TWENTY YEARS' SNIPE SHOOTING: EXTRACTS FROM THE DAILY JOURNAL OF THE GAME-BOOKS OF THE SNIPERY. By J.J. Pringle.

(1899) 1988 facsimile reprint. 8vo (138 x 212mm). Pp[vi],x,324. Blue cloth, upper board and spine titled in gilt.

A blow by blow account of twenty years' snipe shooting in nineteenth-century America: where, how and how many were shot, culminating in a total for the period of 78,602 and 3,499 various. The author also shot a great many other animals such as bear and deer, but does not go into this. He laments the decline of the snipe in America and blames it on habitat loss, not apparently having looked at his game book that morning. This is a facsimile edition of the scarce Knickerbocker Press edition of 1899 of which only 200 copies were printed. In 1988 The Sand Lake Press produced a facisimile edition of 200 numbered copies. This copy would appear to be that edition though no limitation is stated. Another edition from the same publisher, bound in blue faux leather with slipcase, was limited to 300 copies. The book begins with a six-page introduction by publisher, Worth Mathewson. The author is referred to in the introduction as James J. Pringle, however, his correct name would appear to be John Julius Pringle.