1899 Complete 9-Title Series + Duplicate; With Notable Provenance THE HADDON HALL LIBRARY By Edmund Selous,et al. Illus. Arthur Rackham; Lucy Kemp-Welch; various artists

1899 Complete 9-Title Series + Duplicate; With Notable Provenance

THE HADDON HALL LIBRARY
By Edmund Selous,et al.

KEY DETAILS
Condition: Very Good
Format: Hardcover, Octavo (Standard) (8vo 6 × 9 in 152 × 229 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Published By: J. M. Dent & Co., Aldine House, London, 1899
Language: English
Illustrated By: Arthur Rackham; Lucy Kemp-Welch; various artists
Provenance: An unusually interesting group of contemporary and later provenances, several of which place individual volumes firmly within the British landed, military and sporting milieu for which the Haddon Hall Library was prod...
Collation: Wild Life in Hampshire Highlands — 304 pp.
Dust Jacket: None, as issued, No Jacket
SKU: BTETM0002724
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 45, L: 55, W: 55 (Units: cm), W: 10Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request

DESCRIPTION
The Haddon Hall Library
Published 1899–1903 Edited by the Marquess of Granby and George A. B. Dewar With decorative designs by Arthur Rackham and illustrations by Lucy Kemp-Welch and others A complete trade-edition run of J. M. Dent's Haddon Hall Library, published between 1899 and 1903, comprising all nine titles together with a duplicate copy of Wild Life in Hampshire Highlands. Edited by Henry Manners, Marquess of Granby, later 8th Duke of Rutland, and George A. B. Dewar, the series was conceived as an illustrated library of British country life, field sports and outdoor pursuits at the close of the Victorian and beginning of the Edwardian period. Subjects range across fly fishing, hunting, shooting, cricket and golf, bird watching, gardening, forestry, farming and natural history, with contributions by some of the period's best-known sporting and nature writers, including Sir Edward Grey, Edmund Selous, R. H. Lyttelton, J. Otho Paget, Alexander Innes Shand, S. Reynolds Hole and John Nisbet. The series is particularly notable for the early decorative work of Arthur Rackham, who supplied its distinctive pictorial endpapers, chapter headings and tail-pieces. The endpaper design, incorporating a sportsman, dog, birds and sweeping naturalistic ornament, is signed within the design “Rackham '99”. The full-page plates were supplied by a number of artists, with the illustrations to Farming by Lucy Kemp-Welch. The trade edition was issued in both sage-green and blue pictorial cloth, with gilt decoration to the upper boards and spines. The standard Rackham bibliography records both bindings and regards the green cloth as the earlier issue. The present collection comprises six sage-green and four blue-cloth volumes, including the duplicate. It is an assembled complete series rather than a uniform first-edition set: Fly Fishing is the stated third edition of 1901 and Our Gardens the stated second edition of 1899, while the remaining titles show no later-edition statement. The volumes are: WILD LIFE IN HAMPSHIRE HIGHLANDS — George A. B. Dewar. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1899. 304 pp. Sage-green pictorial cloth. OUR GARDENS — S. Reynolds Hole. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1899. 304 pp. Second Edition, July 1899, following the first edition of May 1899. Blue pictorial cloth. FLY FISHING — Sir Edward Grey. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1901. 276 pp. Third Edition, February 1901, following the first edition of April 1899 and second edition of July 1899. Sage-green pictorial cloth. OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS — John Nisbet. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1900. 340 pp. Blue pictorial cloth. HUNTING — J. Otho Paget. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1900. 287 pp. Sage-green pictorial cloth. With contemporary provenance recording a gift from Lord Rothschild and the Vale of Aylesbury Hunt. OUT-DOOR GAMES: CRICKET & GOLF — The Hon. R. H. Lyttelton. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1901. 252 pp. Sage-green pictorial cloth. With early ownership inscription “J. Lubbock.” BIRD WATCHING — Edmund Selous. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1901. 347 pp. Sage-green pictorial cloth. A 30th-birthday presentation copy to Lieutenant-Colonel John Bernard Lethbridge Stilwell. SHOOTING — Alexander Innes Shand. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1902. 352 pp. Blue pictorial cloth. With W. H. Smith & Son's Subscription Library label, subsequently stamped “SOLD”. FARMING — W. M. Tod, M.A., Cambridge University Agricultural Department. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1903. 268 pp. Sage-green pictorial cloth. Illustrated with eight full-page plates by Lucy Kemp-Welch. From the library of Major-General the Hon. Arthur Henry Henniker-Major, C.B. WILD LIFE IN HAMPSHIRE HIGHLANDS — DUPLICATE COPY — George A. B. Dewar. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1899. 304 pp. Blue pictorial cloth. With the bookplate of Owen Isbern Gilbert and later ownership inscription of Sydney K. Reed.

PROVENANCE
An unusually interesting group of contemporary and later provenances, several of which place individual volumes firmly within the British landed, military and sporting milieu for which the Haddon Hall Library was produced. Lord Rothschild and the Vale of Aylesbury Hunt Hunting bears the contemporary inscription: “From Lord Rothschild / V. of Ayles Hunt / Nov 14 1900.” The abbreviated “V. of Ayles Hunt” is identifiable with the Vale of Aylesbury Hunt. At the date of the inscription “Lord Rothschild” was Nathaniel Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild (1840–1915), whose family was closely associated with hunting in the Vale of Aylesbury. The Rothschild Archive records Lord Rothschild's Staghounds in the Vale of Aylesbury during 1900–1905, providing strong contemporary context for the inscription. The inscription appears to record Lord Rothschild as donor rather than being an autograph inscription written by Rothschild himself, and is catalogued accordingly. Major-General the Hon. Arthur Henry Henniker-Major Farming bears the engraved armorial bookplate: “A. H. Henniker Major” with the Henniker-Major heraldry and family motto DEUS MAJOR COLUMNA. The plate is attributable to Major-General the Hon. Arthur Henry Henniker-Major, C.B. (1855–1912), son of John Henniker-Major, 4th Baron Henniker. Henniker-Major served with the Coldstream Guards, commanded its 2nd and 3rd Battalions, served during the South African War, was appointed C.B., and ultimately rose to Major-General. His recorded recreations included shooting, riding, polo, fencing and rackets, making the provenance especially appropriate to the sporting and country-life character of the series. Lieutenant-Colonel John Bernard Lethbridge Stilwell Bird Watching is inscribed: “J. B. L. Stilwell / from R. A. E. & B. W. / Sept. 30th 1903.” The recipient can be identified as Lieutenant-Colonel John Bernard Lethbridge Stilwell (1873–1945) of the Stilwell family of Townfield, Dorking. Stilwell was born on 30 September 1873, making this a presentation copy given on his 30th birthday. He served in the Royal Hampshire Regiment and later became Honorary Colonel of the 4th Battalion. He was also a partner in Stilwell & Sons, the historic London naval agency and banking business later absorbed into Westminster Bank. The volume additionally bears the later ownership inscription “R. Irwin”. “J. Lubbock” Out-Door Games: Cricket & Golf bears the early ownership inscription: “J. Lubbock.” A plausible identification is John Birkbeck Lubbock (1858–1929), later 2nd Baron Avebury. The attribution is particularly interesting because of both chronology and subject matter. His father, the celebrated scientist and polymath Sir John Lubbock, had been created 1st Baron Avebury in 1900, before this volume appeared, whereas John Birkbeck Lubbock continued to use the family surname until succeeding his father in 1913. John Birkbeck Lubbock was himself an accomplished sportsman. He played cricket for MCC, I Zingari and West Kent, represented Oxford University at association football, including the 1880 FA Cup Final, and later became a scratch golfer. Ownership of a volume devoted specifically to cricket and golf would therefore be particularly apposite. The identification nevertheless remains unconfirmed, and no firm claim of ownership by the 2nd Baron Avebury is made. Contemporary autograph correspondence by John Birkbeck Lubbock survives in the British Library, including a letter of 1906, and provides a possible basis for future handwriting comparison. Other Provenance The duplicate blue-cloth copy of Wild Life in Hampshire Highlands bears the bookplate: “Ex Libris Owen Isbern Gilbert” together with the pencilled ownership inscription: “Sydney K. Reed — London, July 1971.” Shooting retains a large W. H. Smith & Son's Subscription Library, 186 Strand label, subsequently stamped “SOLD”, recording its former circulation through the firm's commercial lending library.

CONDITION, COLLATION & COPY NOTES
A complete and attractive assembled run of the nine-title Haddon Hall Library in the original publisher's pictorial cloth, together with a duplicate tenth volume. Bindings generally sound and presenting well as a group. Cloth with rubbing, handling wear and variation in colour consistent with age and use. The sage-green volumes show fading to varying degrees, particularly at the spines. Gilt decoration and lettering generally remain clear and attractive. Contents with scattered spotting and foxing, varying between volumes and in places heavier to preliminary and terminal leaves, particularly in Shooting. Occasional handling marks, toning and marginal wear. Fly Fishing has localised marginal wear/tearing at the fore-edge of the title leaf. Shooting retains the W. H. Smith & Son's Subscription Library label described under Provenance. The distinctive pictorial endpapers, chapter headings and tail-pieces by Arthur Rackham are present. Full-page plates checked and complete across the collection. Please see Photos as part of condition report.

REFERENCES
Latimore, Sarah Briggs & Grace Clark Haskell, Arthur Rackham: A Bibliography, 1936 — Haddon Hall Library entries. Riall, Richard, A New Bibliography of Arthur Rackham, 1994. The Rothschild Archive — records relating to Lord Rothschild's Staghounds and the Vale of Aylesbury Hunt, including a hunting diary covering 1900–1905. Society of Antiquaries of London, Heraldic and Chancery Collections — Henniker-Major bookplate records. Who Was Who, 1897–1916 — Major-General the Hon. Arthur Henry Henniker-Major, C.B. Surrey County Council, Surrey Coats of Arms — Stilwell family pedigree. NatWest Group Archives, Stilwell & Sons — John Bernard Lethbridge Stilwell. British Library, Avebury Papers. British Library, Add MS 70951, f.346 — letter from John Birkbeck Lubbock, 1906.

SYNOPSIS
The Haddon Hall Library presents an unusually broad portrait of British country life and outdoor pursuits at the turn of the twentieth century. Rather than concentrating solely upon traditional field sports, the nine-volume series moves between sporting practice, natural history, agriculture and the cultivated landscape. Its subjects embrace fishing, hunting and shooting alongside cricket, golf, forestry, gardening, farming and the observation of wild birds. Sir Edward Grey's Fly Fishing combines practical angling experience with an appreciation of rivers, landscape and natural history. J. Otho Paget's Hunting surveys horses, hounds, hunt organisation and the culture of the hunting field, while Alexander Innes Shand's Shooting treats game, guns, fieldcraft and sporting traditions. R. H. Lyttelton's Out-Door Games concentrates upon cricket and golf, two sports undergoing enormous development in popularity and organisation at the beginning of the twentieth century. The natural-history volumes are equally important. George A. B. Dewar's Wild Life in Hampshire Highlands explores the animals, birds and landscapes of rural Hampshire, while Edmund Selous's Bird Watching advocates direct observation of living birds and belongs to the important transition away from specimen collecting towards modern observational ornithology. S. Reynolds Hole's Our Gardens, John Nisbet's Our Forests and Woodlands and W. M. Tod's Farming complete the picture with contemporary accounts of horticulture, forestry and agriculture. Taken together, the series forms both a practical library and an evocative documentary record of the British countryside during the transition from the Victorian to the Edwardian age.

AUTHOR BIO
The Haddon Hall Library was the work of multiple authors, each selected for experience or authority within his particular field. Sir Edward Grey (1862–1933) was a statesman, naturalist and lifelong angler. Best known politically as Britain's Foreign Secretary from 1905 to 1916, he was also a distinguished writer on fishing and natural history. Edmund Selous (1857–1934) was a British ornithologist and writer whose advocacy of observing rather than collecting birds helped popularise modern birdwatching. His Bird Watching remains one of his best-known works. The Hon. Robert Henry Lyttelton (1854–1939) was an English cricketer and sporting writer from the prominent Lyttelton family. He played first-class cricket and wrote extensively on cricket and golf. J. Otho Paget (1860–1934) was a sporting writer particularly associated with foxhunting and horsemanship. Alexander Innes Shand (1832–1907) was a journalist, author and sporting writer whose work ranged across travel, biography, military history and field sports. Samuel Reynolds Hole (1819–1904) was an Anglican clergyman, author and celebrated rosarian whose humorous and accessible writings helped popularise gardening among Victorian readers. John Nisbet (1853–1914) was a forester and writer on forestry and woodland management, noted for works on practical and economic forestry. William M. Tod was associated with the Cambridge University Agricultural Department and wrote on practical farming and agricultural management. George A. B. Dewar (1862–1943) was a writer and journalist particularly associated with country life, natural history, fishing and rural England, and served with the Marquess of Granby as joint editor of the series.

ILLUSTRATOR
Arthur Rackham; Lucy Kemp-Welch; various artists
Arthur Rackham, R.W.S. (1867–1939) was one of the leading illustrators of the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work for the Haddon Hall Library belongs to an important early stage of his career, before the major colour gift books with which his name later became synonymous. For the series Rackham was principally responsible not for the full-page plates but for its decorative visual identity, including the pictorial endpapers, chapter headings and tail-pieces. The elaborate endpaper design, incorporating sporting and natural-history imagery within flowing linear ornament, is signed “Rackham '99.” The commission is therefore an interesting example of Rackham working as a book designer and decorative illustrator across an extended multi-volume series. Lucy Kemp-Welch (1869–1958) supplied the eight full-page illustrations to Farming. One of the most successful British animal painters of her generation, she was particularly celebrated for her depictions of horses and rural working life and is also known for her illustrations to the 1915 edition of Black Beauty. Other full-page plates throughout the Haddon Hall Library were contributed by various contemporary artists.