The Art and the Pleasures of Hare-Hunting. In six Letters to a Person of Quality …

GARDINER, John Smallman.

Verlag: London: Printed by R.Griffith … 1750., 1750

Beschreibung

8vo, pp.viii, 56; with a half-title (loose at head); final page dusty, some light foxing, but a good copy; disbound.First edition, scarce, of this eloquent and amusing account of hare-hunting, the first monograph on the subject in English, comprising letters on the superiority of hare-hunting to fox-hunting (less dangerous, less laborious), on the best types of dogs, of trailing and starting hares, &c. Gardiner's letter in praise of hares is noble stuff indeed: 'They ramble through the Barn-Yard in the Night, and disregard the gaunt growling Mastiff; traverse the Orchard and the Garden, intrepid and fearless; explore the dangerous Pond-Head, nor dread the roaring waters …'. In a curious literary preface, Gardiner wryly exhorts writers to expound on such 'universal' topics as pantomimickry and card games, and praises Samuel Richardson: 'may many good Fortunes befall … he who wrote the Books, wherein are rehearsed, the Acts of Clarissa Harlow, and her Uncle Anthony [Clarissa was published in 1748]. Heavens! with what a marvelous Preciseness (as Cervantes says) do they describe every simple Circumstance!' For himself, 'I flatter myself there may be found some worn-out, decay'd, rheumatic, or gouty Harrier; whose Curiosity may lead him to pore into these Sheets'. ESTC T96305; Schwerdt I, 197 ('a classic on hare hunting, which had for centuries been preferred to foxhunting'). Language: English. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers E3001

Bibliografische Details

Titel: The Art and the Pleasures of Hare-Hunting. ...

Verlag: London: Printed by R.Griffith … 1750.

Erscheinungsdatum: 1750

Auflage: 1. Auflage