Forty years ago, having lost my job as an agricultural adviser for a national company, I was forced to turn one of my hobbies - book collecting - into a business.
My first purchase of two old hunting books, about forty-five years ago in a small market town in northern England, triggered my interest in scarce works on country sports and natural history which continues to this day.
In my early collecting days, I scoured the numerous antique and junk shops in Northern England. They often had boxes of old books tucked in a dusty corner. In time I acquired considerable knowledge and a degree of instinct for the better and scarcer works. One memorable purchase in the late 1960's was a copy of the 'Douai' bible of 1582 - the first English translation of the Roman Catholic New Testament - which I sold for £100, a lot of money in those days.
However, as a regular participant in most fieldsports and a keen conservationist, my stock gradually evolved until I specialised solely in volumes related to country sports and natural history, this includes big game hunting throughout the world.
utilitybinding.
