The Noble Science by F.P. Delme Radcliffe, 1839, Signed Bayntun Binding

Full Title:  The Noble Science: A Few General Ideas on Fox-Hunting for the Use of the Rising Generation of Sportsmen, and more especially those of the Hertfordshire Hunt Club

Binding Details:  Fine custom signed binding by Bayntun, Bath in three-quarter morocco leather over marbled boards with decorated raised bands to the spine that also features gilt ruling and compartments with decorative embellishments in the compartments and gilt titling. There is gilt ruling to the covers, marbled endpapers, and all page ends are gold gilted. The original cloth covers are bound into the rear of the book. The Bayntun binder’s stamp appears on the top of the first free endpaper.

Book Details:  This is the first edition of F.P. Delme Radcliffe’s treatise on fox hunting entitled “Noble Science” published in 1839 by Rudolph Ackermann, London that covers the whole spectrum of the fox hunting enthusiast to include hound breeding and management, the master, the huntsman, and hunting in the field., the book also contains

Measuring approximately 9.25” x 6.25” with 327 pages, the book is illustrated with seven full-page black-and-white plates and numerous head-an-tale pieces as well as a dedication page, an author’s preface, list of illustrations, and table of contents.

Condition Report:  The binding is in Near FINE condition with some generalized shelf wear to the corner tips and edges. Internally, the book is generally clean with some sporadic spotting to the text pages, endpapers, and tissue guards as well as substantial foxing to the blank preliminary and rear pages that are made of a cheaper paper.

Photographs of the binding and title page and frontispiece with the tissue guard in front of it appear in the photo section of the listing.