Sporting Notes in the Far East – C. Cradock (1889) (1st ed)

S$250.00

Sporting Notes in the Far East – C. Cradock (1889) (1st ed)

S$250.00

A scarce “how-to” guide on game shooting in China, Korea, Japan, Russian Tartary, and some parts of Southeast Asia.

Title: Sporting Notes in the Far East

Author: Lieutenant C. Cradock

Publisher: Griffith Farran Okeden & Welsh, London. No date. Research reveals it to be 1889. First edition.

Condition: Hardcover, decorative cloth. Fair. Some wear and fraying to cover, with soiling to back cover, back endpapers stained. Front and back hinges cracked. Text clean, binding sound. With 11 black-and-white plates. 213pp., 8.5″ by 5.5″.

A scarce book on hunting and shooting for sport, in the Far East. Written by a Lieutenant (later Rear-Admiral) of the British Royal Navy whose favourite past-time was shooting, the book served as a useful guide for anyone (especially navy officers) looking to hunt in Japan, China, Korea, and South East Asia.

Essentially a “how-to” book, Sporting Notes in the Far East dispenses advice on hunting dogs and how to care for them, how one should prepare for the day’s hunt, the availability of various targets (geese, ducks, pheasants), etc, and the conditions in each country. The first part of the book deals with general topics such as game, dog medicine, Japanese vocabulary, while the second part delves into the specific shooting locations and conditions in each country. This second part is divided into Russian Tartary, Japan, Korea, China, Bangkok, Borneo, and Penang.

About the author (from Wikipedia):

Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher “Kit” George Francis Maurice Cradock KCVO CB SGM (2 July 1862 – 1 November 1914) was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He earned a reputation for great gallantry. He was killed during the Battle of Coronel, an engagement with the German navy off the coast of Chile in the early part of World War I.

Cradock was born at Hartforth, Richmond, North Yorkshire. He entered the Royal Navy in 1875, and saw action in the Mediterranean, serving with distinction. On 1 February 1900 he was appointed in command of the cruiser HMS Alacrity, which later that year was posted to China during the Boxer Rebellion. He commanded a mixture of British, German and Japanese sailors including Charles C. Dix during the capture of the Taku forts, and was promoted captain in April 1901 and received the Prussian Order of the Crown with swords as a result.