Afternoon Delights Book Exhibition on Display at the National Sporting Library through May 1, 2010

F. Ambrose Clark Rare Book Room Afternoon Delights was on display from February through May 1, 2010 in the Forrest E. Mars Sr. Exhibit Hall at the National Sporting Library – with its theme as fun and delightful books, ephemera, and framed book illustrations normally sequestered in the rare book room.

The central case featured the Inaugural Llangollen Race, 1931, a sketchbook of 15 illustrations by Paul Brown recording a historic day in American steeplechase racing. The original race program, a magazine article from Polo magazine, and the annual chart book further document the race.

Two copies of the book The Legend of the Hounds by George Henry Boker, 1929, were accompanied by eight framed illustrations by Gordon Ross. Three different editions of Geoffrey Gambado’s An Academy for Grown Horsemen (1787) were opened to hand-colored tongue-in-cheek illustrations of poor horsemanship.

One case held a number of illustrated 19th-century books on boxing. A hand-colored panorama, mounted on the wall, was partially unfolded, revealing an early 19th-century “parade” of toffs and commoners on their way to an illegal fight. The panorama was unfolded to 7 feet.

Curatorial Assistant Brenna Elliott and Librarian Lisa Campbell curated the exhibition.

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