|
THE ONLINE CATALOG
The online catalog can be accessed here or by using the navigation bar for "Online catalog" on the left side of the page.
The following resources are useful for successfully navigating the online catalog:
Some recent acquisitions have not yet been catalogued. Please contact Librarian Lisa Campbell at lcampbell@nsl.org if you have questions about the availability of a particular title. Inventories of the uncatalogued Woolums Collection and partially-catalogued Littauer Collection are provided below under "Rare Book Collection."
THE
GENERAL STACKS
 The
National Sporting Library collection includes more than 15,000 volumes
on horse and field sports. The main collection is divided by subject.
Some of the larger divisions cover horse racing, sporting art,
foxhunting and horsemanship. Also represented are such specialized
topics as angling, beagling, falconry, sport shooting and steeplechasing.
The
Library also has collections of related fiction, such as the works
of Will James, R.S. Surtees, and Irish lady writers Somerville
and Ross. Some of these works have been featured as highlights
of the collections.
Two useful booklets, Treasures of the National Sporting Library and This is the National Sporting Library contain descriptions and essays about some of the most important individual works and collections, and free copies of these publications may be obtained by contacting Lisa Campbell, Librarian, at lcampbell@nsl.org or 540-687-6542 x 13 or Elizabeth Tobey, Director of Communications & Research at fellowship@nsl.org or 540-687-6542 x11.
This rare and beautiful manuscript, circa 1600 by the Italian
Valerio Piccardini, is a recent acquisition by the Library.
The National Sporting Library is in the business of collecting books, not selling them (with the exception of our annual duplicate book sale), and, as a 501C(3) organization, cannot offer appraisals. Please visit our list of dealers and appraisers for a list of businesses that deal in sporting books.
RARE
BOOK COLLECTION
-
The
Library also has a number of special collections. Most of
these collections contain rare books on horsemanship, field
sports, and related subjects. Some of the special collections
are:
-
The V.S. Littauer Collection includes rare and contemporary books on horsemanship donated by Andrew and Anya Littauer, heirs of the Capt. Vladimir S. Littauer Estate. Capt. Littauer was one of the foremost proponents of forward riding, and brought it from Europe to America in the first half of the 20th century. His collection documents a comprehensive history of educated riding with more than 250 books and pamphlets, collections of Littauer’s published articles, boxes of correspondence with leading authors, editors, and horsemen, and films based on Littauer’s own horsemanship books. Books date from a rare 1555 edition of Italian Federico Grisone’s book on horsemanship, Gli Ordini di Cavalcare to books written by Littauer and others in the 20th century. This collection is still being processed, so not all titles are currently in the card catalogue. For more information on its contents, please contact Librarian Lisa Campbell at lcampbell@nsl.org, or view an Excel spreadsheet for an incomplete inventory of the collection.
-
The
Ludwig Hunersdorf Collection. This collection was formerly
owned by the family of German riding master Ludwig Hunersdorf
(1748-1812), and includes many rare books on early equitation
theory, horse care and more. It includes a first edition (1550) of Grisone. Copies of Methode et Invention
Nouvelle de Dresser les Chevaux (1657) by William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle
and Ecole de Cavalerie (1733) by Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere
are highlights.
-
The
John H. and Martha Daniels Collection. This sporting
book collection includes a handwritten manuscript on foxhunting
by Theodore Roosevelt, 90 different editions of Izaak Walton's
The Compleat Angler, signed books by cowboy author-artist
Will James, color plate books by British sporting artist Henry
Alken, and much more. Daniels also collected books with fore-edge
paintings.
-
The
Huth-Lonsdale-Arundel Collection. This collection of
books on early horsemanship was originally formed by Frederick
Henry Huth, author of A Bibliographical Record of Hippology
(1887), one of the foremost bibliographies in the field. It
includes many of the classics of horsemanship, such as editions of Federico
Grisone's Ordini di Cavalcare and Jacques
de Solleysel's Le Parfait Mareschal (1685).
- The
Woolums Collection. This collection consists of over 3,000 books and serials on 20th-century Thoroughbred racing. Margaret (Sissy) Woolums was one of the world's experts on pedigrees and she had amassed a library that included stud books from every country that published them. She accomodated visitors in her home from around the world who came for her help and to use her library. View inventory of serials & monographs. The collection is housed in the periodical stacks on the lower level. An article on the collection appeared on page 2 of the Fall 2004 newsletter.
The Paul Brown Collection. This collection consists of books (mainly equestrian) for young readers and adults written and/or illustrated by the American illustrator, Paul Brown
(1893-1958). Some of these books are signed and include original artwork by the artist. In 2008, Mrs. Frances Dulaney donated her private collection of 56 of Brown's books to the Library. Books by Brown already owned by the NSL (including some titles from the Daniels Collection) were added to Mrs. Dulaney's books to create this fabulous collection. The books are housed in a special section in the general stacks on the main level.
-
-
PERIODICALS
The
Library's periodicals collection contains several dozen current
titles as well as a collection of early American sporting periodicals,
such as The Spirit of the Times and The American
Turf Register and Sporting Magazine. The Library has published
a complete index to Turf Register.
Complete
list of current periodicals
ARCHIVES
AND MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS
The
NSL is fortunate to possess a large collection of scrapbooks,
papers, photographs, and research of several key figures in the
history of turf and field sports. One such collection is comprised
of the papers of Harry Worcester Smith, sportsman, author and
founder of the Masters of Foxhounds Association. Also included
in the archives and manuscript collections are organizational
papers, such as the National Beagle Club archives and minutes
of the American Foxhound Club. Other collections of interest include
the Somerville and Ross manuscript collection and the photographs
of Wally Nall.
-
NSL
Archives and Manuscripts
The
NSL has digitized portions of several collections for viewing
online, and will continue to add more items as time goes on.
FILM AND VIDEO COLLECTION
The
NSL's collection of audio and visual materials includes films
of Tommy Smith and Jay Trump, the first American rider/American
horse team to win the English Grand National.
|
