THE NOBLE SCIENCE : John Leech in the Hunting Field

This copy is in fin, unmarked condition bound in black cloth covered boards with bright gilt titling to the spine. This copy is bright, tight, white and square. The unclipped dust wrapper has edge wear and one or two closed tears so best described as very good condition. This landscape format book measures 38 cms wide by 26cms tall. International postal rates are calculated on a book weighing 1 Kilo, in cases where the book weighs more than 1 Kilo increased postal rates will be quoted, where the book weighs less then postage will be reduced accordingly. This 1948 volume is a large-format illustrated tribute to the Victorian caricaturist John Leech, focusing on his celebrated hunting scenes. It is a First Edition and a quintessential mid‑century art book: short in text, expansive in image, and designed to showcase Leech’s lively, affectionate depictions of the English hunting field. The book contains: Colour and black‑and‑white reproductions of Leech’s hunting illustrations, there are full‑page plates, many printed to a high standard for the period. There is a short 31‑page text by Thomas Bodkin. An introductory essay by Sir Alfred Munnings, himself a master of equestrian art, praising Leech’s vitality, humour, and observational accuracy. The tone is celebratory: Bodkin positions Leech as both a chronicler and a gentle satirist of the sporting world, while Munnings frames him as a predecessor in the lineage of British sporting art. Ref YYY 1.…