Productive angling is accomplished through learning, either through first hand experiences or through reading the knowledge of others. The Library is the home of a priceless collection of books on fishing with a rod, and most of the historical texts describe the sport of fly-fishing, dating as early as Izaak Walton’s first edition of The Compleat Angler, 1653. Most frequently represented are the legendary streams of England and North America.

Books on foxhunting are among the most popular segments of the Library’s collection, which is fitting in that the Library is located in one of the cradles of the sport in North America. The Library holds a comprehensive collection on British and North American foxhunting and beagling, from Peter Beckford’s 1781 Thoughts on Fox and Hare Hunting, to Ben Hardaway’s Never Outfoxed.

From the first printed book on horsemanship, Federico Grisone’s GliOrdini di Cavalcare (1550), remarkably, it took Grisone’s work only ten years to find its way into English in an abridged translation, The Art of Riding, by Thomas Blundevile, Queen Elizabeth’s Master of the Horse. The Library holds all of the key 16th through 21st century western European and American literature on the art of horsemanship.

Sport shooting on English and western European estates has been a popular country pastime since the 18th century. But the opening of the American wilderness two centuries ago fostered a whole new realm of sporting opportunities. The Library’s collection contains many treasures describing firearms, techniques, hunting reminiscences and favorite hunting grounds the world over.

Enthusiasts of equestrian and field sports love sporting art. Canvases portray favorite horses, beloved hunting dogs, and memorable days of foxhunting, racing, angling and shooting. At the National Sporting Library and Museum, connoisseurs will find an exceptional collection of books and examples of fine American, British, and French sporting paintings and sculpture, dating from the 18th century forward.

The exciting world of steeplechase comes alive at the National Sporting Library and Museum in the form of paintings, prints, and books. The Library holds an extensive collection of steeplechase literature, annuals, scrapbooks, and periodicals covering the extensive history of American and British steeplechasing from the 19th through present day ‘chases.

Insights for the pursuit of Thoroughbred racing, a game full of mystery and excitement, are found at the National Sporting Library and Museum’s collections of art and literature. The Library holds historical and contemporary books, periodicals, and stud books from all over the world dating from the 18th century forward; complemented with paintings, sculpture, and prints by the best of sporting artists.