R. E. and G. B. Way, Burrough Green, www.way-books.co.uk
This lovely shop’s location near the heart of Britain’s racing country in Newmarket attracts a lot of Thoroughbred lovers. But the Way’s enormous and varied stock covers many canine and hunting subjects, too. Their inventory of hound books, in particular, was outstanding the last time we visited. They’ve got single copies of exceedingly rare or hard-to-find books, but they also have multiple copies of desirable volumes considered classic and essential for foxhunters and hound lovers, such as F. P. Delme Radcliffe’s “The Noble Science of Fox-Hunting” and Ikey Bell’s “Foxiana,” often beautifully aged and still carrying the faint whiff of the country house libraries or clubs from whence they traveled. The shop occupies an old, ivy-covered house that is stuffed with tomes, from sets of heavy leather-bound volumes to slender card-bound private printings, including several handwritten hunting journals kept by individuals who hunted with some of England’s most famous packs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Way can be expensive, but its large inventory often means a shopper can compare prices among several copies and editions. Luckily, there are a few comfy chairs around, too, to encourage the avid collector to bury himself in — and fall in love with — the books.
On its website, this Warrenton, Va., shop boasts that 90 percent of its inventory consists of out-of-print and hard-to-find books — but, thanks to the website, not hard to find any more! If you’re in Virginia, the shop (located at Fox Den Antiques) is worth a visit: crowded bookcases are framed by everything from equestrian-patterned silk scarves to glassware to fox-themed jewelry. For avid readers, though, it’s the cases that hold the best treasures, and there’s something for every age. For the new entry, there are currently a couple of C. Gifford Ambler’s “Ten Little Foxhounds” for under $40. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, a copy of Thady Ryan’s 2002 “My Privileged Life with the Scarteen Black and Tans” will lighten your wallet by $750. There is a good range of both classic and newer books, and the website usually features a photograph of the book in question, which is helpful.
Good to know: The ground-floor bathroom
Good to know: The Horse Books Plus website allows you to purchase not only books,
also serves as a half-price room!
Horse Books Plus, www.horsebooksplus.com
but also gift cards — a great idea for anyone with sporting friends or family.
John and Judith Head, Salisbury, www.wowmedesign.com/jjhead
Many people visit Salisbury to see the great cathedral there, but we make our annual pilgrimage to visit the Heads’ sporting bookshop. They specialize in highly-prized rare volumes and sporting prints, but don’t be afraid to peruse the handsome shelves if your budget is small. We’ve found terrific books there for prices starting as low as about $15. They also carry a wide variety of hunting prints. Small ones, including some by Munnings that are difficult to find in print form in the United Sates, also start in that price range, in our experience. Also on offer: signed prints by Snaffles, Lionel Edwards, John King, and others. But the real beauty of the Heads’ shop is in its variety of rare and high-end stock on a vast range of sporting and countryside subjects. My favorite purchase from there is a copy of the Hon. George Charles Grantley Fitzhardinge Berkeley’s “Reminiscences of a Huntsman” from the late 1800s, and there are equally wonderful — and often lusciously bound and illustrated — books on everything from the grayling to the grouse to the American gray fox.
Good to know: The shop is closed on Saturday, but if there is a game fair or major horse trials going on, they’ll probably be there!
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