This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1876 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XXXII. RETROSPECTIVE. 'A Bright morning towards the end of May; a coach, primrose colour; a team of two powerful bay wheelers and blood greys at lead, all with plenty in front of the collar, and bone to support them; the whole turn-out having a lot of sort about it, thoroughly bang-up in fact. ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1876 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XXXII. RETROSPECTIVE. 'A Bright morning towards the end of May; a coach, primrose colour; a team of two powerful bay wheelers and blood greys at lead, all with plenty in front of the collar, and bone to support them; the whole turn-out having a lot of sort about it, thoroughly bang-up in fact. Throw your fastidious eye over the horses, leathers, and coach, and all you can say is capital! 'With truth also can you say--'Here's to the shape that is shown on the near side, Here's to the blood on the off, Sir; Limbs with no check to the freedom of stride, Wind without whistle or cough, Sir. 'A full way bill, " time up" from the guard, "all right" from coachee to the horsekeepers, the horse-cloths being pulled off at this signal, the traces tightened, as with one move, bringing the swingle bars up with a jerk, polechains rattle to each step, and then "with elbows squared, and with wrists turned down, he sends his tits along." The " three feet of tin" sounds its seven notes musically, and with "all quality, pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious roads," away we go rumbling over the London stones for our first stage out. 'Amongst all the contrasts that are exhibited in ordinary life, few are more striking than what is presented by London at the same hour morning and evening. 'At six in the morning everything is comparatively still. The chimes of the different churches appear to be louder, only because they are more distinctly heard. Co vent Garden market-men and basket-women are pouring in with their vegetables, fruits, and flowers. The battered beau is observed steering homewards but half-sobered, and one would think entirely wretched; while the solitary hackney cab is seen here and there passing sleepily along with a cargo of prime...
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Seller's Description:
Good. Size: Large 8vo 9"-10; Good-looking, structurally sound exemplar of an early printing of the First Edition, though not so stated. Sturdy, attractive, tightly bound hardcover, clean, if toned interior, moderate rubbing to, scuffing of extremities, but gilt lettering and illustrations to front cover are still sharp. Floreat Rae da Quadralis adorns the spine. Paginated as xiii [1], 2-403 pp. Augmented with 10 attractive, colored lithographs of coaches and coachmen and of coaching scenes, beginning with "The Drag" at frontis, tissue-protected, as are all the remainder, though final one at p. 376 is quite worn and soiled. Three additional woodcuts of coaching accessories, quite fine, hors-texte. Provides abundant and quite excellent technical data on design and handling of coaches, behavior and comportment of coachmen and their rides and steeds, a quite readable, eminently British coaching book. Captain Malet (Harold Esdaile Malet) (1841-1918) studied art briefly, early, but then engaged a military career including in India, as both father and grandfather were distinguished diplomats and high officials in the East India Company. In 1863 he left Norwich with the XVIII Hussars for India, "sharing a cabin with Frank Fairlie in the East India ship Winchester, " then a bungalow in the George Hotel Compound in Bangalore with Tom Phillips, and later met his wife Emily Friend there (Christie's auction house lot of Malet items). "Nimrod" (1778-1843), the pseudonym of Charles James Apperley, was an English sportsman and sporting writer in the golden age thereof. He was responsible for a very large number of sporting-and coaching-related tomes in the mid-19th century, including horse-racing, fox-hunting and the like, penned individually and with co-authors. Appendix A provides helpful glossary to coaching terms and concepts, lingo and slang.
