A Sporting Pilgrimage. Riding to Hounds, Golf, Rowing, Football, Club and University Athletics. Studies in English Sport, Past and Present

A wide-ranging late-Victorian survey of English sport by Caspar Whitney, originator of the college football All-American team. First edition with extensive early golf material, historic course plans of St Andrews and St George’s, and a Frederic Remington frontispiece—augmented by a laid-in signed presentation letter. Decorated cloth. Octavo, 8.5 inches tall; xii, 397 pages. Illustrated with 144 black-and-white illustrations, some photographic; double-page map; Remington frontispiece. The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean with light, even toning. Moderate shelf handling wear. Mild sun-fading to the spine. First Edition, First Printing. Laid in is a signed typed letter from an acquaintance of the author presenting this volume as a gift, adding minor association interest and period personality to the copy. A substantial and influential late-Victorian survey of English sport by Caspar Whitney—author, editor, and the architect of the American college football All-American team. Rather than a single-sport treatment, A Sporting Pilgrimage offers informed, first-hand examinations of hunting, rowing, football, cycling, cricket, and club athletics, reflecting the transatlantic exchange of sporting culture at the end of the nineteenth century. The extended golf section (pp. 331–397) is of particular importance, covering early club histories, course design, and instructional commentary. Included are visual and documentary materials foundational to golf history, among them an 1879 plan of St Andrews Golfing Course, an 1888 plan of St George’s Golf Club, photographs, and period illustrations, including ‘A Hoylake Putting-Green’ after painting. A Frederic Remington frontispiece further strengthens the book’s appeal to collectors of American sporting art. Subjects: Caspar Whitney, Early Golf History, St Andrews Golf Course, St George’s Golf Club, Frederic Remington Illustration, Victorian Sport, University Athletics, Rowing History, Cycling History, English Sporting Culture, Transatlantic Sports Exchange, Sports History, Illustrated Non-Fiction, Victorian Travel & Observation, Cultural History. …