Prince Monolulu and policemen

A photograph of Prince Monolulu, a tipster at the Epsom Derby, telling a crowd of policemen his pick of the racecard, taken by Malindine and Saidman for the Daily Herald newspaper on 1 June, 1938.

A photograph of Prince Monolulu, a tipster at the Epsom Derby, telling a crowd of policemen his pick of the racecard, taken in June 1938 by Edward G Malindine and Saidman for the Daily Herald.

Ras Prince Monolulu (1881-1965), whose real name was Peter Carl Mackay, claimed to be an Ethiopian prince but actually came from the Caribbean. He became a horse racing tipster at Epsom as well as racecourses around the world. Holding the racecard, he calls out his tips to the bemused policemen from the Metropolitan Poice Force. Tipsters often dressed extravagantly in an attempt to attract more pundits than their rivals. In the late 1770s, Lord Derby and Sir Charles Bunbury decided to create a race that would find the best horse of its generation - and tossed a coin to see who the race would be named after. Although Bunbury lost the toss, his horse Diomed won the first ever Epsom Derby in 1780.

Two Saidman brothers, Reuben and Barnet, worked as staff photographers for the Daily Herald. Their photographs are simply stamped 'Saidman' on the reverse, making it difficult to tell which of the brothers took the photograph.