Golf

4to. (4), 22, (2), V pp. With 3 plates of drawings. Original printed wrappers, stapled. First edition, rare. - Practical beginner's guide to falconry by a member of the British Falconers' Club, reissued in the 1950s and 1960s. It recommends the kestrel as a suitable hawk for beginners due to the "ease with which young kestrels may be obtained, their amenability to training and their relative hardiness" (p. 3), and describes the preparations required before taking up an eyass, including the acquisition of suitable perches, blocks, jesses, swivels, leashes and gloves. Includes notes on the kestrel's feeding an training, as well as on the bird's health and common diseases, including damaged feathers, and gives instructions on how to hood a falcon. Originally hand-drawn, then printed, the illustrations show the main tools used by a falconer, including a block, perch, and jess, as well as a step-by-step guide to tying the falconer's knot. - A sheet of advertisements by the Bate and Slice Society for their 1976 reprint of Joseph Wolf's famous portrait of a hooded white gyrfalcon from Schlegel and Wulverhorst's 1844 "Traité de Fauconnerie", as well as a handwritten note ("Is this your permanent address?") signed "G. A.", are loosely enclosed. - Covers slightly creased. Interior with light brownstaining; traces of a fold to top right corner of first page. Two small annotations with ballpoint pen on pp. 19 and 22. Only three institutions holding copies of this treatise are traceable internationally (the British Library, the University of Oxford, and the US Air Force Academy). Never seen at auction. Oelgart 27A. OCLC 19755003.