THE BIG SHOTS EDWARDIAN SHOOTING PARTIES JONATHAN RUFFER DEBRETT PEERAGE LTD 1977 1st edition. 26 x 20 cm. 144 pp. HB/DJ A well written and witty account with lots of great photos. Fascinating and informative for all not just the shooter. In the second half of the nineteenth century, society discovered a new diversion: the shooting party. The new breechloading gun made it possible to kill great numbers of birds quickly; the railways made it possible to get to country houses more conveniently. In addition, there was the presence of Edward, Prince of Wales to provide the social impetus. Shooting was a sport he loved (he once went on a bat shoot in the tomb of Rameses IV), and his friends obliged by providing as much of it as he wanted. It was a lifestyle which was peculiarly Edwardian in its seriousness of purpose and extravagance. Its exponents were men with too much time and too much money, and after a while it became a way of life, with its own exclusive standards and rules. The ladies, in the main, hated every minute. We are told of the great shots of England, like Lord Walsingham, whose overall bag, oddly, included the humming-birds for the Natural History Museum, and Lord Ripon, whose shooting was so quick that he could kill twentyeight birds in a minute. We learn of the great shoots such as Holkham, where you stood for lunch and at certain times were not allowed to talk; and Elveden, the home of an eccentric Indian Prince who called Queen Victoria "Mrs. Fagin' because he thought that she had stolen the Koh-i-noor diamond from him. We see also another side: the keepers who had to sit up night after night to make sure that no harm befell the reared pheasants, and whose jobs depended on the number of birds that could be pushed over the guns in the space of a few short minutes; the head keepers who ruled their little kingdoms, and were prepared to call a Royal Duke a 'blitherin idiot' if they saw fit. And over it all presided Edward. Even as Prince of Wales he was King of Society. Any liberties taken were corrected - as Sir Charles Cust commented, 'In this world there are three types of person: blacks, whites and Royalties.' Edward equipped Sandringham as a model shooting estate. He invited his friends to show them how it was done. And society took the lesson to heart. The result is one of the most interesting phenomena of the age, both for sportsmen who wonder what the great days were really like, and for those who wonder what it was that motivated the Edwardians. CONTENTS 1 THE RISE OF THE SHOOT 2 THE ROYAL EXAMPLE 3 THE GREAT SHOTS 4 FAMOUS SHOOTS 5 THE FOREIGNER AS HOST AND GUEST 6 PROPRIERTIES AND IMPROPRIERTIES 7 THE SUPPORTING CAST APPENDIX 1 RECORDS APPENDIX 2 LORD RIPON ON HOW TO SHOOT INDEX.

THE BIG SHOTS

EDWARDIAN SHOOTING PARTIES

JONATHAN RUFFER

DEBRETT PEERAGE LTD
[1977]

 

First edition.
A well written and witty account with lots of great photos. Fascinating and informative for all not just the shooter.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, society discovered a new diversion: the shooting party. The new breechloading gun made it possible to kill great numbers of birds quickly; the railways made it possible to get to country houses more conveniently. In addition, there was the presence of Edward, Prince of Wales to provide the social impetus. Shooting was a sport he loved (he once went on a bat shoot in the tomb of Rameses IV), and his friends obliged by providing as much of it as he wanted. It was a lifestyle which was peculiarly Edwardian in its seriousness of purpose and extravagance. Its exponents were men with too much time and too much money, and after a while it became a way of life, with its own exclusive standards and rules. The ladies, in the main, hated every minute.

We are told of the great shots of England, like Lord Walsingham, whose overall bag, oddly, included the humming-birds for the Natural History Museum, and Lord Ripon, whose shooting was so quick that he could kill twentyeight birds in a minute. We learn of the great shoots such as Holkham, where you stood for lunch and at certain times were not allowed to talk; and Elveden, the home of an eccentric Indian Prince who called Queen Victoria "Mrs. Fagin' because he thought that she had stolen the Koh-i-noor diamond from him.

We see also another side: the keepers who had to sit up night after night to make sure that no harm befell the reared pheasants, and whose jobs depended on the number of birds that could be pushed over the guns in the space of a few short minutes; the head keepers who ruled their little kingdoms, and were prepared to call a Royal Duke a 'blitherin idiot' if they saw fit.

And over it all presided Edward. Even as Prince of Wales he was King of Society. Any liberties taken were corrected - as Sir Charles Cust commented, 'In this world there are three types of person: blacks, whites and Royalties.' Edward equipped Sandringham as a model shooting estate. He invited his friends to show them how it was done. And society took the lesson to heart. The result is one of the most interesting phenomena of the age, both for sportsmen who wonder what the great days were really like, and for those who wonder what it was that motivated the Edwardians.

CONTENTS
1 THE RISE OF THE SHOOT
2 THE ROYAL EXAMPLE
3 THE GREAT SHOTS
4 FAMOUS SHOOTS
5 THE FOREIGNER AS HOST AND GUEST
6 PROPRIERTIES AND IMPROPRIERTIES
7 THE SUPPORTING CAST
APPENDIX 1 RECORDS
APPENDIX 2 LORD RIPON ON HOW TO SHOOT
INDEX.

26 x 20 cm. 144 pp.

Very good condition, price clipped dust jacket slightly faded on the spine and a little edge worn. Previous owner's signature on the front free endpaper, page edges a little age toned, otherwise clean and tidy.

 

 





Get images that
make Supersized seem small.


THE simple solution for eBay sellers.