A first edition of The General Stud-Book goes under the hammer in a sale of Bibliophilic material at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions
Last Updated: 27/03/14 7:21pm
A first edition of The General Stud-Book by James Weatherby containing Pedigrees of Race Horses, from the earliest accounts to 1807, goes under the hammer in a sale of Bibliophilic material.
Loosely inserted into the work are three letters between Weatherby and the Duke of Leeds, George Godolphin Osborne, which date between the 10th and 18th of December 1835.
The letters discuss the Duke’s stud and his “Thunderbolt Mare” along with various details of breeding lines and foaling dates.
James Weatherby was the Jockey Club Secretary in 1770 and founded Weatherbys, an authority on British Thoroughbred breeding.
Today the company still publishes the General Stud Book (GSB) every four years reporting the breeding records for Thoroughbreds in Great Britain and Ireland.
The auctioneer can trace only two other copies of this rare work selling at auction. It is estimated at £300-400.
The auction will be held at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions’ Godalming Saleroom in Surrey on Thursday April 10 and the catalogue is available to view online at www.bloomsburyauctions.com