Oriental Field Sports, Vol. 1
Category: Preserve for the Future
Location: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library
Oriental field sports; being a complete, detailed, and accurate description of the wild sports of the East; and exhibiting, in a novel and interesting manner, the natural history of the elephant, the rhinoceros, the tiger, the leopard, the bear, the deer, the buffalo, the wolf, the wild hog, the jackall, the wild dog, the civet, and other domesticated animals; as likewise the different species of feathered game, fishes, and serpents; the whole interspersed with a variety of original, authentic, and curious anecdotes, v. 1
This rare first edition, published in two volumes, is a fascinating series of anecdotes of wildlife and hunting in India told by Captain Thomas Williamson. Williamson served in a British regiment in Bengal and was an avid sportsman while there. Edward Orme (1775-1848), a British engraver, painter, and publisher of illustrated books, spear-headed the publication and commissioned the painter Samuel Howitt (1756-1822) to develop 40 illustrations for the work. Included are stories on the history of the elephant, the rhinoceros, the tiger, the leopard, the bear, the deer, the buffalo, the wolf, the wild hog, the jackal, the wild dog, the civet, and other undomesticated animals as well as species of birds, fish, and reptiles in India. In addition to hunting tales, Oriental Field Sports provides a lively and interesting account of contemporary Indian customs, scenery, manners, and costumes.
This book has a full leather binding with gold tooling on the covers and spine. The front board is detached and the back board is loose. Conservators will clean and reline the spine, re-attach the front board, and create an acid free double-tray box to house this volume.
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