Hunting History Books

J K Anderson

Hunting In The Ancient World by J K Anderson (1985) is a detailed look at hunting from the Bronze Age to late antiquity, focusing mainly on Greece and Rome but with some information on other cultures like Persia and Assyria.

W A Baillie Grohman

William Adolph Baillie Grohman (1851 - 1921) was an Anglo-Austrian big game hunter and author of works on the Tyrol and the history of hunting.

The Master Of Game By Edward, Second Duke Of York: The Oldest English Book On Hunting edited by W A Bailie Grohman (1909) is a 'modern' rendering of the oldest book on hunting in the English language. The text has been taken from the nineteen existing manuscripts in the British Museum dating from about 1420. Edward translated much of the book from Gaston de Foix's "Livre de Chasse" of 1387 ("Gaston Phoebus") and added five original chapters dealing with English hunting while imprisoned in Pevensey Castle for treason. A classic of "the chase" not available for over 500 years.

Fifteen Years' Sport And Life In The Hunting Grounds Of Western America And British Columbia by W A Bailie Grohman (1900) is one of the finest North American hunting titles including bighorn sheep, elk, goat, deer, moose and more.

Tyrol And The Tyrolese: The People And The Land In Their Social, Sporting And Mountaineering Aspects by W A Bailie Grohman (1876)

Gaddings With A Primitive People: Being A Series Of Sketches Of Alpine Life And Customs by W A Bailie Grohman (1879)

Camps In The Rockies: Being A Narrative Of Life On The Frontier And Sport In The Rocky Mountains, With An Account Of The Cattle Ranches Of The West by W A Bailie Grohman (1882) is an account of the author's travels though Wyoming and Idaho and his exploration of the Rockies. Baillie Grohman was a pioneer in British Columbia in the 1880s.

Sport In The Alps: In The Past And Present by W A Bailie Grohman (1896). "An account of the chase of the chamois, red-deer, bouquetin, roe-deer, capercaillie, and black-cock, with personal adventures and historical notes and some sporting reminiscences of the late Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, with numerous illustrations and photographs from life."

The Land In The Mountains: Being An Account Of The Past And Present Of Tyrol, Its People And Its Castles by W A Bailie Grohman (1907)

Tyrol: Painted By E Harrison Compton by W A Bailie Grohman (1908)

Sport In Art: An Iconography Of Sport Illustrating The Field Sports Of Europe And America From The 15th To The End Of The 18th Century by W A Bailie Grohman (1913)

Howard Blackmore

Hunting Weapons From The Middle Ages To The Twentieth Century by Howard Blackmore (2000) is a detailed, comprehensive account of swords, knives and bayonets, staff weapons, bows, crossbows, guns and other miscellaneous arms dating from the Middle Ages to modern times. Over 280 contemporary illustrations catalogue the spear of a Roman hunter, a medieval broad arrow, a harpoon gun fired by whalers and much else. An indispensable reference for collectors, students of weaponry, and anyone intrigued by antique hunting weapons and their use.

Kurt Bluchel

Game And Hunting by Kurt Bluchel (1997). Hunting has been a crucial element in the development of mankind. Drawing on the works of artists, hunters, historians and journalists, this text traces the role of hunting in human civilisation over centuries.

Michael Brander

The Hunting Instinct: The Development Of Field Sports Over The Ages by Michael Brander (1964) covers hunting, shooting, coursing, hawking and angling - their relation to historical events, effect on life in general and on land and society.

Matt Cartmill

A View To A Death In The Morning: Hunting And Nature Through History by Matt Cartmill (1993) describes how hunting has figured in the Western imagination from the myth of Artemis to the tale of Bambi. This richly illustrated book will captivate readers on every side of the dilemma, from the most avid hunters to their most vehement opponents to those who simply wonder about the importance of hunting in human nature.

Jay Cassell

The Gigantic Book Of Hunting Stories by Jay Cassell (2008) has something for everyone who hunts, be they rabbit hunters in the deep South, Cape buffalo hunters in the African bush, or white-tailed deer hunters in the woods of North America. Its selections celebrate hunting for big game, small game, waterfowl, upland birds, African and Asian game and much more.

Kenneth P Czech

An Annotated Bibliography Of African Big Game Hunting Books 1785 To 1950 by Kenneth P Czech (1999)

An Annotated Bibliography Of Asian Big Game Hunting Books 1780 To 1980: Including Note Of Works Devoted To Pig Sticking And Small Game Shooting by Kenneth P Czech (2003) is a bibliography which features over 900 fully described and annotated books covering all areas of Asian big game hunting. This is a great resource for collectors of big game hunting books on India and on travel and exploration.

With Rifle And Petticoat: Women As Big Game Hunters 1880-1940 by Kenneth P Czech (2002) details specific time periods, regions hunted (Africa, Alaska, The Plains) and individual women, Kenneth Czech explores the interesting women who hunted a variety of big game animals around the world.

Hunting Trips In The Land Of The Czars: Sportsmen In Old Russia 1870-1935 by Kenneth P Czech (2008) is an anthology of 28 stories by noted big game hunters who travelled to Old Russia to hunt bear, bison, tigers, big horn sheep, lynx, and moose in the varied landscapes of the empire of the czars. Authors include Demidoff, St. George Littledale, Percy Sykes, Clive Phillipps-Wolley, General Pigot and numerous others.

Hunting Trips In The Land Of The Dragon: Anglo And American Sportsmen Afield In Old China 1870-1940 by Kenneth P Czech (2005) is an anthology of early writing on large and small game hunting in China. In two parts: the first part takes the reader after duck, pheasant and other upland game while the second part focuses on the larger game of China and the border regions. Contributions from W S Percival, E H Wilson, H T Wade, Lt. Christopher Cradock, T R Jernigan, A de Carle Sowerby, J C Grew, N A Baikov, Harry Caldwell, A E Leatham, W N Fergusson, S J Stone, R C Andrews, H Frank Wallace, the Earl of Ronaldshay, J Wong-Quincey, P W Church, F Lort-Phillips, Capt. J N Price-Wood, Brig.Gen. R Pigot, J H Miller and Kermit and Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

Snapshot: America Discovers The Camera by Kenneth P Czech (1996). Invented in France in 1839, photography captivated Americans from the start. Early photographs were framed, traded with friends and displayed in fancy galleries. In 1888, George Eastman began selling lightweight cameras for amateur "snapshooters". Now average Americans could take photographs, not just look at them and soon photographs were everywhere.

John M MacKenzie

The Empire Of Nature: Hunting, Conservation And British Imperialism by John M MacKenzie (1988) assesses the significance of the hunting cult as a major element of the imperial experience in Africa and Asia. Through a study of the game laws and the beginnings of conservation in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the author demonstrates the racial inequalities which existed between Europeans and indigenous hunters. Africans were denied access to game and the development of game reserves and national parks accelerated this process. Indigenous hunters in Africa and India were turned into "poachers" and only Europeans were permitted to hunt. In India, the hunting of animals became the chief recreation of military officers and civilian officials, a source of display and symbolic dominance of the environment. Imperial hunting fed the natural history craze of the day and many hunters collected trophies and specimens for private and public collections as well as contributing to hunting literature. Adopting a radical approach to issues of conservation, this book links the hunting cult in Africa and India to the development of conservation and consolidates widely-scattered material on the importance of hunting to the economics and nutrition of African societies.

Andrew Phillips

A Hunting Heritage: Fifty Years Of Shikar-Safari Club by Andrew Phillips (2002). The Shikar-Safari Club is the oldest international hunting club in existence in North America. Its members hail from all over the world, and it can safely be said that on a per-member basis, no other club in the world has more hunting experience than these dedicated sportsmen and women. To celebrate its 50th year, the club asked every member to contribute one big game hunting story to this book. The animals pursued range from mule deer to elephant. In between there are bighorn sheep, bongo, lion, leopard, polar bear, elk and many other of the world's most sought-after trophies from Asia, Africa and the Americas. The contributors read like a who's who of the hunting world, including some very interesting historical names, now departed, who wrote stories for the club in earlier times, as well as many current and active members: William Bond, John LaGarde, Ian Henderson, Elgin Gates, Guy Coheleach, Ricardo Medem, Harry Tennison, Butch White, Robert Lee, Rudolf Sand, Fred Huntington, Bert Klineburger, Watson Yoshimoto, Pete Papac, Basie Maartens, Sherwin Scott, Lynn Castle, and Robert Speegle, to name but a few! There are many more contributors, in all over 115 different stories.

Anthony C Tirri

Islamic And Native Weapons Of Colonial Africa, 1800-1960 by Anthony C Tirri (2007) is one of the most comprehensive books ever written on African weapons. African weapons have been presented country by country in a clockwise manner starting with Sudan. All efforts have been made to place accuracy foremost.

Captain Thomas Williamson

Oriental Field Sports by Captain Thomas Williamson (1808) 'Being a Complete, Detailed & Accurate Description of the Wild Sports of the East; & Exhibiting, in a Novel & Interesting Manner, the Natural History of the Elephant, the Rhinoceros, the Tiger, the Leopard, the Bear. As Likewise the Different Species of Feathered Game, Fishes, & Serpents.&c.'

Derek Wilson and Peter Ayerst

White Gold: The Story Of African Ivory by Derek Wilson and Peter Ayerst (1976) traces the relationship of elephant and man from prehistoric times through to the present. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the game hunters, the ivory traders and the slavers were entwined in the ivory trade. Many legendery figures occur throughout the book - Tippu Tip, Stanley, Gordon, Emin Pasha and the great white hunters - Selous, Sutherland and Oswell. Stories of treachery and greed as well as thrilling exploits of the hunt.