GENERAL STACKS  |  RARE BOOK COLLECTION  |  PERIODICALS
ARCHIVES AND MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS  |   FILM COLLECTION  |  ART COLLECTION

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.

Complete list of general subject headings

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.

This rare and beautiful manuscript, circa 1600 by the Italian
Valerio Piccardini, is a recent acquisition by the Library.

Collections highlights

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 Italian Federico Grisone’s rare 1550 first edition on horsemanship, Gli Ordini di Cavalcare (Naples) to books written by Littauer and others in the 20th century.

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. Copies of Methode et Invention Nouvelle de Dresser les Chevaux (1657) by the 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. A collection of books with fore-edge paintings is a special treat.

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 Federico Grisone's Ordini di Cavalcare (1552) 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.

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

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.

NSL Digital Collections

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.

An art collection including works by Paul Brown, Edward Troye, Alvan Fisher, Frank Voss, Henry Alken, John Ferneley, George Stubbs, J.F. Herring Sr. and many others.