Description
First edition of Fishing and Shooting Sketches, accompanied by a letter from President Grover Cleveland to American ornithologist Ruthven Deane regarding the book.
Twelvemo, viii, 209pp. Green cloth, title stamped in gilt on spine and front cover, illustration stamped on front panel. Frontispiece portrait of former President Cleveland opposite title page, with tissue cover. Multiple illustrations by Henry S. Watson. Accompanied by letter from President Grover Cleveland, commenting on the book: “Princeton March 3, 1907 / Dear Ruthven Deane Esq / Dear Sir: I greatly appreciate your kind commendation of ‘Fishing and Shooting Sketches.’ The book is not much of an affair, but it has brought me in touch with a rash of men like you, who believe in decent sportsmanship. And this is a great satisfaction. Yours Sincerely, Grover Cleveland.” Ruthven Deane (1851-1934) was a founding member of the American Ornithologists’ Union and a collector of Auduboniana, portraits of ornithologists and bookplates. His collection of 19th and 20th century portraits of ornithologists is in the Library of Congress.
Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) began his unlikely rise to the presidency as the Mayor of Buffalo. Within a year of taking office, he became Governor of New York. He gained national notoriety for fighting political corruption, specifically Tammany Hall in New York City. Cleveland went on to serve the only nonconsecutive presidential terms in history, serving from 1885-1889, then again from 1893-1897. After leaving office, the former president indulged in his lifelong passion for sports, ultimately writing this humorous book, Fishing and Shooting Sketches, two years before his death.
