Officers Playing Polo on Woolwich Common, c. 1872 by Matthew White Ridley

Officers Playing Polo on Woolwich Common, by Matthew White Ridley depicts British army officers on horseback mid-game, mallets raised, on the open ground of Woolwich Common near the Royal Military Academy. Ridley worked as an illustrator for the Victorian periodical press, and this wood engraving - captioned in the original plate and engraved by the Swain firm, whose credit is visible in the print itself - captures the sport of polo in one of its earliest documented appearances in England.

Artist: Matthew White Ridley (1837-1888). Date: 1872.

Officers Playing Polo on Woolwich Common. Victorian Wood Engraving Canvas Print.