LYELL, Denis D.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Hunting Trips in Northern Rhodesia, First edition, with a loosely inserted letter from the author signed and dated 4 November 1929 to Captain Paul A. Curtis, gun editor of Field & Stream magazine. This work is an account of the author's shooting experiences in South Africa, with chapters on all manner of game including "sable, impala, kudu, eland, lechwe, waterbuck and other antelope" (Czech).Denis Lyell (1871-1946) was a prolific hunter of the pre-war period and among the last to kill elephants for profit. "Lyell exemplified the new hunting ethic of the 1910s and 1920s. In Lyell's hunting 'code', the proper hunter was an aesthete who appreciated the beauty and 'life force' of the game he wanted to kill; he was required to give the animal a 'sporting chance' where possible" (Landau, p. 154). Lyell's loosely inserted letter dates from the time of his publication of The Hunting and Spoor of Central African Game in 1929. In the letter he requests a review in Field & Stream magazine and complains that some reviewers had judged his previous works on style alone, with no knowledge or experience of the subject matter. The recipient, Paul Curtis, was a champion rifleman and himself a prolific writer.

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