The Sporting House Richard Bird 1923 Edition
Vintage 1923 Oxford Edition —
The Sporting House
by Richard Bird
Title: The Sporting House
Author: Richard Bird
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Edition: 1923 reprint
Publication year: 1923
Printer: The Whitefriars Press Ltd., London and Tonbridge, England
Binding: Original burgundy/red cloth-covered hardback with embossed pictorial decoration
Genre: Vintage school story / Boys’ fiction / Early 20th-century children’s literature
Period: Interwar Britain
Description
A wonderfully evocative 1923 Oxford edition of Richard Bird’s The Sporting House, a classic British school story from the golden age of boys’ adventure and school fiction.
Richard Bird was a prolific writer of school stories during the early decades of the twentieth century, with numerous novels and short stories appearing during the 1920s. The Sporting House was originally published by Oxford University Press in 1921, with this copy explicitly identified as a 1923 reprint.
Presented in its original deep burgundy cloth binding, the book features an attractive blind-embossed medieval knight motif to the front board, decorative vertical ruling, and gilt lettering and ornamentation to the spine. The design gives this century-old volume considerable decorative appeal.
A lovely piece of provenance
Of particular interest is the original Boys’ Brigade prize label pasted inside the front cover. It records the book as a prize awarded by the 22nd Dundee Company during the 1923–24 session.
This surviving presentation label gives the book an individual history beyond the printed text and makes it an especially appealing piece of British social and educational history.
Condition
Antique condition with considerable age-related character. The original cloth boards show rubbing, fading and general surface wear, with heavier wear and fraying at the corners and spine ends. The spine lettering is faded but remains visible. Internally there is age-related toning and scattered foxing, together with the original 1923–24 Boys’ Brigade prize label.
The wear is consistent with a book that is now over 100 years old and should be considered part of its history and character. Please refer closely to photographs for condition.
Collector’s Note
This is a particularly attractive century-old Oxford school-story volume, enhanced by its period binding and dated Boys’ Brigade provenance. Richard Bird was especially prolific in the 1920s, producing numerous hardback school stories and contributing to popular boys’ publications of the period.