Race Horses: Pedigree - Description - History

A beautifully illustrated account of the famous race horses of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century in a limited edition copy. This book used accounts which had appeared The Turf magazine between 1764 and 1887 and was intended for use by race horse breeders to trace the lineage of famous horses.

First edition thus, limited edition of 520 copies, this being number 450; 4to (25 x 37 cm); 134 hand-coloured vignettes, as well as the backgrounds of the 60 chromo-lithographic plates (with captioned tissue-guards) of the horses by V.J. Cotlison, L. Pénicaut, and Le Nail, age-toned (as expected), some marks and smudges throughout, though none major, pp113-14 including plate and tissue-guard are loose (but held as one), some leaves starting to loosen, but holding, small hole to plate opposite p.20, not affecting illustration, repaired tear to plate opposite p.40 and corresponding tissue-guard, not affecting illustration, pen writing to tissue-guard opposite p.90, otherwise a very good copy which, while showing some signs of age, does not affect its bold and vivid illustrations; original quarter red morocco over green cloth boards with gilt lettering and equestrian illustrations, black horseshoe illustration to rear board, gilt lettering to spine, top edge gilt, illustrated floral endpaper, some scratches to boards, white mark to top board, scuffs to fore-corners and extreme edges, with losses of cloth to corners, some rubbing to upper and lower joints, generally not affecting legibility of text to spine; [xxvi], 165pp, [1]pp.