NEW CATALOGUE SPRING 2023 - 68 ITEMS OVER 64 LEAVES

SPRING 2023

Including

A New African Sporting Collection

 68 items on  64 leaves,
priced from £125  to £3975

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1) BELL, W.D.M.  The Wanderings of An Elephant Hunter [Sport in North Eastern Uganda and Liberia], “Country Life”, Ltd., and George Newnes, 1923     £650

4to. Original Yellow Cloth-Backed Grey Boards, spine titled in gilt, the upper cover with a yellow label titled in gilt; ix + pp. 188, with A Fine Photographic Frontispiece, Showing A Furious Bull Elephant being Assaulted by Natives with Spears (“The Native Attack”), and No Fewer than 42 Other Captioned Photographic and Collotype Plates, Many Printed Recto and Verso, illustrations; a sprinkling of spots throughout affecting what is otherwise A Very Good Copy of A Classic and Sought-After African Sporting Story. 

First edition. Czech: “Bell’s First Book Detailing His Early Elephant Hunting Days in The Karamojo Region where the “Karamojan Elephants are Destinguised for Their Bodily Size, The Quality and Size of Their Ivory and For The Quantity of Fat on them.” He Also Narrated His Hunting Expeditions through The Sudd, into The Lado Enclave and The Interior of Liberia in The Decade Preceding World War I.”*  

Czech p. 24.

*  “This Work is Further Distinguished by The Author’s [Own] Sketches of His Elephant Hunting Experiences, as well as Their Vital Areas. He was, of course, A Great Proponent of Small Bore Rifle Shooting for Elephant, Killing Them with Carefully Placed Shots at Close Range.” (Preface)

ASSOCIATION COPY

      2) BENNET, Edward.  Shots and Snapshots in British East Africa [Big Game Hunting in Kenya].    Longmans, Green and Co., 1914     £497

        8vo. Original Sea-Green cloth, titled in gilt on spine and upper cover, surmounting on the latter the centrally-placed gilt vignette of A Male Lion; xii + pp. 312, with An Impressive Photographic Frontispiece of “Some of My Trophies” (including Trophy Heads of 2 Rhinoceros and A Buffalo, and The Skins of A Pair of Lions), 49 Fine Photographic Plates on 43 leaves, and Two Folding Lithographed Maps, in A Pocket at Rear, A Large One of “The Northern Uaso [sic] Nyiro”, and “A Sketch Map of East Africa Protectorate, Showing Game Reserves”;  a very good copy of An Extensive Kenyan Sporting Narrative.

First edition. Association Copy - Gifted to The Author’s Cousin, E.A. Bennet (Renowned Psychologist and Expert on The Life and Work of Carl Jung*), from The High Court Judge of Allahabad, Shiva Nath Katju.     Czech: “A Civil Servant in India, Bennet Spent A Year-Long Furlough Hunting in British East Africa. He Travelled Along The Tana River, Bagging Buffalo, Eland, and Rhinoceros. Continuing on to The Area Around Mount Kenia, He Failed in An Attempt After Elephant, but did Succeed in Hunting Lion and Other Game, including Gazelle and Oryx, near The Guaso Nyiro. He Concluded His Tour with A Safari to Lake Victoria, where He Hunted Topi, Roan, and Hippopotamus. A Species-By-Species Analysis of Wild Game in The Area is Also Provided.”

Czech p. 16.

*Author of “What Jung Really Said” (1966), Acknowledged as “A Classic. Clear, Concise, Historically Sensitive and Theoretically Sound” (Murray Stein, Author of “Jung's Treatment of Christianity” (1986), and “Jungian Analysis Magazine”. 

**Inscribed Christmas Card, loosely-inserted. 

      3) BENT, Newell.  Jungle Giants [Big Game Hunting in Northern Rhodesia and East Africa]   Norwood, Massachussetts, [Privately] Printed for Friends of The Author by The Plimpton Press, [1936]     £297

8vo. Original Crimson Cloth, titled in Gilt on Spine and Upper Cover, the latter surmounting A Gilt Roundel containing A Trumpeting Elephant; pp. 276, with A Striking “Chiselled” Photographic Portrait of The Author, and no fewer than 54 Other Fine Photographic Plates, Printed Recto and Verso, on 38 leaves; well-nigh immaculate condition inside and out, this is A Lovely Bright Copy of an Exciting Tale of Big Game Hunting and Mountaineering.

First edition. Czech: “[Bent] Hunted Eland and Had Run-Ins with Rhino, Buffalo, and Elephant, with His Native Gun-Bearer Usually Running Off with The Rifle*”. On His Graduation from Harvard in 1933, Bent joined The Department of Anthropology at Trinity College, Cambridge. The following year He Arrived in Cape Town, and Undertook A Journey Through Northern Rhodesia, Tanganyika and Uganda.”**  

Czech (2011), p. 25 [Not in Czech (1999)]; Neate B89; Meekly, Vol. 96, 340, p. 197; NOT IN PERRET OR ACLC (1982).

*  “The Gun Boy Let Out A Frightened Gasp, and Disappeared into The Underbrush Taking The Gun with Him. The Huge Creature Careered Off in A Blind Fury Like A Locomotive Gone Berserk. [Indeed] It is On Record that A Line of Convicts Chained by The Neck was Charged by A Rhino. The Beast Struck A Prisoner in The Centre of The Line and The Force of His Rush Broke The Necks of The Others.” (p. 145)

**En Route, Bent Met The South African Cricketer, Robert Crisp, and The Two Climbed to The Highest Point on Mount Kilimanjaro, Kaiser Wilhelm Spitze. Bent Records The Ascent in Words and Images taken from His Own Photographs. The Present Work was Completed on The Author’s Return to Harvard in 1935, but Not Published Until After His Death That Year, while Attempting An Ascent of Aconcagua, in The Andes.

“AN ENTERTAINING BLEND OF BIG GAME HUNTING VIGNETTES” (CZECH)

          4) [BETHELL, L.A. (Editor)]. Tales from The Outposts: Shikar [Copious Big Game Hunting in Africa and Asia].    Edinburgh, William Blackwood, 1933     £227

Large 12mo. Original Blue Cloth, Spine with A Burgundy Cloth Label at Head, Titled in Gilt; pp. 310;  well-nigh immaculate inside and out, making this A Fine Copy of  An Extensive Sporting Appraisal by Authors (The Majority*) Unknown to The Genre. 

First edition. Printed on Extra-Thin Paper.

Czech (Africa): “An Entertaining Blend of Big Game Hunting Vignettes, including Lion Hunting in Kenya by “Bombardier”; Galloping on Horseback after Lions by A. Blayney Perceval [sic*]; and After Lions in Northern Rhodesia by J.P. Kay Robinson. The Blackwood “Tales of The Outposts” Series Spans 12 Volumes, This Being The Only One Having Big Game Hunting Content.”

Czech (Asia): “Split Between Africa and Asia, [The Asian Section] Features Pig-Sticking Near Birkatheli in India and Iraq’s Jordan Valley; Takin Shooting in Eastern Tibet by “F.M. Bailey”; Various Game Bagged including A Bear During A Winter Shoot in India’s Central Plains; And Beats after Tiger in The Central Provinces. Most of The Contributors to This Anthology Use Pseudonyms, such as “X”, “Pardesi”, or “A.M.”

Czech (Africa) p. 26; Czech (Asia) p. 26

* Arthur Blayney Percival was The Renowned Author of “A Game Ranger on Safari” (1928), and “A Game Ranger’s Notebook” (1924) [cf. Czech (Africa) p. 217].

NB  “The Blackwood “Tales of The Outposts” Series Spans 12 Volumes, this being Volume X and The Only One Having Big Game Hunting Content.” (Czech)

“A SECOND ATTEMPT* TO PRODUCE SOME AFRICAN JOURNALS” (PREFACE)

         5) BLACKBURNE-MAZE, Cecil Ireland.  From Oriental to Occidental Africa [East to West, from Mombasa in Kenya to Dakar in Senegal, Produced Only Four Months Before W.W.1]   Maidstone, [Privately Printed by] W.E. Thorpe & Son, 1914£3,450

8vo. Original Dark Green Cloth, titled in gilt on spine and upper cover, the latter surmounting A Centrally-Placed Vivid Gilt Vignette of A Bull Elephant with Prominent Tusks; [vi] + pp. 7-187, with A Fine Mounted Frontispiece Photograph of “A Pretty Stream in The Forest”, and 45 Other Original Mounted Captioned Photographs*, and A Large Hand-Coloured Engraved Folding Linen-Backed Map at rear of Central Africa, across which has been (?) Hand-Indicated in Green The Author’s Route, from Mombasa through The Belgian Congo to Dakar [“Banana”] in French Senegal, from Which The Boat Departs; binding neatly recased, spine titles faded, and some minor fingering internally, but otherwise it remains a good and solid copy of An Extremely Rare and Privately-Printed Regional Production. 

First and Only Edition. Preface: “I Have Ventured on A Second Attempt to Reproduce Some African Journals [cf. The Author’s First Selection*,   Although There Was Very Little Hunting on This Trip, The Forest and The Habits of The People Were Most Interesting. The Belgian Officials were Extremely Kind and Hospitable  The Whole Way Through The Congo, and I Am Very Indebted to Them, and to H.C. Lydford [Also His Companion on The Previous Trip*], who was Excellent in His Management of The Porters and Many Other Things, for A Most Enjoyable and Interesting Trip, From Mombasa on The East Coast to Banana on The West Coast.”

NOT IN CZECH.

*“Journals of My African Travels”, Privately Printed The Year Before* (cf. Czech p. 28)].

6) CAREY, Lewis.  My Gun and I: A Book of Shooting Memories [After Buffalo, Lion, and Game Birds in South Africa*, and Grizzly Bear in The Americas**].   Philip Alan, 1933

                                                                                            £227

8vo. Original Brick-Red Cloth, Spine Titled in Black, with The Original White Dust-Jacket, titled in black on spine and upper cover, which has double black fillet borders around A Rectangular Photographic Plate of The Author in Sporting Kit, His Gun Over His Shoulder [Not Repeated in The Book], Though He Does Appear Identically-Dressed, but In Other Positions; vi + pp.273 (+ 2pp. Adverts. at Rear), with A Fine Portrait Frontispiece of The Author, with Shotgun and Hunting Dog (“A Dog Has Always Been Beside Me”), and Seven Other Captioned Photographic Plates; A Couple of Neat Repairs to The Jacket, but Otherwise Immaculate inside and Out. 

First edition. Czech: “While in South Africa, He Hunted Buffalo, Lion*, and A Variety of Game Birds. Carey Details His Hunting Trips Abroad, and In The British Isles.”

Czech p. 55; NOT in Heller. Rare. 

*  “I Moved Down The Hill, and H. Rolled The First Boulder Down The Hill to Dislodge The Lion from Its Hiding Place. But My Hunting Dog Went After It – I Suppose Thinking It Was A Buck. I Shouted To Him, But I Don’t Think He Could Have Heard Me. Instantly, Out of The Bush Sprang The Lion. I Fired Both Barrels So Quickly That My Gun Had Hardly Got to My Shoulder!” (p. 63)

** ““Listen! There! What’s That?” And Sure Enough, We Could Hear A Low Growl from Bess, and A Low Bark … Ten Paces Away, and Right in Front of Me, was The Grizzly on His Hind Legs, and Coming Straight for me …” (p.229)

7) CHAPMAN, Abel.  Savage Sudan: Its Wild Tribes, Big-Game, and Bird-Life.   Gurney & Jackson, 1921     £597

8vo. Original Green Cloth, The Upper Cover with A Centrally-Placed Gilt Vignette of A Charging Warthog; xx + pp. 452, with 52 Fine Captioned Photographic Plates on 29 leaves, A Frontispiece Map of Sudan by Bartholomew, and Half-Tone Illustrations in Text; bar a slight dint to the lower outer corner of the upper cover, well-nigh immaculate inside and out.

First edition. Printed on Fine Paper. Czech: “Chapman Recounts His Journey to Khartoum, Then Up The White Nile into Uganda. He Hunted Gazelle in The Arid Regions of The Sudan, Then Stalked Tiang, Hartebeest, and Roan near The Sobat River. As He Continued up The White Nile, He Bagged Waterbuck, Cob, and Lechwe. There are Exciting Encounters* with Buffalo, Hippopotamus, and Elephant, The Latter Near The Zeraf River. Additional Hunting for Rhinoceros and Eland Took Place near The Blue Nile and Dinder Rivers”.

Czech p. 60.  

      8) CHRISTY, Cuthbert.  Big Game and Pygmies: Experiences of A Naturalist in Central African Forests in Quest of The Okapi. With An Introductory Chapter by Sir. Harry H. Johnston, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., D.S.C., etc.   Macmillann & Co., Limited, 1924 £327

      8vo. Original blue cloth, titled in gilt on spine and upper cover, the latter title surmounting A Gilt Vignette of An Okapi Kid; xxxi + pp. 325, with A Fine Photogpraphic Frontispiece of The Author in Tropical Kit Leading His Native Bearers Through The Bush (“In Uganda, The Elephant Grass is 12-15 Feet in Height”), and “120 Illustrations from Photographs aand Sketches, and One Map”, All Captioned Beneath, The Folding Map being of The African Continent, and In Full Colour; externally bright and immaculate, while internally there is occasional light sprinklings of spots, but these aside, this remains A Very Good Copy of An Extensive Sporting Yarn.

First edition. “Presentation Copy” (Publisher’s Blindstamp at the foot of the title). Czech: “A Scientist by Profession, Christy Hunted Throughout The Equatorial Region Along The Ituri River in The Belgian Congo, The Katanga District, in Uganda and The Lado Enclave. He Bagged Elephant, Buffalo, Lion, and Bongo, and Was The First European to Track and Shoot an Okapi.” Engraved armorial bookplate to the verso of title for “Richard Banner”.

Czech p. 61.

9) COPLEY, H.P. & R.F. MAYER. The East African Sportsman’s Handbook.   Nairobi, The East African Standard, [1934]     £227

Large 12mo. [150 x 120 mm.]. Original Grey Boards, upper cover blocked with the title, the lower cover with A Local Advertisement for “J.D. Cartwright & Co.”* [“Provision Merchants”]; viii + pp. 238 (+41pp. Detailed Adverts Throughout), with Two Photographic Plates, Printed Recto and Verso, illustrations in text; A Lovely Bright Copy of This Essential Colonial Guide.

First edition. Czech: “Big Game Hunting and Bird Shooting are Covered in Depth for Sportsmen Travelling to Kenya or Uganda. There are Discussions on Rifles, Game and Habitat, and Game Laws of The Era. The Numerous Advertisements are Quite Enjoyable by Themselves*!”

Czech p. 67

PRESENTATION COPY, WRITTEN WITH GREAT VERVE, AND WITH NO THOUGHT OF

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

         10) CRAWFORD, Daniel. Thinking Black: 22 Years without A Break in The Long Grass of Central Africa [Congo, Angola, Rhodesia, and Mozambique]. New York, George H. Doran, 1912 

                                                                                                        £327         

8vo. Original Burnt Ochre Cloth, Titled in Gilt on Spine, and Black on The Upper Cover, Top Edges Gilt; xvi + pp. 485 (+ An Index, and A 14pp. Detailed Publishers’ Booklist at Rear), with Four Highly Evocative Mounted Full Colour Plates, with Captioned Tissue-Guards, 17 Captioned Photographic Plates and A Double-Page Map, Printed on Both Sets of Endpapers, Showing The Author’s Route in Blue, from Angola, Across Africa to Portuguese East Africa; A Fine and Bright Copy Externally, Affected Only Some Creasing of The Gilt Gitle at The Head of The Spine, while Internally, There are Two Instances of The Perforated “Forbes Library” Stamp, to The Title and to One Lower Margin, leaving this A Handsome Copy of This Extensive and Well-Illustrated Memoir.

First Edition.  Presentation Copy, inscribed by The Author on the half-title: “Loyally Yours, D. Crawford”, and Further Inscribed Beneath by The Recipient, “Mrs. Marion Paddick Bridgeman, Northampton, Mass., Nov. 18th 1913 (Crawford My Guest)”. The Work Covers An Area from Angola, Congo, Rhodesia and Mozambique. Daniel Crawford (1870-1926) was An Enthusiastic but Opioniated Missionary, who Accompanied F. S. Arnot* on His Return Trip to Central Africa in 1889, often Butting Heads with Big Game Hunters and Developer/Explorers Such as Cecil Rhodes. A Man Far Ahead of His Time, Crawford Identified Greatly With The Africans and Their Way of Life, In A Way that was Not Generally Welcomed by His European Associates.  Provenance: “The Forbes Library Northampton, Massachusetts: Autographed Collection, The Gift of Clifford H. Lyman**. 1927.” (bookplate).

*F.S. Arnot was The First White Person to Settle in (Mineral-Rich) Katanga. After Three Years There, He Went Back to Britain to Recruit More Missionaries, including Daniel Crawford [The Author of This Work]. Msiri, The King of Katanga, Relied on The Advice of Arnot and Crawford, and Held Out Against The Province Being Subsumed by Either Rhodes, on Behalf of The British South Africa Company, or King Leopold III, on Behalf of The Belgian Congo. Fascinatingly, Indeed, After Seesawing for Years, Katanga Has Enjoyed Again The Status of  An Independent Province Since 2006.

**Lyman was An American Author, Known for “Aaahh Bourbon 1842-1865”  (1903) - A Story Based On South East Kansas History.

11) CRON, Gretchen. The Roaring Veldt [Big Game Hunting in Tanganyika].   New York & London, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1930

                                                                                      £297

          8vo. Original brick-red cloth, titled in gilt on spine and upper cover; ix + pp. 286, with A Remarkable Photographic Frontispiece of A Large Pride of Lions, Sheltering  from The Sun, Beneath Two Huge Boulders, no fewer than 62 Other Fine Photographic Plates on 31 leaves, and A Folding Map of Tanganyika at rear; mint condition inside and out, this is a very good copy of Sought-After African Sporting Classic.                        

First edition. Czech: “Accompanied by Her Husband, Herman, Cron Describes Several Hunting Trips to The Serengeti Plains of Tanganyika in The 1920s. She Describes Exciting Hunting Encounters with Elephant, Rhino and Lion, with A Particulary Hair-Raising Account of Stalking a Bull Buffalo, Dubbed “The Black Shadow”. There are Additional Descriptions of Hunting Leopard and Kongoni. Herman Cron Battled A Severe Bout of Malaria, and The Opportune Arrival of Denis Finch-Hatton [Paramour of Karen Blixen, of “Out of Africa” Fame] Saves His Life!”

Czech p. 42.

      12) “CUMMERBUND, Cadwalladar” (Pseud.). From Southampton to Calcutta [An Eventful Sea Voyage to India, via Gibraltar, Malta, Aden, and The Coast of Ceylon, with Accompanying “Pungent” Satirical Commentary on India, following The Author’s Arrrival.    Saunders, Otley, & Co., 1860

                                                                                            £397

Large 12mo. Original Brick Red Cloth, spine titled in gilt, surmounted by A Gilt Vignette of An Elephant under A Palm Tree, and Surmounting A Substantial Gilt Vignette of A Ship in Full Sail, the upper cover with borders and cornerpieces, enclosing A Centrally-Placed Gilt Vignette of An Early Steam-Powered Sailing Ship, Top Edges Gilt;  [iv] + pp. 305, with A Fine Lithographed Frontispiece of “Government House Calcutta, Seen from The Roof of Spence’s Hotel [The Roof Pictured, with Four Storks Walking About,  and Two Natives Stationary!]” (tissue guard), all edges gilt; occasional light soiling, and a couple of spots internally, but externally bright, this is A Very Good Copy of A Fascinating Contemporary Record.

First edition. Association Copy, Annotated in Pencil by An Anonymous Contemporary, who Appears to have Travelled on The Same Journey, adding Various Dates, “Ironic” Underlingings and Exclamation Marks. The Author has A Fine Turn of Phrase.*  

*  “Calcutta Bazaars Afford A Fine Field for The Talents of  Such Men as Leech or Dickens, The Former Might Find Grotesque Subjects for His Pencil at Every Step, and The Latter Could Alone Do Justice to Their Ridiculous Characteristics ... What A Mine of Drollery Awaits Remains As Yet Undeveloped in The Antediluvian [Literally “Before Noah’s Flood”!] Appearance of The Gharries [Horse Drawn Carts] Patronised by The Poorer Class of Babboos ... [English-Speaking Hindu Clerk] …” (Preface)

GREAT WRITING!*

      13) DAVIS, Richard Harding.  The Congo and The Coasts of [After Hippo and Crocodile].    T. Fisher Unwin,   1908     £297

8vo. Original Red Cloth, Spine Titled in Gilt, The Upper Cover Titled in Black at Head, Surmounting A Substantial Vignette of A Rhinoceros in Thick Undergrowth; [xii] + pp. 220, with A Fine Photographic Frontispiece (with Tissue Guard) of “Mr. Davis and “Wood Boys” of The Congo”, and 31 Other Captioned Photographic Plates; bar light browning to endpapers (as usual), immaculate condition inside and out. 

First edition. Czech: “A Famous Novelist and War Correspondent Describes His Journey Through The Congo to The East Coast of Africa ... Hunting Hippopotamus* and Crocodile on The Kasai River.”  

Czech p. 75.

*  “Except Once or Twice in the Zoo, I Never Had Seen A Hippopotamus. I Wanted to Look at Him When He Was Free, and His Own Master, Without Iron Bars or Keepers; When He Believed He Was Quite Alone, and Was Enjoying His Bath in Peace and Confidence. I Also Wanted to Shoot Him, and To Hang His Enormous Head with Great Jaws Open and The Inside of Them Painted Pink and The Small Tusks Hungrily Protruding …” (p. 174)

“HIS PREFERRED BAIT WAS HIPPO MEAT” (CZECH)

         14) EARL, Lawrence. Crocodile Fever [Crocodile Hunting by Night in Rhodesia and Mozambique].       Collins, 1954      

                                                                                             £127

8vo. Original Dark Green Cloth, Spine Titled in Gilt, in The Original Dust-Jacket, Title Blocked to Upper Wrapper in White over An Elaborate Scene in Purple, Green and White, of Five Basking Crocodiles Lit by Moonlight, with Hunters Approaching by Boat; pp. 259; 15 Fine Photographic Plates on 11 leaves; infinitesimal spotting to the endpapers, and neat repairs to dust jacket at head and foot of spine (repairs slightly darkened), making this A Very Good Copy of An Exciting Narrative. 

First edition.    Czech: “His Preferred Bait Was Hippo Meat”*.

Czech p. 89.

* "When Bryan Dempster Set His Mind on Shooting Man-Eating Crocodiles in The Heart of Africa, Even The Zambesi Natives Could Not Tell Him How To Hunt The Monster Saurian They Called Nyo-Koko, The Devil ... He Discovered The Strange Partnership of The Crocodile and The Crocodile Bird - The Long-Legged Plover Which Strutted Fearlessly Over The Reptile's Scabrous Skin and Warned Him Shrilly of Approaching Danger. But The Bird Stood Guard Only By Day. Dempster Decided To Hunt By Night...” 

COPIOUS SPORT

15) FOA, Edouard.  After Big Game in Central Africa. Records of A Sportsman from August 1894 to November 1897, when Crossing The Dark Continent [From East to West] from The Mouth of The Zambesi to The French Congo.    Adam & Charles Black, 1899     £897

8vo. Original Blue Cloth, Spine Titled in Gilt, The Upper Cover with A Centrally-Placed Gilt Vignette of A Bull Elephant Trophy, top edges gilt; xvii + pp. 330 (+ 10pp. Detailed Publishers’ Adverts. at Rear), with A Fine Photographic Portrait Frontispiece of The Author, 29 Other Captioned Plates, The Majority Photographic, but Also Including Hunting Scenes Reimagined in Photogravure by R. Mahler, Copious Illustrations in Text, and An Engraved Map of Africa, showing The Author’s Route in Red; minimal rubbing to the extremities of this heavy book, while internally fine, bar light staining to inner margin of p. 256, this remains A Very Good Bright Copy of An African Sporting Classic, Full of Big Game Hunting Anecdote.

First English Edition, from The Original French. Printed on Fine Paper. Czech: “Foa, A Frenchman, Hunted from Coast to Coast Across Central Africa with Numerous Sporting Episodes. After A Lengthy Dissertation on Choosing A Rifle and Cartridge, The Author Proceeds to Describe His Hunts for Buffalo, Elephant, Lion, Leopard, and Other Game in The Chiromo District.  He Continued to Hunt Elephant and Hippopotamus as He Travelled Westward in 1895 into Barotseland. Entering The Congo, He Bagged A Wide Variety of Antelope, as well as Buffalo, and More Elephant. Among His Trophies was An Enormous Elephant*, Sporting Tusks at 114.5 Pounds Each.”

Czech p. 59.

*  “I Exhaust The Whole of My Stock (Which Usually Consists of Ten 8-Bore Cartridges), Without The Elephant Having Moved or Seemed Even to Notice Them. Taking My Express, I Begin A Fresh Series, When At The First Shot, The Elephant Falls Heavily, Crushing Everything Round It, Knocking Down Trees, The Tops of Which Almost Fall On Our Heads, Collapsing with A Great Noise in The Midst of Lianas, Branches, and Shattering Trunks.” (p. 259)

SPORT AND GOLD IN

“A SCARCE WORK” (CZECH)

         16) GLYNN, Henry T.  Game and Gold: Memories of Over 50 Years in The Lydenburg District, Transvaal [Rare Big Game Hunting in South Africa].   Dolman Printing Co., Ltd., [c. 1938]     

                                                                                            £897

8vo. Original Pale Blue Cloth, spine gilt; pp. 221, with A Fine Photographic Frontispiece, and 15 Other Captioned Photographic Plates; spine and adjacent board margins faded, and some minor fraying to spine ends, now arrested, while internally affected by the usual light spotting, but overall, this remains A Very Good Copy of An Exceptionally Rare African Sporting Work.

First edition. Czech: “Glynn Recounts His Days Mining For Gold in South Africa, Fighting Natives, and Hunting fro Eland, Buffalo, and Giraffe near The White River. Along The Pungwe River, He Bagged Buffalo, Lion and Hippo. There are Numerous Other Hunting Episodes, Including A Jaunt after Elephant in The Sheringoma Forest. A Scarce Work.”

Czech p. 108

“ILLUSTRATIONS ARE STUNNING ... AN EXCELLENT WORK OF SPORT” (CZECH)

17) GROGAN, Ewart & Arthur H. SHARP. From The Cape to Cairo: The First Traverse of Africa from South to North.    Hurst and Blackett, 1900     £697

Royal 8vo. Original Fine and Bright Tan Decorated Cloth, Titled in Gilt on The Spine, The Upper Cover with A Substantial Vignette, incorporating Elephant and Mosque Motifs in Black and White, and The Title Blocked in White; xvi + pp. 377, with A Fine Photographic Portrait Frontispiece of Grogan, with Tissue-Guard, 46 Other Plates, One Coloured; Neatly Recased, but Otherwise Fine Inside and Out, Leaving This A Very Good Copy of A Highly Sought-After Sporting Title.

First edition. Printed on Fine Heavy Paper. Czech: “Grogan and Sharp Embarked on One of The Most Perilous Treks in Africa, from The Cape of Good Hope to Cairo, Egypt On Foot, Establishing that Africa Could Ostensibly be Crossed by A Railway. They Travelled to The Zambesi, then Through The Lake Districts of Central Africa, on To The Upper Nile, to Khartoum and On To Cairo. Marching up The Pungwe, The Party Hunted Buffalo and Lion. On The Chiperoni, They Bagged Sable and Rhinoceros, while In The Rusisi Valley Near Lake Tanganyika, an In The Rutchuru Valley, Elephant were Stalked. Near Lake Albert, The Pair Succeeded in Bagging Several Elephants. Grogan Ran into Particular Difficulty with The Dinkas and Nuers in The Upper Reaches of The Nile, before Finally Making His Way to Cairo.”

Czech Concludes: “The Illustrations are Stunning, as is The Elaborate Pictorial Binding. An Excellent Work of Sporting Adventures and Exploration.”

Czech p. 114

18) HARRIS, Captain William Cornwallis. The Wild Sports of Southern Africa; being The Narrative of A Hunting Expedition from The Cape of Good Hope, Through The Territories of The Chief Moselekatse, to The Tropic of Capricorn.  Pelham Richardson, 1844        £1,800

Crown 4to.   Original Crimson Cloth, Richly Tooled in Gilt, with A Centrally-Placed Gilt Elephant to The Front Cover, and A Gilt Giraffe to the Spine, Both Surmounted by The Gilt Titles; xvi + pp. 359, with A Fine Hand-Coloured Lithographed Frontispiece of “Mozelekatse, King of The Amazooloo”, Additional Title, where The Title Surmounts A Large Hand-Coloured Vignette of A Giraffe, Feeding from A Tree Over its Head, 24 Other Equally-Excellent Hand-Coloured Lithographed Captioned Sporting Plates, showing Multiple Species, All Finished with Gum Arabic Varnish Highlights, and A Map; minimal fraying to cloth  extremities, but overall A Spectacularly Attractive Copy.  

Fourth Edition*. Czech: “The Third, Fourth* and Fifth Editions, in Particular, Are The Most Sought-After of This Famous African Exploration and Sporting Work, Due to The Wonderful Coloured Plates of African Game and Scenery. Harris Journeyed to The Meritsane River where He Encountered a Herd of Quaggas and Brindled “Gnoos” He Estimated at 15000 Head. He Bagged Eland and Was Attacked by Lion in The Region. Crossing The Mariqua River, He Hunted Ostrich and White Rhinoceros. Entering The Cashan Mountains, He Collected Elephant, then Proceeded to The Limpopo Valley where He Hunted Buffalo and Hippopotamus, with Additional Sport after Giraffe, Black Rhinoceros, Sable and Lion - Harris’ Work is Valuable and it Present A Detailed Picture of The South African Game Fields Prior to The Growing Pressure of Civilisation.”

Czech p.71; Mendelssohn 1, p. 688; Tooley 247; Abbey Travel 335; Nissen ZBI 1843; Schwerdt I p. 231.

THE HAJJ, ADEN, JEDDA, MECCA AND MEDINA, AND THE TONK AFFAIR – A PRESENTATION COPY

          19) HASSAN, Hafiz Ahmed. Pilgrimage to The Caaba [The Most Sacred Muslim Shrine] and Charing Cross.   W.H. Allen & Co., [1875]     £1,200

8vo. Original Bright Green Cloth, with Bevelled Boards, Richly Titled to Spine and Both Covers in Gilt, within Decorative Panels, Edges Stained Red, Brown Endpapers; viii + pp. 171 (+ 10pp. Detailed Publisher’s Booklist at Rear), with An Excellent Mounted Photograph Frontispiece of Hassan in Ceremonial Robes; immaculate condition inside and out.

Only edition. Inscribed by The Author in Pen and Ink at The Head of The Title: “With The Author's Compliments”. The Author,  Hafiz Ahmed Hassan, was In The Service of The Nawab of Tonk (A Small Muslim Kingdom, Surrounded by Hindu States in What is Today Rajasthan). In 1870 The Nawab Made A Pilgrimage to Mecca, with Hassan Accompanying Him. The Journey Starts from Bombay and Continues via Aden and Jedda, before Reaching Mecca and Medina*, Both Described in Detail, including The Proceedings of The Famous Muslim Hajj Pilgrimage.  While Away, However, The Nawab was Deposed by His Son with The Support of The Local “Agent”, Lieut.-Col. Eden. Hassan Travelled to England with A Deputation to Counter The Claim, and Though Unsuccessful, He Gives A Highly-Detailed Account of The Journey.

*  “[The Book] Appears Under The Form of Relating A Pilgrimage to Mecca and A Journey to England, The Telling of The Story of The Tonk Affair from The Nawab's Point of View ...’ (Spectator, 1871)

20) HAYWOOD, Lieut.-Col. A.H.W. Sport & Service in Africa: A Record of Big Game Shooting, Campaigning & Adventure in The Hinterland of Nigeria, The Cameroons, Togoland &c., With An Account of  The Ways of Native Soldiers & Inhabitants, & A Description of Their Villages & Customs As Well As Of The Fauna & Flora.   Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott Company, 1926     £427

8vo. Original burgundy cloth, spine titled in black, the upper cover with A Centrally-Placed Vignette of  “My Arab Guide” [with His Camel] (see page 136) “With A Cupful of Water and A Handful of Dates, He Would Bear The Scorching Heat and Suffocating Sandstorms Without Showing Any Signs of Fatigue”;  pp. 285, with A Fine Captioned Photographic Frontispiece of “A Chego: This Ape has its Habitat in The Gola Forest near The Anglo-Liberian Border of Sierra Leone. He will Attack and Kill an Unprotected Woman or Child”, 21 other excellent photographic plates on 15 leaves, and A Hugely Detailed Folding Lithographic Map at rear; well-nigh immaculate inside and out, this is A Very Good Copy of A Grippingly-Written Saga, by This Sought-After Author.

First edition. Czech: “Haywood Served in A Variety of Hotspot Venues Throughout Africa. He Describes Lion Hunts near The Niger River and Near Bamako in Senegal, with Additional Mention of Hartebeest Hunting in The Ashanti Region of The Gold Coast. Perhaps His Best Sporting Chapter Concerns Elephant Hunting on The Niger Below Timbuctu.” Provenance: “Windsor Holden White” (Bookplate), and “Richard T. Daniel, Kerville, Texas” (Inscription on front free endpaper, and inkstamp to front pastedown).

Czech p. 73.

“AN EXCELLENT WORK OF EXPLORATION AND SPORT” (CZECH) –

   INSPIRING “KING SOLOMON’S MINES”*?

        21) HÖHNEL, LIEUT. LUDWIG VON. Discovery of Lakes Rudolf [East Africa] and Stefanie [Abyssinia]. A Narrative of Count Samuel Teleki’s Exploring & Hunting Expedition in Eastern Equatorial Africa in 1887 & 1888.  Longmans, Green & Co., 1894     £3,975

8vo. 2 vols. Original Sea-Green Pictorial Cloth, Spines Titled in Gilt, surmounting A Gilt Vignette of An Antelope;  xx + pp. 435 and  xii + pp. 397,  with  36 Captioned Wood-Engraved Plates, and Three Maps (Two Coloured and Folding), Illustrations in the text; maps partially reinforced with linen, and occasional light spotting, but In Every Way, This is An Excellent and Bright Set of A Compulsory African Sporting Classic. 

First edition. ASSOCIATION COPY, inscribed in Pencil on the half-title: “H. Rider Haggard*. Given Me by C.J. Longman** 1894.” Czech: “An Excellent Work of Exploration and Sport, This Scarce Set Represents African Adventure At Its Finest. Departing from Zanzibar, The Expedition Hunted Buffalo, Rhinoceros, and A Variety of Plains Animals in The Neighbourhood of Mount Kilimanjaro. There was Also Considerable Elephant Hunting near Mount Nyiro, with Additional Elephant Hunting near Lake Stephanie.”

Czech p. 78

** ““C.J.” [Longman] Became A Close Friend of [Author]Rider Haggard, and It Was Through This, and Similar Links that Longmans Published Robert Louis Stevenson's “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” (1886)!”  (cf. DNB)

A ROWLAND WARD CLASSIC

         22) HUBBACK, T.R.  Elephant and Seladang Hunting in The Federated Malay States.   Rowland Ward, Limited, 1905     

                                                                                                      £1750

8vo. Original Crimson Cloth, Titled in Gilt on Spine and Upper Cover; xiii + pp. 89 (+ 2 pp. detailed Publisher’s adverts. at rear), with 17 Excellent Captioned Chotographic Plates in text; well-nigh immaculate inside and out, this is A Fine Copy of A Highly Sought-After Classic Work of Big Game Hunting.

First edition. Printed on Fine Paper. Czech: “A Longtime Resident in Malaya*, Hubback Recounts His Numerous Hunting Trips after Elephant and Seladang. Travelling from Singapore to The Pertang River and Kenawan, He Collected Several Seladang which He Regarded with Respect: “I Have Indeed Seen A Big Seladang in His First Rush, Snap a Creeper as Thick as a Strong Man’s Wrist - A Creeper With Which 20 Men Could Easily Play Tug-of-War”. Near The Pahang River, He Successfully Stalked and Bagged Several Elephant.” 

Czech p. 107.

*Fascinatingly, When The Japanese Invaded Malaya in The Second World War, Hubback, Who By Then was The Warden In Charge of  Malaya’s Jungle Maintenance, Chose To Stay On, and Use His Knowledge of it To Stay Out of Trouble. He Melted into The Jungle and Was Never Seen Again! 

     VERY RARE AFRICAN SPORT:

AND

AN ASSOCIATION COPY

         23) HUGHES, Joseph Edward.  Eighteen Years on Lake Bangweulu. Introduction by H.C. Maydon (Editor of The Badminton Library Volume on “Big Game Hunting”) [Ten Years of Extensive Hunting in Northern Rhodesia].   The Field, [1933]     £3,400

Crown 4to. Original orange cloth, spine titled in gilt, upper over with a centrally-placed vignette blocked in gilt and black, of a seated native, smoking a hookah; xvi + pp. 376, with A Fine Captioned Photographic Frontispiece, no fewer than 75 Other Equally Vivid Full-Page Plates, and A Double-Page Map, Printed in Colours,  on The Front Endpapers; binding neatly recased, but otherwise, well-nigh immaculate inside and out, bar minimal browning to rear free endpaper, making this An Excellent Copy of One of The Rarest and Most Sought-After Works on African Big Game Hunting.

First edition.  Presentation Copy:  “Dr. J.A. Gordon from J. Todd* 1933”   Czech: “Hughes Travelled to Nyasaland in 1901 as An Assistant Native Commissioner in The British South Africa Company, Eventually Resigning His Post  in Favour of Becoming A Full-Time Hunter and Trader. Over The Next Decade, He Explored and Hunted Around Lake Bangweulu and Its Attendant Swampy Region, and The Rivers Chambesi and Luapula. There are Numerous Hunting Incidents, Particularly After Elephant, Lion, Buffalo, Hippopotamus and Rhinoceros, with Cheetah Bagged near The Luena River. In Addition, Eland, Sable, Puku, Sitatunga, Warthog and Other Game was Collected.”**     

Czech p. 135

* “Todd” is The Fellow Hunter who is Mauled by A Lion on Hughes’ Final Expedition before The Outbreak of The First World War - see p. x of Preface, and pp. 285, 352 and 355.

** “[Hughes] Also Provides Advice for Future Sportsmen: “Always Aim Low at A Buffalo - His Chest is Only Two Feet from The Ground: And NEVER Fire, Unless You Can See Him Properly ...” This is An Excellent Work of Hunting and Adventure with Wonderful Detail of The Area (Today’s Zambia), and Scarce.” (Czech)

24) HUNTER, J.A.  Hunter’s Tracks [Big Game Hunting in Kenya and Tanganyika by A Legendary Sporting Author].   Hamish Hamilton, 1957           £125

8vo. Original Grass-Green Cloth, spine titled in gilt, with The Original Pale Green Dust-Jacket, with A Centrally-Placed Portrait of The Author, Surrounded by Five Wood-Engraved Vignettes (Lion, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, and Crocodile); [xii] + pp. 240, with A Fine Portrait Frontispiece of The Author, and 8 Captioned Photographic Plates, printed recto and verso (including one of An Albino Giraffe!); small section torn away from the lower outer margin of The Front Dust-Wrapper,  otherwise well-nigh immaculate inside and out, making this A Very Good Copy of This Work by An African Sporting Legend.

First edition.  Czech: “More of Hunter's Exciting Safari Exploits* after Lion, Buffalo, Elephant, Crocodile, Rhino, and Other Game, Primarily in Kenya and Tanzania [Strictly, The "Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar",  till Combination in 1964].”

Czech p. 136.

* “If A Rhino Knows You're There, He's Usually Charging You Madly. And You Want to Make Sure You Shoot Him - and Shoot to Kill - Before He Gets Closer Than Five Yards Otherwise The Impetus of The Charging Body will Topple You Over and Crush You” (p. 135).

25) JOHNSON, Clive. W.  With Memsaab on The Rungwa [Big Game Hunting in Tanganyika]   Privately Printed, [1958]

                                                                                      £227

8vo. Original Leopard-Skin Patterned Corduroy-Covered Boards, with A Title Panel Laid Down on The Upper Cover, Titled in Gilt; pp. 117, with 17 Fine Captioned Photographic Plates; mint condition inside and out. 

First edition. Presentation Copy, incribed by The Author in Blue Ink on the Limitation Leaf (“No. 98” of An Unstated Limitation): “To My Friend Bill.This is The 2nd Chapter on “What Lawyers Do in Their Spare Time”. Clive.” Czech: “Johnson and His Family Trekked to The Rungwa River Region in Tanzania [Tanganyika] on A Second Safari, Where They Collected Warthog, Greater Kudu, Reedbuck, Sable and Other Game.”*

Czech p. 142.

* “Eric Rungren [Professional Hunter] Had Wounded A Leopard Which Had Disappeared into The Deep Grass ... He Showed A Natural Reluctance to Go In After It. His Mexican Client Sarcastically Quipped - “What Are You? Yellow?” Whereupon Rungren, Being Hot Tempered and Seeing Red, Threw His Gun Away, and Tore into The Grass After The Cat. It Was A Battle To The Death and Rungren Finally Won, Choking It with His Bare Hands. It Was Costly, However, as He Was Badly Mauled in The Process, and It Was A Long Time Before He Completely Recovered …” (p. 58)

“ONE OF THE SCARCEST AFRICAN BIG GAME TITLES” (CZECH)

      26) JOHNSON, Isaac Charles. Sport on The Blue Nile; Or, Six Months of A Sportsman's Life in Central Africa [Sudan].   Robert Banks & Son, Racquet Court, Fleet Street, E.C., 1903     £2,400

      8vo. Original Olive-Green Cloth, titled in gilt on spine, above An Intertwined Gilt Rifle and Spear Motif, and Upper Cover, surmounting, on the latter, A Rectangular Mounted Photograph of A Roaring Lion, with A Similarly Mounted Plate on The Lower Cover, but of An Elephant; 2 pp. "Apologia"*  + pp. 256, with A Fine Collotype Portrait Frontispiece, from A Photograph, of "The Author and His Dragoman", both in Tropical Dress, 32 Fine Photographic Plates, and an illustration in text of “Trophies, including Skulls, Horns of Alligator and Crocodile, now In Possession of I.C. Johnson, Esq., Senr.”;  binding very neatly recased, with light rubbing to head and foot of spine, while internally affected only by minimal spotting or other marking, leaving this overall, A Very Good Copy of An Extremely Rare Book, this copy with The Even Rarer “Apologia Leaf” tipped in at the front, and Usually Missing.*

First edition. Czech: “One of The Scarcest African Big Game Titles, This Presents Isaac Johnson's Travels through The Sudan, Armed with A .303 Martini-Metford Carbine as His Firearm of Choice. After Passing Through Khartoum, He Collected Crocodile and Hippopotamus. Trekking Along The Banks of The River Dinder, He Bagged Elephant as well as Reedbuck, Roan and Leopard. While Waiting in A Reed Blind to Bag Lion, Johnson Suddenly Discovered One Next to Him: 

“To Say that The Pulsations of My Heart at This Moment were Normal, would be A Falsehood, but I Lay Perfectly Still, and Contemplated The Magnificent Creature Lying There Beside Me in All the Quiet Dignity of Leonine Repose.”

There are Additional Lion Hunts  near Omdurman. The Appendices Provide Greater Explanations for Each of The Illustration Plates.” 

Czech p. 143

*  “I, Isaac Johnson, Unreservedly Withdraws All Statements Made in My Book against El Kaimakam [Local Term for British Army Officer] G. de H. Smith Bey*, who Was Carrying Out The Orders of H.E., The Governor General of Sudan …” [See Double Asterisks Below]

** A Previously-Sold Copy of This Rare Work Contained Two Extensive ALS by The Author,  Discussing The Hunting Trips in Detail, and also Shedding Some Light and Explanation for The Above “Scandal”.*

In The First Letter, from 1904, Written by The Author to “Old Soudan Hand”, [F.H.] Trevethick [cf. Times April 13^th 1903, et. Opp. Cit.], The Author Explained that This Book is "A Record of The First of My Three Shooting Trips in The Soudan ... [I] Have Brought My Score of Lions Up To Ten in All, of Which Two Were Shot with Successive Bullets, Laying The Two Fine Lions Side by Side, A Noble Picture; Of Which I Have Very Good Stereoscopic Photographs."

In The Second Letter, from 1905, Also to Trevethick, The Author Declined a Dinner Invitation but Stated His Hope to Return Soon to The Area,"As There Are Still Four Lions of My Acquaintance Yet At Large in The Sennar Province, and Again The Splendid Elephant Country, About Which I Had My Trouble with Government**, Has Now Been Thrown Open to Sportsmen ... " It turns out that Johnson Apologises For The Fact That His Father, who Had Been Responsible for The Book's Publication in England, had Apparently Added, "Injudiciously"**, from Letters Sent Home, "Not in Keeping With The General Tenour [sic]" of The Book.** 

27) JOHNSON, Martin & Osa. Over African Jungles: The Record from Pen and Camera of A Glorious Adventure Over The Big Game Country of Africa. 60,000 Miles by Aeroplane.   Harrap, [1935]     £227 

8vo. Original green cloth, spine titled in gilt at head, surmounted by the gilt emblem of a Seaplane, upper cover ruled in blind, with The Rare Original Dustjacket, titled in Red, Black and White in An Art Deco Design, incorporating 10 of The Author’s Photographic Images of Big Game; pp. 249, with A Fine Photographic Frontispiece of The Seaplane Floating at “Sunset on Lake Naivasha” (“The African Savages Watched in Wonder This Flying Home of The White People ...”, and No Fewer Than 99 Other Excellent Captioned Photographic Plates, Printed Recto and Verso throughout; well-nigh immaculate condition inside and out, bar some minor  repaired tears to the dust-jacket, this is a very good copy of A Superbly Illustrated African Photographic Safari.

First edition. Czech: “The Johnsons Continue Their African Adventures, This Time Flying over The Continent in Their Sikorski Amphibious Planes, Painted with Leopard Spots and Zebra Stripes. There are Hunting Incidents in East Africa, Including Rhinoceros and Leopard.”

Czech p. 86.

EXCITING WRITING AND GREAT ILLUSTRATIONS

28) JONVEAUX, Emile. Two Years in East Africa: Adventures in Abyssinia and Nubia, with A Journey to The Sources of The Nile [Elephant Hunting near The Setit River].  T.  Nelson & Co., 1875     £497

Crown 8vo. Original brown cloth, titled in gilt and black on spine and upper cover, in both cases surmounting Vivid Gilt Vignettes, showing on the cover, Natives Running Along with The Author Reclining on a “Machilla” [Daybed], while on the spine, Some Natives Attacking with Spears (“Negro Chief and His Warriors, East Africa”, cf. illustration on p. 262); xii + pp. 13-407, with An Evocative Wood-Engraved Frontispiece of “The Banks of The White Nile”, and No Fewer than 40 Other Fine and Detailed Wood-Engraved Plates and Illustrations, All Captioned, and Many Full-Page;  only a couple of tiny random spots internally, affecting a very good and solid copy of A Detailed and Lengthy Trip to The Dark Continent, with Early Exposition of Hunting Practice. 

First edition. Czech: “Jonveaux Followed The Course of The Nile into Abyssinia where He Witnessed The Abyssinian Wars Against The English, particularly The Battle of Magdala ... He Hunted Elephant near The Setit River, though His Native Guides Were Forced To Use Swords Against A Bull [Elephant], When His Rifle Didn’t Bring It Down”*.

Czech p. 87.

* “A Ball Struck Him on The Head, Another on The Shoulder. I Thought He Would Fall. These Wounds Had No Other Effect Than to Alter His Course. He was On The Point of Disappearing Among The Trees, When Three Omrams [Sudanese Natives], Swift-Footed as Grayhounds [sic], Cut Off His Retreat, Sword in Hand. Turning Upon Himself as Upon A Pivot, He Attacked Them In Succession, Roaring Furiously, and Raising Immense Clouds of Dust. While The Elephant Flung Himself on One, The Two Others Took Him in The Flank. At Last, The Sheikh’s Son Dealt Him a Blow with His Sword ...” (p. 110).

29) LEATHAM, A.E. Sport in Five Continents [British East Africa, Somaliland; Neilgherry Hills and Philibeet District in India; On The Yangtze in China; British Columbia, The Rockies, and Manitoba in North America].   Edinburgh & London, William Blackwood and Sons, 1912   £227

8vo. Original Olive-Green Cloth, titled in gilt on spine and upper cover, the upper cover with An All-Embracing Scene, blocked in black, of A Team of Hunters Climbing A Mountain Path With Pack Animals, top edges gilt; x + pp. 333 (+ 64pp. Detailed Publishers’ Booklist at Rear), with A Fine Photographic Frontispiece of A “Bagged” “Grizzly, Rockies, Canada”, and 69 Other Excellent Captioned Photographic Plates on 45 leaves; A Lovely Bright Copy, only affected by a slight dint to bottom edge of the lower board, and occasional light spotting internally, and to paper edges, leaving this The Ideal Introduction to World-Wide Big Game Hunting Literature.

First edition.  Czech (Africa): “Leatham travelled to Somaliland in 1896, where He Hunted Lion. In 1900, He was in British East Africa, Hunting Lion near Lucania Hill, Hippo on The Athi River, and Cape Buffalo near The Heights of Donio Sabuk. He also Includes A Chapter on Hunting and Identifying Various Types of Antelope, including Oryx”;  Czech (Asia): “Stalking Gaur in The Neilgherry Hills, and Tiger in The Philibeet District of India. Leatham also Hunted Goral and Tufted Deer near Ichang along The Yangtze River in China”; Heller (Americas): “Hunting in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Rocky Mountains, including Grizzly, Wapiti, Mountain Sheep and Goat.”

Czech (Africa) p. 92; Czech (Asia) p. 124; Heller 204.

* “As My Small Experience Goes, I Would Venture To Say That The Japs are The Most Courteous, The Chinese The Most Reliable, Of Civilised Nationalities, and That, Of Semi-Barbarous Tribes - Black, Yellow, or Red - In Any Country Where Most Natives Are Nice and Pleasant To Deal With, Far Away The Nicest, and Pleasantest, Are Those Who Have Had The Least To Do With The European ... The Englishman Is Commonly An Exception To The Rule. Him, The Natives, For The Most Part, Are Glad To See, To Welcome and Respect ...” (Preface)

“CONSIDERABLE TIME HUNTING BIG

GAME” (CZECH)

30) LESLIE, David. Among The Zulus and Amatongas; With Sketches of The Natives, Their Language and Customs; And The Country, Products, Climate, Wild Animals.    Edinburgh: Edmonston & Douglas, 1875     £1,400

8vo. Original Oive Green Cloth, spine titled in gilt; upper cover with A Centrally-Placed Gilt Vignette of A Zulu, with Spear and Shield (Duplicated in blind on lower cover; [xvi, 436 pgs.(includes Appendix) [+ 2 pp. adverts. at rear], with A Fine Woodburytype Portrait of The Author; inner hinges strengthened, and some arrested fraying to extremities, leaving this however, A Very Good and Solid Copy of An Important South African Sporting Work, Rare in The Original Cloth.

First edition. Czech: “W.H. Drummond [Author of “The Large Game and Natural History of South Africa” (1875)] Edited Leslie’s Articles and Letters to Provide Insight into His Journeys Through South Africa. He Spent Considerable Time Hunting Big Game. Leslie Hunted Buffalo and Elephant  near The Tugela River, as well as Rhinoceros and Buffalo at The Pongolo River. He Provides An Interesting Chapter on African Travellers and Their Books, and Concludes that It Was His (Uncharitable) Opinion that The Likes of William Baldwin [Author of “African Hunting from Natal to The Zambesi” (1863)], and Gordon Cumming [Author of The Classic “Five Years in A Hunter’s Life  in The Far Interior of South Africa” (1850)] were “Young Men Who Had Plenty of Money and Little to Do Except Slaughter Game””

Czech p. 163. 

PRIVATELY PRINTED SALMON FISHING

         31) McCONNOCHIE, Alexander Inkson. The Rivers Oykell & Cassley in Sutherland and Ross; Some Ideal Salmon Fishing Beats.    [Privately Printed by] H.F. & G. Witherby,   1924     

                                                                                              £58

       12mo. Original Pale Green Wrappers, the upper wrapper titled in black and surmounting A Black and White Photographic View, Not Replicated Inside; pp. 29, with 8 Captioned Photographic Plates; a slight crease to the upper outer edge of 2 leaves, and an ink line to the outer margin of one plate, but externally immaculate.

First edition.  The Plates Comprise: “The Confluence of The Cassley with The Oykell”, “Oykell Bridge Hotel”, “Langwell Pool”, “Langwell Lodge”, “In Strathoykell – Oykell Bridge, and Oykell Bridge Hotel”, “The Falls at Oykell”, “Cassley Falls”, and “Invercassley Bridge”.

cf. Westwood & Satchell Supplement.

RARE COLONIAL KENYAN COOKERY

32) [MACDONALD, Mrs. A.L., and Others].  The Kenya Settler’s Cookery Book and Household Guide.   [Nairobi, The Guild], [1958]  £247

8vo. Original Blue Cloth, Titled in Gilt on Spine and Upper Cover, and With Its Original Attached Crimson “Advertising” Card “Page-Marker”, for “Economic Fresh Provision Stores Limited” (“Opposite The Market in Stewart Street, Nairobi”), still Attached, with Its Printed Caption: “Come to Us for All Those Delicacies which Make Such A Difference to Your Entertaining ...”); pp. 334 (+ 2pp. Unused “Notes” at Rear, with Several Pages Illustrating Different Cuts of Meat, and Various Full-Page Adverts. Throughout for Locally-Available Foodstuffs or Kitchen Appliances; fine condition externally, with only neat strengthening of the inner hinge, and some light browning to text, leaving this A Remarkably Preserved Book of Colonial Cookery from The “Tail End” of Britain’s Direct Influence in Africa.

Twelfth edition. Provenance: “Gillian Simpson. Air House. Nairobi. May 1959” (Pen and Ink Inscription to The Front Pastedown). Recipes include Such Curiosities as those for Meat (including Antelope) and Fish: “Ngege” (Local Tilapia: “FISH MUST BE FRESH – There Should Be No Unpleasant Smell; The Gills Should be Red; The Eyes Bright and Prominent; The Flesh Firm and The Tail Stiff”), Hints for Making “Tough Meat Tender” (“Wrap it in PawPaw Leaves for 1 or 2 Hours Before Cooking”), as well as “Useful Household Hints”.* 

*How “To Clean and Cure Poultry Feathers”, or “To Clean A White Felt Hat”;   And “Economical Hints”: “If Butter is Tainted, Knead it in Cold Water to which A Pinch of Soda Bicarbonate has been Added and Leave It Soaking for about 2 Hours”;  The All-Important “SAFARI HINTS”, such as: “Carry A Piece of Sheet Iron in which Holes Have Been Cut for Saucepans. Build Three Side Walls with Stones and Place Iron on Top. Build Fire Underneath.” 

Not found in Any Culinary Bibliography. Rare.

33) MARSHALL, Edison.  Shikar and Safari: Reminiscences of Jungle Hunting [Kenya, Vietnam, India, Bhutan, Burma, and Nepal].   New York, Farrar, Straus & Company, 1947     £297

8vo. Original Brick Red Cloth, Spine Titled in Gilt, with The Original Dust-Jacket, Depicting A Violently Trumpeting Tusker, blocked in Green, Grey and Black, surmounted by the title in white, while the lower cover shows A Photograph of The Author with A Bagged Leopard*  (“The Giant Leopard that Bluffed Out The Pack of Hyenas [cf. “Watch by Night” Chapter: “Fifteen Feet from The Bait, One of The Hyenas Broke and Ran,  Yelping as Though He Already Felt The Leopard’s Talons Tearing Out His Side” (p. 27)]”; pp. 263; well-nigh immaculate inside and out, bar a couple of creases and minimal losses, now arrested, to dust-jacket, leaving this A Very Good Copy of An Exciting Tale from The Zenith of The Big Game Hunting Era. 

First edition.

Czech (Africa): “A Well-Known Novelist, Marshall was Also An Accomplished Big Game Hunter.... Hunting in Kenya with [Professional Hunter] Charles Cottar [Subject of The Recently Published Work: “Cottar: The Exception Was The Rule” (1999), Drawn from His Diaries] after Leopard* and Eland, with Additional Encounters with Lion and Rhinoceros.”

Czech (Asia): “[Marshall] Travelled to French Indo-China (Vietnam) to Hunt “Sladang” (sic). Accompanied by Moi Tribesmen, He Penetrated The Jungles West of Saigon, Collecting Tiger, Seladang, and Sambur. Two Years Later, He Journeyed North- East of Calcutta to The Frontiers of Bhutan, where He Bagged Tiger, Panther, Buffalo and Bison. In The Southern Arakon Yomas Forests of Burma, The Author Stalked Tiger, Panther and Rogue Elephant. On Yet Another Trip, This to The Foothills of Nepal, He Hunted Tiger. Marshall Also Includes An Odd Chapter on Ranking Big Game by His Self-Created Points System - The Seladang Beating Out The African Elephant!”

Czech (Africa) p. 181; Czech (Asia) p. 134

INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR

34) MASON, Michael H.  Where The River Runs Dry [After Copious Game in Abyssinia].    Hodder and Stoughton, [1934]   £397

8vo. Original Sky-Blue Cloth, Spine Titled in Black; xv + pp. 220, with A Fine Sepia Photographic Frontispiece of “Simaya Water”, Surrounded by Giraffes and Plains Game, 17 Other Excellent Captioned Sepia Photographic Plates by The Author’s Wife, and 32 Wood-Engraved Vignettes; well-nigh immaculate inside and out, this is A Very Good Copy of An Exciting Sporting Narrative.

First edition. Inscribed by The Author in Pen and Ink on The Front Free-Endpaper to An Anonymous Member of The Oxford Agricultural  Society: “Signed, by Request, by The Author; If I’d Been in Time, I’d Have Given you One - Michael H. Mason.” Czech: “Mason Returned to The Nile Region after A Nine Year Absence [Described in The Author’s “Deserts Idle” (1928)] and Proceeded to Hunt Roan, Reedbucks and Buffalo near The Bahr-el-Dinder, continuing into The Abyssinian Interior after Elephant and Lion.”*   

Czech p. 183

*Mason Loved His Time in Sudan, Only Recording: “The Comfortable Progress, The Frequent Mirth, The Perpetual Happy Communion Between The White Hunter and His Arabs which Has Been, Made So Easy, in The Sudan, for Such Visitors as Annette [The Author’s Wife], and Myself.” (Preface). How Times Change! 

“NUMEROUS INCIDENTS OF HUNTING” (CZECH)

35) MATTENKLODT, Wilhelm.  Fugitive in The Jungle [Copious Wartime Sport near The Okavango River]   Boston, Little Brown, 1931     £227

8vo. Original Orange Cloth, spine titled in gilt, with A Horseman Vignette blocked in black on the upper cover; pp. 292, with 16 Vivd Chapter-Heading Illustrations, and A Wood-Engraved Sketch Map at rear, Featuring Angola, German South-West Africa, and Bechuanaland, indicating The Author’s Various Routes; externally bright and fresh, while internally, pp. 94-95 have a small brown mark affecting the upper margins, and the upper inner hinge is tender, but these minor blemishes aside, this is A Fine and Fresh Copy of A Fascinating and Unusual Narrative, Seen from The German Side.

First edition. Great Writing!* Czech: “An Interesting Work Detailing The Author’s Life as A Farmer in Old German South-West Africa (Namibia) and His Adventures as A Fugitive  after German Forces were Defeated There in The Great War. Numerous Instances of Hunting Big Game Dot This Work, Including Elephant, Rhino, and Buffalo Near The Okavango River as well as Lion, Eland, and Other Game.” Following Armistice in Europe, The Author Decides to Ride to Windhoek to Surrender, and “Open Negotiations On My Account.” A Previous Owner of The Book Has Been Moved to Comment, in Pen and Ink, in the margin on Page 231 (“Discipline”).

Czech p. 184.

*  “The Rhino Bull Had Turned in Our Direction, and Came Charging Down on Us, Like A Runaway Railway Engine, Racing Up at A Monstrous Unwieldy Gallop, and With Every Stride, Tossed His Long Horn into The Air …” (p. 144).

36) MONSON, Ronald A. Across Africa on Foot [Elephant  Hunting in The Congo]. Photographs by J. Hunter Wilson.   Elkin Mathews & Marot, 1931     £127

8vo. Original orange cloth, spine titled in black, with The Rare and Splendid Coloured Pictorial Dust-Jacket; xiv + pp. 386, with A Fine Photographic Frontispiece of The Author, and His Partner On The Trek, J.H. Wilson, in “Tropical Kit”, including Plus Fours, and Pith Helmet, no fewer than 92 Other Excellent Captioned Photographic Plates on 46 leaves and 5 Maps, including “Map of Cape to Cairo Walk. 7628 Miles”; bar some light spotting to endpaperrs, very tight and bright, with a neatly repaired dust-jacket, making that is immaculate internally, leaving this A Very Good Copy of This Gripping Travel Narrative.

First edition. Czech: “Australian Monson, Joined by South African, J. Hunter Wilson, Trekked from Cape Town to Cairo Without Mention of The Famous Grogan-Sharp Expedition [cf. GROGAN: “From The Cape to Cairo” (1900)] of Nearly 3 Decades Earlier. There are Various Sporting Incidents including Hunting Oryx, Roan and Rhinoceros in Kenya, The Latter Bagged from The Safety of A Tree, as The Author Was Only Armed with A .30-30 Marlin. There is Also A Hair-Raising Experience with a Rogue Elephant in The Congo”*

Czech p. 117.

* “Up Went His Trunk into The Air, His Mighty Ears Swept Forward, and Giving Vent to An Ear-Piercing Scream, He Charged. For a Fraction of A Second, I Held My Ground, but As The Madly Trumpeting Beast Came On ... Mighty Feet Thundering Behind Me, Staccato Trumpeting Shattering The Silence of The Bush, Told Me That The Brute Was On Me, and That A Horrible Death Was Imminent ...” (p. 188).

38) MONTAGUE, Charles. Tales of A Nomad, or Sport and Strife [Big Game Hunting in South Africa and Borneo].   Longmans, Green & Co., 1894     £227

8vo. Original dark blue cloth, spine titled in gilt; viii + pp. 208; well-nigh immaculate inside and out, bar the usual browning to endpapers, and a single wormhole to the lower blank margin, leaving this A Very Good Copy of One of The Rarer Sporting Accounts, Alongside The Author’s Military Exploits in These Regions.

First edition.  Czech (Africa): “Near The Libombo Mountains, He Bagged Buffalo, with Hippopotamus Taken on The Umlumazi River. There is also A Chapter on Hunting  Lion, and One on Various Types of Antelope.” Czech (Asia): “Accompanied by A Party of Dyaks, Montague Canoed Up The Kayu River where He Bagged Elephant: “Had a Rothschild Offered Me All His Money in Exchange for The Satisfaction of Killing My Elephant, I Really Believe I Would have Declined to Acceed to is Proposition.” On Another Trip on The Upper Kinabatangan [River], He Collected an Additional Three Elephants.” Great Writing!*

Czech (Africa) p. 117; Czech (Asia) p. 143.

* ““I Am Sick of Experiences of Sport and Adventure Conveyed in The Form of Transcript from A Diary - Why Cannot People Give Us The Grain Without The Husk?” My Friend’s Words Echoed My Own Sentiments.  Thus Encouraged, The Author Put Certain Experiences into Shape ...” (Preface)

39) MORDEN, William & Irene. Our African Adventure [South Africa, through Rhodesia to Lake Rudolf, to Kenya, and into Sudan after Lion and Elephant].   Seeley, Service & Co., [1954]     

                                                                                            £297

8vo. Original Brown Cloth, Spine Titled in Gilt, with A Fine Original Dust-jacket, Blocked in Blue, Black and White, Comprising Two Large Scale Photographs of The Safari Motoring Across The African Landscape (Upper Wrapper), and Two Crouching Natives with Their Spears (Verso); pp. 256, with A Fine Photographic Frontispiece*, 39 Other Excellent Captioned Photographic Plates, Wood-Engraved Vignette Chapter Headings, A Wood-Engraved Map Plate of Africa Showing The Expeditions’s Route from  The Cape to Cairo, and A Large Folding Map by D.O. Mathews**; Barring A Price-Clipped Dust-Jacket, and A Neat Pen-and-Ink Ownership Inscription to The Verso of The Frontispiece, Mint Condition Inside and Out. 

First edition. Czech: “The Morden Expedition Journeyed from South Africa, through Zimbabwe to Lake Rudolf, Kenya, and Into Sudan. With Philip Percival and Harry Manners as Their Professional Hunters, The Mordens Bagged Lion and Elephant. The Photographs are Exceptionally Good.”

Czech p. 201.

*“Rest in The Thorn Bush” of The Exhausted Pair, in Hunting Kit  [“Our First Stop after 5 Hours of Tramping Over Hard and Subaked Earth in Waterless Country”].

**“A Remarkable Picture Map as A Pictorial Presentation of Kenya and Tanganyika ... Appears in Chapter Six”.

“BIG GAME SHOOTING IS ALWAYS CERTAINLY VERY FASCINATING”

          40) MOUBRAY, J.M. In South Central Africa [Zambia]; An Account of Some of The Experiences and Journeys of The Author During A Stay of Six Years in That Country [Copious Sport, Despite Himself!*].   Constable & Company Ltd., 1912     

                                                                                                       £397

8vo. Original dark green cloth, spine titled in gilt, the upper cover with A Detailed Centrally-Placed Gilt Vignette of The Author in Front of “Broken Hill Fort”; xvi + pp. 198, with An Excellent Photographic Frontispiece of “The Gorge of The Victoria Falls in Dry Season”, no fewer than 45 Other Captioned Photographic Plates on 26 Leaves, and A Folding Map at Rear (“Part of North Western Rhodesia [Modern-Day Zambia] from Surveys by J.M. Moubray 1908”); bar light rubbing to joints, and a few flecks of colour fading to foot of upper cover, as well as the usual browning to endpapers, this remains A Very Good Copy of An Extremely Rare Sporting Book, from An Area of Africa Rarely Covered in Such Literature.

First edition. Czech: “A Mining Engineer, Moubray’s Six Years in The Region were from 1903-08 ... Jaunts Along The Upper Kafue River after  Hippo**, Roan, Eland and Wildebeest. Near Kashiwa Lake, He Hunted Buffalo, Lion and Elephant: “Big Game Shooting is Always Certainly Very Fascinating … But The Novelty Soon Wears Off*  ... There is Always A Certain Amount of Fun, However, with Such Animals as Buffalo, Elephant and Lion.””

Czech p. 204.

** “The Body of A Large Hippo Contains Many Pounds of Fat, and I Have Some of This Boiled Down for My Own Use. Prepared in This Way It Is Difficult to Distinguish It from Lard; In Fact, It is Greatly Preferable to The Latter, as The Hippo is A Clean-Living Animal …” (p. 88)

      41) BENT, Newell.  Jungle Giants [Big Game Hunting in Northern Rhodesia and East Africa]   Norwood, Massachussetts, [Privately] Printed for Friends of The Author by The Plimpton Press, [1936]     £297

8vo. Original Crimson Cloth, titled in Gilt on Spine and Upper Cover, the latter surmounting A Gilt Roundel containing A Trumpeting Elephant; pp. 276, with A Striking “Chiselled” Photographic Portrait of The Author, and no fewer than 54 Other Fine Photographic Plates, Printed Recto and Verso, on 38 leaves; well-nigh immaculate condition inside and out, this is A Lovely Bright Copy of an Exciting Tale of Big Game Hunting and Mountaineering.

First edition. Czech: “[Bent] Hunted Eland and Had Run-Ins with Rhino, Buffalo, and Elephant, with His Native Gun-Bearer Usually Running Off with The Rifle*”. On His Graduation from Harvard in 1933, Bent joined The Department of Anthropology at Trinity College, Cambridge. The following year He Arrived in Cape Town, and Undertook A Journey Through Northern Rhodesia, Tanganyika and Uganda.”**  

Czech (2011), p. 25 [Not in Czech (1999)]; Neate B89; Meekly, Vol. 96, 340, p. 197; NOT IN PERRET OR ACLC (1982).

*  “The Gun Boy Let Out A Frightened Gasp, and Disappeared into The Underbrush Taking The Gun with Him. The Huge Creature Careered Off in A Blind Fury Like A Locomotive Gone Berserk. [Indeed] It is On Record that A Line of Convicts Chained by The Neck was Charged by A Rhino. The Beast Struck A Prisoner in The Centre of The Line and The Force of His Rush Broke The Necks of The Others.” (p. 145)

**En Route, Bent Met The South African Cricketer, Robert Crisp, and The Two Climbed to The Highest Point on Mount Kilimanjaro, Kaiser Wilhelm Spitze. Bent Records The Ascent in Words and Images taken from His Own Photographs. The Present Work was Completed on The Author’s Return to Harvard in 1935, but Not Published Until After His Death That Year, while Attempting An Ascent of Aconcagua, in The Andes.

NOT IN CZECH

42) NEIL, C. Lang. The World’s Pictorial Sports and Pastimes [Copious Big Game Hunting Worldwide]. A.M. Gardner & Co., Limited, [1911] £227

8vo. Original Brown Cloth, Titled in Gilt and Black on Spine and Upper Cover, The Upper Cover with A Large Vignette of A Hunter Firing His Rifle at An Elephant, Charging Towards Him, surmounted by the title, blocked in Gilt and Black, the spine similarly titled, above Various Sporting Paraphernalia; pp. 320, with An Evocative Photographic Frontispiece of “A Spanish Bull Fight”, and Copious Photogravure, Wood-Engraved and Photographic Plates and Illustrations Throughout, The Majority Captioned; Externally Fine, and with only some light uniform browning to the preliminaries, this is A Very Scarce Sporting Selection, Not Found in Big Game Bibliographies.

First edition. There is An Extraordinary Range of Sports Covered in This Miscellany, including The Bizarre “Albatross Fishing” [Hooking Albatrosses Out of The Sky for Sport, or Even To Tame Them as Ship’s Pets!], Culled from The Works of The Best Known Sportsmen, As Well As Many Less Well-Known: Shark Hunting in British Guiana; Buffalo Hunting in South Africa; Rhinoceros Hunting in Somaliland; Hunting Elephants; Giraffe Hunting in South Africa; Elk Hunting in Sweden; Chamois Stalking in Switzerland and Italy; Pig-Sticking in India; Alligator Trapping; Ostrich Hunting in Patagonia*; Hunting The Indian Rhinoceros, and Other Manly Occupations.

NOT FOUND IN CZECH. RARE.

*  “So Fast Did The Ostrich Travel that The Dogs Were Being Rapidly Out-Distanced. Suddenly, Garcia Flung His Bolas with All His Great Strength at The Flying Quarry. They Lighted on The Ostrich’s Neck, and It Fell To The Ground Kicking Desperately …” (p. 222)

     A RARE AND SOUGHT-AFTER ROWLAND WARD CLASSIC

43) NEUMANN, Arthur H.  Elephant Hunting in East Equatorial Africa. Being An Account of Three Years’ Ivory-Hunting Under Mount Kenia and Among The Ndorobo Savages of The Lorogi Mountains, Including A Trip to The North End of Lake Rudolph. With Numerous Illustrations by [Renowned Illustrators] J.G. Millais, E. Caldwell, and G.E. Lodge.    Rowland Ward, 1898        £2,800

8vo. Original Crimson Cloth, Spine Titled in Gilt, The Upper Cover Titled in Black;  [xx]  + pp. 455 (+ 8pp. Detailed Publisher’s Booklist at Rear), with A Fine Photogravure Frontispiece of Elephants and Other Big Game at A Waterhole (“Lovemaking” - cf. pp. 186-187) by Edmund Caldwell, A Colour Plate of Local Butterflies, with Tissue Key Overlay,  no fewer than 64 Other Captioned Plates and Illustrations Throughout, and A Folding Map  [“A Portion of East Equatorial Africa”] at Rear, Coloured in Outline; bar a slight dint to the upper edge of the upper cover, and minimal dulling to still bright gilt titling on the spine, Well-Nigh Immaculate Condition Inside and Out. A Compulsory Part of Any African Sporting Library, and Very Rare in The Original Cloth.

First edition. Printed on Fine and Heavy Paper.  Czech: “Neumann Hunted Throughout British East Africa, Hunting Rhino and Oryx near The Mackenzie River, then Travelling to The Jambeni Range for Elephant, Impala, and Rhinoceros. Near Mount Kenia, He Bagged Numerous Elephant and Also Collected Rhino and Lion. in Ndorobo Territory. He Stalked More Elephant, particularly Near The Seya River. On A Second Expedition, This Time Toward The Tana River, He Again Bagged Elephant, Then Returned to Ndorobo Lands for Further Tuskers. On A Trek Toward Lake Rudolph, Neumann Collected Topi, Lion, Rhino, Hippopotamus, Giraffe, and A Variety of Plains Game.”*  

Czech p. 207.

*Czech Finishes: “The Coloured Plate of Butterflies was Highly Prized by Entomologists, and Was Often Removed.” It is Still Present in This Copy.

         44) PHILLIPPS-WOLLEY, Clive.  Savage Svanetia [Copious Sport in Caucasian Georgia].   Richard Bentley and Son, 1883   £950

8vo. 2 vols. Original Olive-Green Cloth, Spines Titled in Gilt, The Upper Covers with A Map of The Region, Blocked in Black, with Double Gilt Fillet Borders, but Blocked in Black, Highlighting Svanetia in Gilt; xi + pp. 272 and iv + 250 (+ 4pp Booklist at rear), with Two Wood-Engraved Frontispieces (“The Valley of Rion” and “Villages of Mulach and Mugal”), Title Vignettes, 6 Other Captioned Wood-Engraved Plates, illustrations; well-nigh immaculate inside and out, bar One Small Discreetly-Placed Private Library Shelf Stamp [“B961”] to The Front Free Endpaper of Vol. I, this is An Excellent Set of An Extremely Scarce Sporting Work.  

First Edition.  Czech: “Hunting in The Central Caucasus, Phillipps-Wolley Pursued Ibex, Chamois, Bear, Boar, and Tur, in Addition to Bird Shooting and Trout Fishing. There are also Valuable Descriptions of The Terrain, The Customs of The Natives, and The Dangers in The Region, including Banditry and Landslides.”

Czech p. 161.

* “[Svanetia] and The Forest Region of Lekera Were First Called to My Attention by A Writer in “The Saturday Review” as Being Among The Least Known Corners of The Caucasus. Svanetia Had Always Been Spoken of To Me as A Hungry Land Inhabited by An Angry People. The Russians Themselves Know Very Little of Either The Country or The Inhabitants and Hence The Exaggerated Reports of The Danger of Travelling Amongst Them.” (Preface)

THE PERFECT INTRODUCTION TO BIG GAME HUNTING LITERATURE – SOME STORIES, AND AUTHORS FOUND NOWHERE ELSE!

45) PHILLIPPS-WOLLEY, Clive [and Others]. Big Game Shooting [Badminton Library].    Longmans, Green, and Co., 1894    £197  

8vo. 2 vols. Original Brown Cloth, Titled in Black Letters, Highlighted in White on Spines and upper Board, incorporating A Dark Brown Pictorial Montage of A Library Interior on Upper Boards, and with A Gilt Lion Head on The Spine to Vol. I, and A Gilt Moose Head to Vol. II; xvi + pp. 453 (+ 2pp. adverts.), with 19 Fine Captioned Collotype Plates by Charles Whymper [and Others], and Numerous Illustrations; immaculate condition inside and out

First edition.

Czech (Africa): “Of Special Interest in The Big Game Volume is [William Cotton] Oswell’s Contributions of 121 Pages on Sport in South Africa in the 1840s. There are Numerous Incidents of Hunting Buffalo, Lion,  and Elephant in The Region of The Limpopo River. David Livingstone was His Companion on A Journey to The Zambesi. Frederick Jackson Details Sport in British East Africa, Particularly with A Species by Species Analysis Including Elephant, Buffalo, Rhinoceros and Lion … Selous’ Chapter Describes Lion Hunting in South Africa.”

Czech (Asia): “Phillips-Wolley Describes Hunting Wild Boar, Ollen (Wapiti), Ibex, and Tur in The Caucasus, with References to St. George Littledale’s Stalks ... Littledale, Himself, Provides Chapters on Hunting Aurochs in The Caucasus, Ovis Ammon in Mongolia, and Ovis Poli in The Pamirs. Reginald Heber Percy Contributes A 180-Page Chapter on “Indian Shooting”, with Details of Hunts after Numerous Species, Including Tiger, Bear, Elephant, Leopard, Ibex, Markhor, Sambhur and Other Game”.

Heller (Americas): “ “Musk Ox” by Warburton Pike [and] 79 Pages on Puma, Grizzly, Black Bear, Buffalo, Bighorn, Goat, Pronghorn …”

Czech (Africa) p. 220; Czech (Asia) p. 162; Heller (Americas) 283.

A VIOLIN TEACHER HUNTS THE TRANSVAAL

         46) POHL, Victor. Bushveld Adventures [Copious Sport in South Africa].   Faber and Faber Limited, [1940]     £247

8vo. Original Blue Cloth, spine titled in gilt, with The Original Decorative Dust-Jacket, blocked in Green, White and Orange; pp. 256, with A Printed Map as Frontispiece, of The Transvaal, and Border Regions of Southern Rhodesia and Mozambique; bar slight darkening of the dust-jacket spine, immaculate condition, inside and out. 

First edition. Czech: “The Author, A Violin Teacher by Profession, Relates His Adventures in The Bush Country of South Africa. There are Numerous Instances of Hunting Lion*, Leopard, Bushbuck and Buffalo.”

Czech p. 222.

*  “Before The Lion Could Crush His Fallen Victim, My Dog Flashed Her Teeth into One of His Hind-Legs, and Caused The Surprised and Enraged Animal to Swing Round, Thus Enabling One of The Other Natives to Hurl A Spear that Pierced Its Stomach …” (p. 224)

“THIS EXCELLENT NARRATIVE OF SPORT” (CZECH)

          47) POWELL-COTTON, P.H.G.  A Sporting Trip Through Abyssinia; A Narrative of A Nine Months' Journey from The Plains of The Hawash to The Snows of Simien, with A Description of The Game, from Elephant to Ibex, and Notes on The Manners and Customs of The Natives.    Rowland Ward, 1902     £1,200

8vo.  Original Pale Red Cloth, Titled in Gilt on Spine and Upper Cover; xxiii + pp. 531, with A Fine Photogravure Frontispiece of An Abyssinian Ibex, 95 Other Captioned Photographic Plates and Illustrations throughout, and A Folding Coloured Map at Rear (“Of Abyssinia, Showing P.H.G. Powell-Cotton’s Route [from] Zeila to Massowah”); minimal fading to spine with the gilt titles still bright, this A Very Good Copy of One of The Classic "Rowland Ward" Big Game Titles. 

First edition. Czech: “Numerous Hunting Episodes Dot This Excellent Narrative of Sport and Exploration in The Abyssinian Hinterland. Powell-Cotton and His Party Bagged Numerous Species of Plains Game, then Hunted Buffalo and Elephant in The Hawash Valley. He Eventually Turned Northwest of Addis Ababa where He Hunted Roan, Duiker and Other Game. After Reaching Gondar, The Caravan Turned West, where The Author Encountered Kudu and Hartebeest. Near Gallimeder, He Successfully Hunted Buffalo. The Party Returned to Gondar, then Proceeded to The Simen Highlands, where Trophy Ibex were Bagged. While Powell-Cotton Did Use Big Bore Rifles, He Seems to have Enjoyed Most of His Sport with A .256 Mannlicher Fitted With A Telescope - Rather Unusual for His Day.” 

Czech p. 225.

*  "After Some Weeks' Stay in Addis Ababa, I Found Myself Engaged, Without A Single White Companion, on A Journey through Regions which No European Foot Had Trod For Generations ...” (Preface)

“A LITTLE KNOWN WORK WITH CONSIDERABLE HUNTING” (CZECH)

         48) ROBERTSON, Wilfrid. Zambezi Days [Copious Big Game Hunting in Rhodesia].   Edward Arnold, 1911     £457

8vo. Original tan cloth, with titled in black on spine and upper cover, and The Rare Pictorial Dust-Jacket, the Upper Cover with A Fine and Detailed Wood-Engraved Scene of Two Antelopes in The Foreground of A River Valley, while Away in The Background Are A Hunting Group, Approaching, The Spine with A Detailed Wood-Engraved Vignette of A Lioness Coming Down To A River-Bank, both images by Renowned Engraver, Joan Kiddell-Monroe; v[i] + pp. 196, with A Fine Photographic Frontispiece of The Chewori River, and 15 Other Photographic Plates, All Captioned Beneath;  several mall tears and losses to extremities of dust-jacket, and minimal marking to cloth covers, but internally immaculate bar a small dint to the front free endpaper and half title, leaving this A Very Good Copy of An Extremely Rare Work of African Sport., Here with Its Dust-Jacket. 

First edition. Czech: “A Little-Known Work with Considerable Big-Game Hunting Content. The Author Travelled Through The Zambezi Valley, Hunting Elephant and Leopard near The Chewori River.* He Canoed Along Seveal Stretches of The Zambezi with Stops to Bag Buffalo and Lion. There is Also An Excellent Chapter on His Views on Rifle Calibres, Bullet Choice and Sights.”

Czech p. 138.

*“Deep in The Heart of Elephant Country, There Was A Wonderful Fascination in Lying Awake at Night Listening to The Movements of The Great Beasts in The Surrounding Bush, and By The Sounds, Visualising Their Progress Through The Dim Aisles of The Trees ... Branches Broken as The Animals Fed, Rang Like Pistol Shots Through The Night ...” (Quoted in Czech from This Book)

  “SCARCER AND A BIT NICER THAN THE AMERICAN EDITION”* (CZECH)

      49) SELOUS, Percy & H.A. BRYDEN. Travel and Big Game [Hunting in Botswana and South Africa],   Bellairs and Co., 1897£397                                                                             

Tall 8vo.  Original Green Cloth, Titled in Gilt on Spine and Upper Cover, Surmounting on The Former, A Gilt Palm Tree, and on The Latter, A Fine Vignette of Selous, Blocked in Black, with Rifle and Bandolier; pp. 195, with Six Excellent Captioned Collotype Plates by Charles Whymper; very occasional light spotting, A Very Good Copy of A Scarce and Wide-Ranging Series of Sporting Anecdotes, by Two Names Renowned in The Annals of Big Game Literature.

First English* Edition. Czech: “Frederick Selous’ Cousin, Percy, Describes Hunting Wildebeest, Leopard, Lion, and Giraffe, Near The Molopo River, with Additional Leopard Hunting in Bechuanaland. He Enjoyed Sport after Rhinoceros near The Zambezi River, and Hippopotamus and Kudu on The Limpopo River. Bryden Contributes Two Chapters, including Hunting Giraffe and Zebra in South Africa, while Relating The Adventures of “A Dutchman” Hunting Buffalo.” Heller: “This Edition* is Scarcer and A Bit Nicer than The American Edition Published The Same Year by Longmans.” 

Czech p. 253; Mendelssohn I p. 303; Heller 348; Phillips p. 338.

       PRIVATELY PRINTED, AND A RARE COPY: INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR

         50) SILBERMANN, Fred.  My Safari Saga [Big Game Hunting in South-East Kenya]   Privately Printed, 1936     £327

4to. Original Dark Green Cloth, Titled in Crimson on upper cover, surmounting A Matching Centrally-Placed Roundel, containing A Rhino Trophy; pp. 126, with An Evocative Photographic Portrait Frontispiece, Six Fine Photographic Plates on A Single Leaf, Showing Big Game Animals and Bagged Game, Copious Marginal “Sketches” by The Author of Sporting and Ethnographic Subjects Throughout, and A Wood-Engraved Map of Africa on The Endpapers, Showing The Author’s Route from London to Capetown (“I Left London on Sunday, December 29th 1935, and Arrived Back in London on Sunday February 16th 1936”; externally immaculate, while internally, the frontispiece is trimmed at margins and has been tipped back in, and there is some staining to the outer margins of the photographic plate, but otherwise, this is A Very Handsome Copy, inside and out, of An Extremely Rare African Sporting Work. 

First and Limited Edition. Number 218 of 500 Copies Only.  This copy is Additionally Signed and Inscribed in Pen and Ink on The Frontispiece: “To Jacques Krojanker with Good Wishes, Fred Silbermann”. Czech: “With J. Pitcairne Holmes as His Professional Hunter, Silbermann Left the Comforts of Home in England to Stalk Big Game in The Bush Country of South-East  Kenya. In Test Firing His .450 Westley Richards, Both Barrels Went Off at Once and The Author Had to Have Repairs Done Before Starting His Safari. He Bagged Buffalo, Rhinoceros, Lion, Topi and Waterbuck - The Rhinoceros Encounter Especially Hair-Raising.*”  

Czech p. 256

*  “Stumbling Through The Bush Made Me Put My Gun on Safe … I See The Huge Form, in A Flash of Lightning, Charge Straight At Me … My Hands Slippery with Sweat, I Could Not Push It Forwards. “Shoot, Shoot!” – Boom, A Shot Rings Out. Hit or Not, The Huge Form Crashes Upon Us Like A Monster Tank.” (p. 52)

RARE COLONIAL IMPRINT, WITH “HUNTING VIGNETTES THROUOUT” (CZECH)

51) “SILVER HACKLE” [SHUTTLEWORTH, A.G.]. Indian Jungle Lore and The Rifle; Being Notes on Shikar and Wild Animal Life.    Calcutta & Simla, Thacker, Spink & Co., 1929 

                                                                                             £327

8vo. Original Light Green-Backed Olive Cloth Boards, Titled in Black on Spine and Upper Cover, Surmounting on The Latter A Large Vignette of A Trophy Buffalo; [xiv] + pp. 323 (+ 6pp. local adverts., and Detailed Publisher’s Booklist at rear), with An Evocative Photographic Frontispiece of A Tiger in Thick Undergrowth (“Waiting for Dusk”), and 11 Other Plates, both Photographic and Collotype, Copious Wood-Engraved Illustrations throughout; well-nigh immaculate inside and out, bar a sprinkling of spots to the fore-edges, leaving this A Very Good Copy of A Rare Indian Sporting Work, with A Local Publishers’ Imprint. 

First edition. Czech: “In This Review of Various Big Game Species, The Author Provides Several Chapters on Both Tiger and Panther, with Additional Segments on Bear, Gaur, and Sambur, in Addition to Numerous Types of Deer Encountered in India. There are Hunting Vignettes Throughout, as well as References to The Experiences of Other Noted Shikaries.”

Czech p. 186.

       52) [SOUTH SUDAN AND EAST AFRICA] AUSTIN, Major H.H.  Among Swamps and Giants in Equatorial Africa; An Account of Surveys and Adventures in The Southern Sudan and British East Africa. C. Arthur Pearson, 1902    £597

      8vo. Original Sky-Blue Cloth, titled in Gilt on the spine, while The Upper Cover has A Centrally-Placed Gilt Roundel, containing The Portrait of A Chief, His Head Garlanded with Feathers, top edges gilt; xii + pp. 354, with A Fine Photographic Portrait of The Author in Bemedalled Military Costume, 31 Other Captioned Photographic Plates, and A Large Folding Lithographed  Map* of “Sobat River and Part of The Blue Nile”, indicating “Major Austin’s Route” in Red; externally bright, with a slight dint to the lower outer corner of the upper cover, while internally there is some undeniable spotting to preliminaries, and paper edges, while the rest is fine, leaving this a good copy of A Rare African Sporting Work. 

First edition. Czech: “The Author Surveyed The Sobat River Region and The Border between The Sudan and Abyssinia, Then Explored The Area Between Omdurman in The Sudan to Mombasa via Lake Rudolf. During The Second of The Two Expeditions, He Enjoyed Sport after Gazelle, Cob, Waterbuck, Hartebeest and Hippopotamus North of Lake Rudolf. Near The Sacchi River He Bagged Oryx, then Contracted A Virulent Form of Scurvy after Leaving Lake Rudolf.”

Czech p. 13.

*This Copy contains A Second Large Folding Lithographed Map (slightly torn at fold), Not Mentioned by Czech, at p. 54, entitled “Land Journey from Nasser to The Uganda Railway at Lake Nakubo”, also indicating The Author’s Route in Red.

FIRST EDITION OF SPEKE’S “CORNERSTONE OF AFRICAN EXPLORATION” (CZECH)

          53) SPEKE, John Hanning. Journal of The Discovery of The Source of The Nile. William Blackwood and Sons, 1864   £697

       8vo. Original Brown Cloth, spine titled in gilt, surmounting a substantial gilt vignette of A Native with A Spear, the upper cover tooled with multiple gilt fillet borders surrounding A Centrally-Placed Gilt Vignette of An Elephant Beneath A Palm Tree; xxxi + pp. 658, with A Fine Engraved Portrait Frontispiece, 25 Engraved Plates, Manifold Wood-Engraved Illustrations Throughout, and A Folding Map at Rear; Well-Nigh Immaculate Inside and Out. 

First edition.  Czech: “One of The Cornerstone Books of African Exploration. In This Book, Speke Described His Search for The Fabled Source of The Nile. Accompanied by James A. Grant, The Author Trekked from The Coast  into The Highlands Around The Then Unknown Lake Victoria, from Whence The Nile Flowed. After Crossing The Ajagara Range, The Party Trekked into Mgunda Mkhali where Rhinoceros and Buffalo were Hunted. Later, As They Crossed into The Kingdom of Uganda, Rhino and Hippopotamus were Bagged. They Continued Their Trek Down The Nile, where Buffalo, Eland, and Rhinoceros Were Stalked, Before Finally Encountering The Camp of Samuel White Baker. Speke Really Laboured Over His Scientific and Scholarly Discoveries,  Much Preferring Sport.”

Czech p. 51.

54) STIGAND, C.H. Hunting The Elephant in Africa and Other Recollections of Thirteen Years' Wanderings; with an Introduction by Colonel Theodore Roosevelt.    New York, Macmillan & Co., 1913           £720

8vo. Original Crimson Cloth, Spine Titled in Gilt; xvi + pp. 379 [+ 4pp. Detailed Publisher’s Booklist at Rear], with A Fine Captioned Collotype Frontispiece, 22 Similar Plates on 15 leaves, and A Folding Table; fine condition inside and out, this is A Very Good and Bright Copy of A Compulsory and Very Rare African Sporting Classic.

First edition. Czech: “A Pre-Eminent Elephant Hunting Title, This Details Stigand’s Big Game Hunting Efforts, Primarily in British East Africa, North-Eastern Rhodesia, Nyasaland and The Lado Enclave. He Includes Chapters on Hunting Rhinoceros, Buffalo and Lion, but Relates His Encounters with Particular Verve.”*    

Czech p. 268.

*  “There is Something So Fascinating and Absorbing about Elephant Hunting that Those Who Have Done Much of It, Can Seldom Take Any Interest Again in Any Other Form of Sport.” (Chapter I)

“ONE OF THE TRUE CLASSICS” (CZECH)

      55) SUTHERLAND, John. The Adventures of An Elephant Hunter.   Macmillan and Co., 1912     £1200

      8vo. Original Dark Blue Cloth, The Upper Cover with An Excellent Centrally-Placed Gilt Vignette of The Author’s Terrier Standing on A “Bagged” Tusker, spine titled in gilt, top edges gilt; pp. xviii + pp. 324, with 53 Full Page Photographic Plates, and illustrations in-text; some light spotting to fore-edges, and a slight dint to the upper outer corner of the upper cover, but otherwise, Sparkling Condition Inside and Out, this is a very desirable copy of A Cornerstone of African Big Game Hunting, made Doubly Desirable by The Letter from The Author.

      FIRST EDITION, FIRST IMPRESSION.  With An Excellent (and Representative!) 2pp. ALS by Sutherland, Showing His Hectic Itinerary, is loosely-inserted at The Front, dated Cox’s Hotel, Jermyn Street, SW, (?) “Friday May 11”*  Czech: “One of The True Classics of African Big Game Hunting, this work Recounts The Author’s Elephant Hunting Exploits Primarily Along The Luwegu River in German East Africa, and The Locheringo River in Portuguese East Africa. In Addition There are Encounters with Rhinoceros, Man-Eating Lion, Leopard, and A Variety of Plains Game. During One Elephant Stalk, Sutherland’s Little Terrier, Whiskey, Survived Being Thrown into The Bush by An Enraged Pachyderm.”

Czech p.274.

*“My Dear Sunderland, Your Letter of Monday Was Sent Out to [?] Hull, then Edinburgh & Afterwards Manchester & Only Turned Up Here At About 5 O’Clock. I Fear I Have Now Missed You & I Am So Awfully Sorry. Well Chin Chin - I Hope We Will Meet Again ‘Ere Saying Good Bye to This Delightful Planet. I Leave for Jamaica Tomorrow… Ever Truly Yours, Your [?] Friend, James Sutherland.” 

Further at The Head of The Letter, in a different hand, has been written in ink: “James Sutherland The Famous Elephant Hunter”. The letter has been dated in this hand: “? 1910”. 

56) SZECHENYI, Count Szigismond. Land of Elephants: Big Game Hunting in Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda.  Putnam, [1935]. £297

          8vo. Original black cloth, spine titled in gilt; xi + pp. 208, with A Fine Photographic Portrait Frontispiece of The Author in Hunting Kit, being Clung To By A Baby Chimpanzee, and no fewer than 47 Other Excellent Photographic Plates, printed recto and verso, and A Wood-Engraved Map at rear, by “A.C. Hagedorn Co. Inc.” of New York; well-nigh immaculate condition externally, while internally affected only by occasional light spotting, and some spotting to fore-edges, leaving this still A Fine Copy of An African Hunting Classic.                                               

First English Language Edition. Originally Published in Hungarian The Previous Year. Czech: “This Translation Details A Hungarian Nobleman’s Pursuit of Elephants in The Kitui Forest and Along The Tiva River in Kenya. He Also Hunted Bongo Near Mt. Kenya, Kudu along The Northern Reaches of Lake Rudolf, Leopard on The Northaern Guaso Nyiro, and Lion on The Serengeti Plain. Szechenyi Wrote Other African Hunting Titles that Still Await Translation.”

Czech p. 162.

57) TAYLOR, John.  Maneaters and Marauders.   Frederick Muller Limited, 1959     £125

8vo. Original Green Cloth, spine titled in gilt, with The Handsome Original Dust-Jacket, Blocked with Multiple Full-Colour Hunting Vignettes; pp. 200, with A Fine Captioned Portrait Frontispiece, and 10 Other Captioned Plates, Printed on Five Leaves, Recto and Verso; apart from minimal fraying of dust-jacket (now arrested), and a sprinkling of spots internally, this is A Very Good Copy of This African Adventure.

First Edition.  Czech: “Taylor Recounts his Hunts after Man-Eating Lions in The Nsungu Region of The Zambesi, More Lions on The Revungwi River, Big Buffalo near The Lifumba Lagoon, Marauding Elephant in The Chikoa District South of The Zambesi, and Many More Adventures.”*

Czech p 280.

* Taylor, Renowned Author of The Classic “African Rifles and Cartridges” (1948) Turned to Detailing His Adventures in The Famous Autobiography “Pondoro: Last of the Ivory Hunters” (1955). This is The Sequel to That Volume.

         58) THOMSON, William. Great Cats I Have Met: Adventures in Two Hemispheres [Big Game Hunting in Rhodesia, India, and Sumatra, as well as The Americas and Canada].   Boston, Alpha Publishing Company, 1896     £327

8vo. Original grey cloth, the spine and upper cover both with impressed images of Roaring Tigers (Portrait and Full-Length), both Hiding in Thick Grassland, and titled at head, Contrastingly in Gilt and Black; pp. 179, with A Fine Collotype Frontispiece (“With A Roar, Carlo [His Hunting Dog] Dashed at Him [A Puma]”), A Collotype Portrait of The Author, and 59 Other Plates and Illustrations of which 23 are Either Captioned Collotypes or Wood-Engraved Plates, both by Jay Hambidge; Externally immaculate, while internally, 6pp. have effects of fingering or other minor marking, leaving this nevertheless An Extremely Attractive Copy of A Series of Gripping Tales. 

First edition. Czech: “Thomson Recounts His Adventures Hunting Felines in Canada, South America, India**, and Africa*. While Travelling Through Matabele Land near The Molopo Hills in Rhodesia, He Bagged Several Lions*, Including One That Had Killed One of His Companions. While Camping on The Limpopo River, He Wounded A Leopard, Eventually Losing The Cat To A Huge Python, An Episode Not For The Squeamish.*”; “Of Asian Interest was His Trip to The Nagpoor Province where Tiger, A Leopard, and A Panther were Bagged. There is Also An Encounter with “A Tortoise-Shell” Coloured Tiger in Southern Sumatra.”

Czech (Africa) p. 283; Czech (Asia) p. 213; NOT IN HELLER (AMERICAS). Rare. 

*“Roaring, The Lion Turned from The Prostrate Blacks and Came at Me; Not Leaping As Before, But in A Sort of Crouching Run. It Was An Appalling Sight. With Ears Laid Back, Bristling Hair, Flaming Eyes, and Exposed Fangs, He Looked, With His Sweeping Mane, A Demon of Destructive Power ...” (p. 27)

** “A Full-Grown bengal Tiger Weighs, When in Good Condition, Nearly 600 Pounds; He Stands 4 Feet High, and Sometimes from Snout to Tail-Tip Attains A Length of 11 Feet … A tiger Has Been Known, After Killing An Indian Bullock by One Stroke of His Paw, to Leap with The Carcass Over A 6-Foot Wall …” (p. 135)

          59) THORNHILL, C.J.  From Hobo to Cannibal King [Big Game Hunting in Rhodesia, Portuguese East Africa, and South Africa].   Stanley Paul & Co., Ltd, 1928     £327

Original black cloth, spine titled in gilt; pp. 285, with A Majestic Photographic Frontispiece of “A Picturesque Warrior from The Highlands”, and 28 Other Captioned Photographic Plates on 16 leaves;  A Very Good Copy of An Extremely Rare and Well-Written Sporting Account. 

First edition. Czech: “Thornhill Recalls Years of Wandering from Rhodesia to Portuguese East Africa, and On to South Africa. He Also Describes Numerous Sporting Activities* After Lion, Buffalo, Hippo, Roan, Impala, and Elephant, Near Broken Hill and The Victoria Falls.”

Czech p. 284.

*  “M’porokoso Received The Full Impact of The Charging Leopard in The Chest, Instead of Myself. Both Leopard and Man Rolled Over Together, The Leopard Slashing Great Wounds with Claws and Teeth, M’porokoso Meanwhile Trying to Throttle It with His Bare Hands, as He Had Been Forced to Drop His Rifle …”  (p. 156)

BUFFALO HUNTING IN NEBRASKA AND KANSAS

60) TOWNSHEND, F. Trench (“Captain 2nd Lifeguards”). Ten Thousand Miles of Travel, Sport and Adventure [in North America].    Hurst and Blackett, 1869 £297

8vo. Original Sand-Yellow Cloth, spine titled in gilt, the covers with centrally-placed starbursts in blind; xiv + pp.  275, with A Fine Wood-Engraved Frontispiece of A Horseman with A Rifle being Threatened by A Charging American Buffalo (“The Intended Victim”*), with Tissue-Guard; a small mark to the foot of the lower cover, and minimal spotting to preliminaries and several fore-edges, leaving this A Very Good and Bright Copy of An Extensive American Journey, Taking Place at A Precarious Time. 

First edition. Storm (“Everett D. Graff Collection of Western Americana” [1968]): “This is A Good Hunting Story. The U.S. Army Officers Gave Townshend and His Companion, C.P. Kendall, A Good Time On The Plains and In The Mountains.”  Worried About Running into A Hostile Tribe of Sioux or Arapahoe Indians, The Author's Buffalo Hunting Party was Relieved when Generals Sherman and Sheridan Allowed Them to Accompany A Scouting Party Across The Plains of Nebraska and Kansas. General Gibbon and Colonel Dodge** Took Him Hunting in Wyoming in October, 1868. The President of The Union Pacific Railroad Company Presented Him with A Free Ticket to The End of That Line.  

Graff 4175; NOT IN HELLER. Rare.

*  “He Cocked His Tail, Lowered His Horns, and Charged Me with A Rush … In A Moment, The Bull Was On Us, Catching Me, with His Head and Horns, Just Under The Knee Joint, and Tossing Me onto The Ground Several Yards Off.” (p. 128)

**Author of American Sporting Classics, “The Plains of The Great West and Their Inhabitants” (1877 - Heller 81) and “Our Wild Indians: Thirty Three Years Among The Red Men of The Great West” (1881 - Heller 82)]

      61) TREATT, Stella Court. Sudan Sand: Filming The Baggara Arabs [Sport and Cinema in The Sudan].   George G. Harrap & Company Ltd., [1930]     £297

      8vo. Original Tan Cloth, Titled in Crimson on Spine and Upper Cover, which also has A Crimson Fillet Border, with The Original Dust-Jacket, blocked in Orange, Black and White, Titled at Head of Spine and Upper Cover, surmounting, on the latter A Fine Photographic Plate of “The Hero and Heroine of “Stampede”” [cf. p. 81]; pp. 252, with A Fine Photographic Portrait Frontispiece of “The Heroine”, Fatma, and No Fewer than 62 Other Fine Captioned Photographic Plates, Printed Recto and Verso; bar a sprinkling of spots at the front, back and fore-edges, and some fraying to edges of the dust-jacket, this remains A Very Good Copy of A Fascinating Account, Combining Big Game Hunting and Early “Location” Cinema, The Perfect Companion Volume to The Treatts’ “Out of The Beaten Track” (1931)** 

First edition. Stella Court Treatt Wrote The Script for “Stampede”* [1930], and in “Sudan Sand”, Describes The Elaborate Location Production. Members of The Habbania Tribe (of The Nomadic Baggara People) Were Mobilised to Clear The Locations, and To Build The Sets, Even To Audition for The Main Roles.* Filming Could Be Extremely Hazardous, Such As When Fires Would Be Started During Hunting Expeditions, and For Bush Fire Sequences - C.T. Court-Treatt and His Assistant were On One Occasion Badly Burned, When Some of The Nitrate Film Exploded.

NOT IN CZECH; cf. Czech p. 287**

*“Stampede” Portrays Africans as “Primitive” and “Exotic”, Appealing to Its Audiences by Showing The Naked Torsos of Men, and Bare-Breasted Women, while Also Casting Its Leads (One of Whom, Stella Court Treatt Thought, was “Like Valentino”) to Ensure Commercial Success. 

“ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST ELUSIVE BOOKS” (HELLER) … “AN EXCELLENT BIBLIOGRAPHY (CZECH)

62) TRUESDELL, S [tephen] R.  The Rifle: Its Development for Big Game Hunting.   Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, The Military Service Publishing Co., 1947     £327

8vo. Original Green Cloth, Spine Gilt, with The Original Brown Dust-Jacket, Titled in White on The Spine, and Green on The Upper Wrapper, surmounting A Substantial Vignette of “Theodore Roosevelt Hunting [Grizzly Bear] with Merrifield in The Rocky Mountains” [see p. 52]; [x] + pp. 274, with A Photographic Portrait Frontispiece of “Oliver F. Winchester: Shirt-Maker, Rifle Manufacturer, Lieutenant-Governor of Connecticut”, and 32 Other Captioned Plates, mostly Photographic, and of Famous Hunters, printed recto and verso; bar light rubbing to dust-jacket, Mint Condition inside and out. 

First edition. Czech (Africa): “A Retired U.S. Army Officer, Truesdell Consulted Numerous Authorities in This Work on Big Game Hunting Rifles … There is Considerable Note of Proper Rifles to Use in Africa with Plenty of Written Support Garnered from The Likes of Denis Lyell, Frederick Selous, Powell-Cotton”;  Czech (Asia):  ““KCAJ”, Nigel Woodyat, Darrah, Glasfurd”;   Heller (Americas): “One  of The Best and Most Elusive Books on The Subject.” Czech Concludes: “There is Also An Excellent Bibliography of Big Game Hunting Books, and Valuable Appendices Detailing Calibres and Rifle Actions for Various Game.” Provenance: “Ronan A. Flaherty” (Sporting Bookplate).

Czech (Africa) p. 287; Czech (Asia) p. 216; Heller (Americas) 393; Riling (Guns and Shooting) 82622: “A Large Pertinent Bibliography”.

BEIRUT, ALEPPO, AND THE ARABIAN HORSE: AN ANALYSIS

63) UPTON, Major Roger D.  Gleanings from The Desert of Arabia.    C. Kegan Paul & Co., 1881           £950

8vo. Original Crimson Cloth, Upper Cover and Spine Titled in Gilt, on The Upper Cover Surmounting A Large Gilt Portrait of A Horse, Covers with A Double Rule in Black at Head and Foot; viii + pp. 399 (+ 20pp. adverts.); spine slightly darkened but the titling is bright, and there is a little bubbling and darkening to a section of the lower covert, but internally pristine, bar minimal speckling to fore-edges, and endpapers, Leaving This A Very good Copy of An Extremely Rare and Untraced Book on The Arab Horse.

First edition. Huth: "Works on Horses and Equitation" (Quaritch, 1887) Records Another Work by Upton, His "Newmarket and Arabia; An Examination of the Descent of Racers and Coursers", Also Published in 1873, but Of Our Title There is No Sign. The Book is Broken into Three Distinct Sections, Of Which The First is An Extensive Commentary by The Author on Aleppo (and Its Citizens), Antioch, and Beirut*; The Second is An Analysis of Arabia**, with An Analysis of The Language, and A Fluently-Written Commentary on His Trip Across The “Desert of Arabia”***  ; The Third, and Most Important Part, Making Up 194 Pages, is A Complete Analysis of “The Arabian Horse”. **** 

Not in Mellon, Huth or Grimshaw. Extremely Rare.

* “Beirut, Washed by The Blue Waters of The Mediterranean, Backed by Snow-Capped Lebanon ...”

**  “The Natural Boundaries of Arabia Are - On The West, The Red Sea, Palestine, and Syria; On The South The Arabian Sea; On The East The Persian Gulf; and On The North-East and North The River Euphrates, Extending As Far North As To Where The Confines of Syria Reach to The Euphrates.”

*** “Riding On A Good Horse in The Desert in Fine Weather is Most Enjoyable ...”

**** 1) “Notes on The Families in Al-Khamseh”

2)  “General Description of the Keheilan”  

3)  “Descriptive Account of Certain Anazah Horses”  

4) “Of The Horses of the Shammar Arabs”

5) “Of the Arab Horse in Erack”

6)  “The Horses of Certain Badaween Tribes, Other Than Anazah”

7)  “The Arab Horses in Syria”

8) “Certain Remarks on Horses Described as Syrian and Baghdad Horses, Noting Some Points in Which Both Kinds Differ from the Arabian Horse of the Desert, and Some in Which They Differ from Eachother”

9)  “A Few Words About Written Pedigrees.” 

RHODES, LOBENGULA, RANDOLPH CHURCHILL - “AN INTERESTING AND WITTY ACCOUNT” (CZECH)

         64) WAAL, D.C. de.  With Rhodes in Mashonaland [Copious Sport in “Southern Rhodesia”].   Cape Town &  London, 1896                       

                                                                                            £327

8vo. Original dark blue cloth, spine titled in gilt; [xx] (A3 blank neatly excised, as usual) + pp. 352, with A Fine Photographic Portrait frontispiece of Rhodes “By Permission of Messrs. Elliott & Fry”, and A Similar Photographic Portrait of The Author; well-nigh immaculate condition inside and out. 

First edition. Association Copy, Signed by The Author’s Son, Martin de Waal. Czech: “The Author Accompanied Cecil Rhodes on His Journey into Mashonaland in 1890-1891 in What Turned Out To Be A Real “Who’s Who” Gathering: Randolph Churchill, Dr. Jameson, Lobengula, and Even Frederick Selous. There are Various Sporting Incidents after Sassaby, Kudu, Waterbuck, and A Variety of Encounters with Lion**, with Rhodes Determined to Prove His Hunting Prowess. The Author Shot A Buffalo, After Finally Deciding that It Was Not A Member of An Oxen Team. An Interesting And Rather Witty Account.”

Czech p. 168.

*The Excised Page was An Exculpatory “Special Note” from The Translator:

“Since The Following Pages Were Written, Events Have Transpired in The Transvaal, Through The Action of Dr. Jameson's Force [The Notorious “Jameson Raid”], which Might Modify Some of The Opinions Expressed by The Author. The Work having been Completed and Almost Out of The Printers' Hands Before News of The Unfortunate Occurrence Reached England, It was Not Deemed Advisable to Make Any Attempt at Alteration. As An Historical Account of The Inception and Development of Mr. Rhodes’ Charterland, The Book Must Always Be of Value to Students of South African History, and As Such It Is Sent Forth As It Came from The Author’s Hands.” 

Apparently, This Leaf Was Carefully Removed from Every Copy by The Publisher, to Avoid Any “Implication of Guilt” at The Time of The Raid “Commissions of Enquiry” Taking Place At The Time, Both in The Cape and in London.

** “We Now Saw The Lion and The Lion us, and So Loud A Growl It Gave that The Earth Seemed To Tremble Beneath My Feet. I Took Good Aim and Fired and  - Good Heavens! - The Lion Came! and All that I Had Time to Say to Hendrik was, “Run, Man, Run!” And, Believe Me, My Friends, Never Did I Know That Old Greeff Could Run As He Did. Upon My  Word, I Ran So Hard that Fire Issued from My Eyes.” (p. 79)

 “THIS MASTER OF ANIMAL PORTRAITURE” (WOOD), IN ITS ORIGINAL  FINE LEATHER BINDING

         65) WOLF, Joseph (Artist) & Daniel Giraud ELLIOTT.  The Life and Habits of Wild Animals, Illustrated By Designs by Joseph Wolf, Engraved by J.W. & Edward Whymper. With Descriptive Letter-Press by Daniel Giraud Elliot.  Alexander Macmillan & Co., 1874                                                               £650

         Large Folio. Original Full Crimson Morocco, Spine Titled in Gilt, Covers with Triple Gilt Fillet Borders to Central Panels with Floriate Corner Pieces, and Further Ruling in Blind, All Edges Gilt; [x] + pp. 72, with 20 Superb and Highly-Evocative Natural History “Adventure” Plates;  well-nigh immaculate condition inside and out, this is A Splendid Copy of A Work Illustrated by The Renowned Natural History Artist.             

Large Paper Edition. Wood: “The Copy in Hand is The Large Paper Edition, and Contains The Last Fine Series of Illustrations Drawn by This Noted Artist.”   

Wood p. 633.

HAND-COLOURED RHINOCEROS PLATES – THE FINEST OF WOLF’S CAREER?

         66) [WOLF, JOSEPH (ILLUSTRATOR)] SCLATER, Philip Lutley. On The Rhinoceroses Lately Living in The [Zoological] Society’s Menagerie.***   London, R.Z.S., 1875   

                                                                                            £950

Royal 4to. (12 x 9.5 in. [30.5 x 24 cm.]). Recent Fine Brown Half Calf, over Marbled Boards, Covers Ruled in Gilt with Floriate Curlicues in Blind, flat spine ruled in gilt in 4 compartments, 3 Containing Gilt Emblems, the fourth titled in gilt: “Sclater: Rhinoceroses”; pp. 16, with 5 Magnificently Hand-Coloured Lithographed Plates by Renowned Artist, Joseph Wolf*, of Different Species of Rhinoceros in Their Appropriate Jungle Settings (Also Hand-Coloured***), the whole Highlighted with Gum Arabic Varnish, and 9 Accurate Wood-Engraved Illustrations in Text; mint condition externally, and affected only internally by light uniform browning to “p. 645”, this is A Very Rare Series, and Arguably The Finest Depictions of These Huge Big Game Animals Ever Acheived. 

First edition. The Accuracy, and Drama, of These Lithographs, Amply Reward Sclater’s Confidence in The Artist’s Abilities, as He States in His “Prefatory Remarks” to The Plates: “The Main Object of My Remarks, is to Illustrate The Very Beautiful Drawings by Mr. Wolf Now Before Us.”  VIEWABLE ON REQUEST

*Joseph Wolf had Recently Become Known as The Artist of All “The Birds Of Prey” in John Gould’s Masterpiece, “The Birds of Great Britain” (1873).

**Other Animals in Sclater’s Series had Uncoloured Backgrounds.

***Extracted from “The Proceedings of The Zoological Society”.

CZECH’S COPY DOES NOT HAVE THE MAP*

67) YOUNG, Edward Daniel.  The Search After Livingstone [A Diary Kept During The Investigation of His Reported Murder]. [Copious Big Game Hunting Along The Zambezi River, after Elephant, Hippo, and Others, in This Exciting Narrative].   Letts, Son, & Co., 1868     £427

8vo. Original Brown Cloth, spine titled in gilt, the upper cover with A Centrally-Placed Gilt Vignette of A Pair of Natives and Two Sailors (Czech’s Recorded Variant); pp. 262 (+ 16pp. adverts. at rear), with A Fine Tinted Lithographed Frontispiece, with Tissue-Guard, Five Other Tinted Lithographed Captioned Plates, and A Folding Hand-Coloured Lithographed Map [NOT IN CZECH’S COPY] at rear, Indicating and Comparing The Routes of Young and Livingstone, in Red; Some wear to spine ends and board tips (now arrested and restored), and with a two inch split in the cloth at the join of the spine and upper board, also neatly repaired, leaving this a very good copy of An Extremely Rare African Sporting Work.

First edition. Czech: “Young Embarked on An Expedition to Find Dr. David Livingstone after Reports Had Surfaced that The Good Doctor Had Been Murdered in Africa.** Accompanied  by Henry Faulkner [Author of “Elephant Haunts” (1868), cf. Czech p. 93], Young Travelled to The Zambesi River Region Only to Find The Report to be False. In His Narrative [There is] Sport after Elephants, Hippos, as well as Antelopes.” Czech concludes: “The Plates are Particularly Interesting.***”

Czech p. 308

**Young was Hired by The Royal Geographical Society to Locate Livingstone as There Were Rumours of His Death Circulating in England. These Rumours Were Started by The “Hired Men” of Zanzibar who Arrived Claiming Their Payment, as Livingstone “Had been Murdered by Natives”. 

*** The Other Plates (see Frontispiece Description above), are Also Tinted Lithographs with Tissue-Guards, and Comprise: “Bishop Mackenzie’s [Jungle] Grave”; “Carrying Sections of Boat Past The Palamanga Falls”, “Marenga and His Forty Wives”, “Encounter with A Hippopotamus” [The Beast is Attempting to Upend The Boat from Beneath], and “Alligator Attempting to Seize John Gailly”.