The English Sportsman in the Western Prairies

London: Hurst and Blackett , 1861. First edition. Leather. Very Good. 9.5" by 6" . None . The first edition of this work concerning the hunting trips of an English sportsman. The first edition of this work concerning the sporting travels of Grantley Berkeley, English sportsman. Recounting the author's hunting journey to the Western prairies, sharing impressions, experiences, and recollections of his travels in the American West. Illustrated with seven full page plates and a vignette to the title page, lacking one plate. With Draycot House bookplate on leather to the front pastedown, medieval manor largely re-modelled by the Long family over the years, and in 1864 after Lord Cowley's inheritance. It was demolished in 1952-4.  From the library at Julian Park, Hertfordshire, belonging to Audrey Pleydell-Bouverie. Audrey was the youngest daughter of an Anglo-American lumber and steel millionaire, sister to Edward James, a key figure in the Surrealist movement, and the illegitimate granddaughter of King Edward VII. She was an English socialite known for her beauty and for charming various wealthy men, she was included in The Book of Beauty by Cecil Beaton. A patron of the arts, she assisted Viscount Carlow financially in the publication of limited editions of numerous works by leading literary figures such as T E Lawrence, James Joyce, Wyndham Lewis, and others. A hedonistic pursuer, she was recognised as one of the 'Bright Young Things'.  In a half calf binding over marbled boards and edges, with new marbled endpapers. Externally sound with minor shelf wear and a touch of edge wear, minor chipping and some rubbing to the boards and spine. With Draycot House bookplate on leather to the front pastedown. Internally, firmly bound. With a minor faint spotting to the first and last few leaves, otherwise the pages are bright and clean throughout. Illustrated with seven full page plates and a vignette to the title page, lacking one plate. The frontispiece is protected by tissue guard, loose but present. Very Good