to utilise the PA-system. He also studied Russian language and military history at the library of Southampton University, wrote reports for his chief constable, gave lectures to students, wrote poetry, and took up boxing, at which he was quite proficient. Read even more about John Arlott at Wikipedia

Traded items with a signature of John Arlott

In total, we tracked 125 items since 01/09/2012. The chart below shows the trade volume over time.

The most expensive item with a signature of John Arlott (The Rock Pool signed by Cyril Connolly to John Arlott 1st / 1st 1936) was sold in April 2020 for £550.00 while the cheapest item (Arlott on Cricket: His Writings on Cricket - Signed by John Arlott (1984)) found a new owner for £0.99 in March 2016. The month with the most items sold (7) was February 2016 with an average selling price of £6.51 for an autographed item of John Arlott. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in October 2016 with £147.00 and the month that saw the lowest prices with £2.71 was December 2019. In average, an autographed item from John Arlott is worth £10.50.

Most recently, these items with a signature of John Arlott were sold on eBay - click here for more items.

Picture Item Title Price Store
thumbnailAlletson's Innings John Arlott Limited Edition signed by Jon Arlott£86.00logo
thumbnailBasingstoke Boy by John Arlott (1990) Leatherbound Signed Limited Edition£75.00logo
thumbnailBurnopfield Cricket Club Post-War Review By T Baker Signed To John Arlott£12.99logo
thumbnailFramed & Signed Poem by John Arlott to John Berry Jobbs£4.00logo
thumbnailFramed & Signed Poem The Old Cricketer by John Arlott£4.00logo
thumbnailFrom Hambledon to Lords by John Arlott (1948) - Signed by John Arlott£14.95logo
thumbnailGONE WITH THE CRICKETERS - SIGNED BY JOHN ARLOTT - FIRST EDITION 1950£25.00logo
thumbnailHampshire County Cricket: The Official History (1958) Signed by John Arlott£19.55logo
thumbnailHAND SIGNED WISDEN CRICKET MONTHLY BY JOHN ARLOTT +OTHER CRICKET AUTOGRAPHS£5.00logo
thumbnailJohn Arlott - Cricket Commentator - Original Hand Signed Autograph - 1961£20.00logo
thumbnailJohn Arlott A Memoir by Timothy Arlott, signed by author, hard back, mint cond£10.00logo
thumbnailJOHN ARLOTT CRICKET COMMENTATOR LEGEND HAND-SIGNED MEMORABILIA COLLECTION£10.95logo
thumbnailJohn Arlott on Cricket His Writings on the Game signed by Arlott 1984 First Ed£14.99logo
thumbnailJohn Arlott Talks Cricket UK vinyl LP album record. Signed by John Arlott£19.99logo
thumbnailJohn Arlott, Cricket commentator, BBC Signed Retirement letter, 1980, £6.50logo