THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER (ASHORE AND AFLOAT). By Stanley Duncan and Guy Thorne. Fully illustrated with practical drawings and diagrams in half-tone.

1911 1st edition. 4to (172 x 250mm). Pp360 + 6pp ads. Colour frontispiece, 64 b/w plates, illustrations, patterned end-papers. Top-edge gilt, fore and lower edge rough cut. Dark blue cloth, upper board titled and decorated in black, spine titled in gilt with gilt wildfowl motif. Recently recased in original cloth.

The complete compendium of wildfowling in the early part of the twentieth century. In two parts: Shore Shooting and Punt Shooting. Fully half of the book is a comprehensive guide to punt-gunning with detailed descriptions of punt guns, gunning punts and their construction. Chapters include: Part One, Shore Shooting: What wildfowling really is; Guns; Ammunition; The complete gun-room; The law as it affects wildfowlers; Wildfowl dogs and how to break them; Shore-shoting - hutting; shore-shooting - working 'longshore'; Shore-shooting - day flighting, calling and decoys; Movements of wildfowl and shore birds; Migration of shore birds and wildfowl; Some illustrative experiences. Part Two, Punt Shooting: Punt-shooting as a sport; The dangers of punt-shooting; Some general notes; Gunning-punt accessories; Punt-guns; Recoil gearing for punt-guns; Conversion of muzzle-loading punt-guns to breech-loading; On loading punt-guns; Punt carriages, wagons and houses; Care of guns and gear; Weather and expenses, with a note on punt clothing; Hints on punting to fowl, and the actual use of punt-guns; Gunning-punt construction; Various kinds of gunning-punts; Gunning-punt rudders; Sailing craft and motor-punts. Birds met with by the wildfowler.