NSLM Newsletter - Spring 2001

8 Pages·2001·2.8 MB·English

The National Sporting Library
NEWSLETTER
A RESEARCH CENTER FOR HORSE AND FIELD SPORTS MIDDLEBURG, VIRGINIA
NUMBER 62 SPRING 2001
Eve Prime Fout's New Bronze Fox
Safeguards the Library
by Lisa Campbell, Assistant Librarian
A
s a visitor approached the en-
trance to the National Sporting
Library, a poised shape on the stone
wall caught her eye. It's a fox!
Stalking its prey; ready to pounce on
a hapless morsel.
The startled visitor turned, eyed
the fox more closely and realized that
it was not a living breathing fox but a
beautiful bronze - the latest addition
to the National Sporting Library.
Eve Fout, known to the art com-
munity as Eve Prime, donated the
near life-size fox last month. The fox find it very rewarding to work with and steeplechase racing and as a
is a superb piece inspired by a pen my hands," she said. proactive land preservationist. But
and ink drawing. Eve first sculpted Eve is best known in the eques- she established herself initially as a
the fox in clay. Her clay figure was trian community for her outstanding talented sporting artist.
then cast in the bronze form using achievements as a teacher of horse- Born in New York, she grew up in
the "lost wax" process at The manship, a supporter of foxhunting Continued on page 2
Equestrian Forge in Leesburg, Va.
She applied the final subtle color to
Recent NSL Lectures
the fox.
Two other bronzes by Eve are
Fill the Founders Room
exhibited within the Library. "The 1
Chaser" is a steeplechase horse and
S
its rider flying a fence. A small fox, tanding room only crowds the wonderful paintings in Mellon's
leaping for a flushed quail, graces greeted lecturers earlier this year collection. He opened the lecture
the Founders' Room. in the Founder's Room at the relating the profound impact Mellon
Eve, of The Plains, Va., spent most National Sporting Library. and his father Andrew Mellon and
of her career as a professional artist In February, Malcom Cormack the other industrialists had on the art
painting fine oil portraits of horses, thrilled an overflow audience by world of Great Britain. Beginning in
hounds and regional wildlife. Her delivering a fascinating lecture: "The 1890 to 1930, several important
affinity for animals and involvement Galloping Connoisseur: Paul Mellon British paintings were purchased at
in horse and field sports gives accu- and His Collection." Cormack is the auction by wealthy Americans who
racy and depth to her work. A few curator of the Paul Mellon Collection were able to outbid English buyers.
years ago, she switched to creating at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts When the painting "Blue Boy" by
bronze sculptures. in Richmond. Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788)
"I started sculpture six years ago Throughout the presentation, left England, Cormack said, "It was
when my eyes began to change. I Cormack showed several slides of Continued on page 4
Bronze Fox Safeguards Library Art. She also spent time with Jean She was the first woman trainer in
Continued from page 1 Bowman, a distinguished equestrian the history of the race to saddle the
artist who was commissioned to winner.
Virginia hunt country following the paint several horses over the years But Eve is perhaps best known for
hounds of Orange County Hunt from champion steeplechase horses her contributions to young people in
since her teen years. Eve loved her to field hunters. the community. Inspired by the gen-
horses but believed art was her voca- Eve deeply appreciated these erosity of mentors in her youth, Eve
tional calling. artists' willingness to help her. She has returned the favor to untold
"Mom said she didn't care what I said, "Frank Voss and the others numbers of blossoming artists and
did as long as I could make my own were very generous. They were equestrians.
way," recalled Eve. always willing to help young She began right at home with her
She returned to New York to begin people." children Doug, Nina and Virginia.
her formal art education as a young With a keen understanding of her Doug has fow1d great success like
adult at the Three Arts Club. But as subjects, Eve's work moved to the his father riding and training stee-
she told The Chronicle of the Horse, forefront early. At the age of 21, one plechase horses. Nina has a keen
when her sculpture, "A of her first commissioned paintings, interest in sporting art. She rides in
Steeplechaser," ran on the front "Irish Luck, A Hunting Hunter Sire" point-to-point races and in recent
cover: "In equine art, you must learn was published on the cover of The years, she began riding in combined
more than what is offered at fine Chronicle of the Horse. Irish Luck, a training events. Riding her father's
institutions like the Art Students Thoroughbred stallion and field ex-steeplechase horse, 3 Magic
League. There is no substitution for hunter, belonged to Albert P. Beans, she helped earn the 2000
working under the people who do it, Hinckley, MFH of Old Dominion Olympic Team Bronze in the Three-
and I've found horse artists to be Hounds (Va.). Eve produced an Day Event competition in Sydney.
very generous in sharing their image of quiet communication with Virginia rides the family horses
knowledge." the bridled Irish Luck standing in an when she visits from Los Angeles.
Never one to do anything second open Virginia field with two fox- Eve organized the Middleburg-
rate, Eve sought out the best in the hounds facing him, patiently wait- Orange County Pony Club in 1959 to
field of sporting art to learn her craft. ing. To date, her artwork, either oil teach young riders good horseman-
She traveled to Long Island to study paintings or sculpture, has graced ship. To encourage children to learn
with Paul Brown at his home. Brown The Chronicle's cover twenty times. the joys of foxhunting, she organ-
(1893-1958) was perhaps the most Her career launched, over the ized the M.O.C Beagles in 1961. The
prominent illustrator of books on next several decades she painted Beagle pack hunts fox just like their
horses for twenty-five years. His pre- portraits of famed steeplechase much larger foxhound cousins, but
cise drawings appear in over 130 fic- horses, hounds, hunters and other at a slower pace.
tion and non-fiction books on horses, beloved creatures. "Most people Many adults try to join in the fun,
steeplechase racing, horsemanship, would rather have their horse or dog but the policy is they must first be
polo, and foxhunting for adults and painted than their wife," she noted. accompanied by a child. Eve, who is
children alike. When she married Paul Fout, the master of the pack, said, "The land is
Eve apprenticed in painting with duo became a force in the steeple- always open to a polite child. They
Richard Stone Reeves in New Jersey. chase and foxhtmting community. learn to lead the pack, and when
A highly respected painter of Paul has trained numerous top adults come, they follow behind the
Thoroughbred portraits, Reeves has horses in both flat and jump racing. kids."
captured the beauty of Citation, Life's Illusion, owned by Virginia When the American Academy of
Kelso, Secretariat, Native Dancer and Guest and trained by Paul, was the Equine Art was founded in 1980,
many more. first filly or mare to be recognized as Eve was selected as founding mem-
She commuted to Maryland to Steeplechase Horse of the Year in ber to be part of a core group of
learn more from Franklin B. Voss 1975. Most recently, Paul saddled important sporting artists to assist in
(1880-1953), a famed sporting artist Colstar who earned acclaim in 2000 the forming of the organization.
who painted over 500 private com- as a multiple-graded stakes winner "So many young people needed a
missions. Another Maryland sport- on the flat. center for sporting art," noted Eve.
ing artist to further Eve's training In 1964, Eve made her mark in Eve worked with nine other
was Else Tuckerman Biays who stud- steeplechasing when her bay geld- noted painters and sculptors indud-
ied art at The George Washington ing Moon Rock won the thirty-ninth ing Jean Bowman, Richard Stone
University and Corcoran School of running of the Virginia Gold Cup. Continued on page 4
2 The NSL Newsletter, Spring 2001
Gems Discovered in the
Harry Worcester Sn1ith Papers
by Irving Abb
I
rving Abb, a lawyer and ex.-MFH of horses on the subcontinent. The
Big Meadow Hounds (Md.), spends papers terminate in 1940 when my
one day a week at the National Sporting findings conclude shortly before his
Library perusing boxes of papers that death with a log of his days prima-
belonged to renowned foxhunter and rily with Middleburg and Orange
amateur steeplechase rider, Harry County.
Worcester Smith (1865-1945). Once the The photographic record is strik-
papers have been processed, the collec- ing. There is a spectacular picture of
tion will be open to researchers. the Smith four-in-hand turned out
Smith first hunted with Genesse for the Sturbridge (Mass.) County
Valley (N. Y) in 1893 and was hooked. Fair in 1903. Large flowers smother
Soon after, he formed his own pack, the the vehicle from wheel to box seat,
Grafton Hunt (Mass.), and later served harness pads not excepted. I came
as master for Piedmont Fox Hounds upon a professionally done stack of
Harry Worcester Smith
(Va.) and Loudoun Hunt (Va.). Westmeath (Ire.) scenes from his
Frustrated with the National ments had been meticulously placed mastership in 1914, including days
Steeplechase and Hunt Association's in consecutively numbered large with the Tipperary (Ire.) and the Pau
lack of resolve in settling a dispute brown envelopes with a description in France. The sporting scene in
between Piedmont and Orange County of their contents. They were then Aiken, S.C., is captured in its heyday
Hunts in 1907, Smith founded the numerically entered in two red in about 150 large pictures represent-
Masters of Foxhounds Association. morocco-bound volumes, one of ing everything from horse shows,
Smith authored several books on fox- which I have come upon. beagling, polo, costume parties, to
hunting, seven titles of which are shelved I found none of this material in "the cottages" of the sporting set.
in the Library. Smith and A. Henry any particular order. Neither are the For some insight into sporting
Higginson pulled off the famous Great contents of the envelopes consistent periodicals for the period 1920-1930
Foxhound Match in 1905, a test to deter- as to subject matter. What I do find is there is a veritable bale: the Remount
mine the best breed of foxhound, a mass of photographs, periodicals, Journal, Spur, Rider and Driver, The
Higginson's English or Smith's letters, newspaper clippings and Thoroughbred Record, Sportsman
American. Smith's hounds won. magazine excerpts, fixture cards and Magazine, Horse and Hound, and of
(Higginson was another foxhunter and race-meet programs. course enough of The Chronicle of the
prolific writer whose books are shelved at Much concerns early Brunswick Horse magazines to fill Vine Hill
the NSL) Foxhound Trials and the develop- again.
In 1976, Smith's heirs donated his ment of the standard for the These are all intriguing because of
vast collection of notes, letters, news American hounds. Smith gathered the articles by Smith himself, and the
clippings and other papers to the NSL. copious notes on the Hound Match reviews they contain of the literary
What follows is Abb's report: of 1905 and a chronicle of his master- creations: A Sporting Family of the Old
Alexander Mackay-Smith's bibli- ship of the Piedmont and the South, Life and Sport in Aiken, and The
ography in The American Foxhound Loudoun. An exhaustive genealogy Hunting Tour.
(1968) lists the autobiography of has been done on many of the old Smith was a prolific writer of let-
Harry Worcester Smith in transcript, families prominent in the hunting ters, copies of which he kept and
now the possession of the National world of Virginia's Loudoun, replies to which he retained. They
Sporting Library. Having been much Fauquier and Clarke Counties. range from polite little notes from his
intrigued by what little I know of the By way of chronology, the papers many young female admirers for
enfant terrible of foxhunting, I called run the time gamut. They range from some gracious compliment or favor,
the Library and asked to see the doc- 1814, the date of a study and report to terse and impatient letters from
ument. To shorten the narrative, I by the East India Company. The the Earl of Lonsdale. Smith solicited
came, I looked and am still looking. report covers the question of advice from Lonsdale on the duties
Originally I learned the docu- improving the breed of cavalry Continued on page 6
The NSL Newsletter, Spring 2001 -3 -
Bronze Fox the stable boy," said Cormack. "He John Constable (1776-1837) and
Continued from page 2 looked back to what was said in the many more.
18th century, 'The intentions of Several other noted guest speak-
Reeves, Sam Savitt and Else
painting was to cheer the mind, to ers have lectured at the NSL in
Tuckerman. The AAEA was mod-
display your pleasures, to survey recent months, covering a variety of
eled after the Royal Academy of
your ancestry and to view the beau- sporting subjects that reflect the
England to teach young artists, share
ties of nature."' books and art within the Library's
creative ideas and organize exhibits.
Mellon's love of England came walls.
Eve has embraced the call to
from his annual visits with his In March, Denny Emerson spoke
action to preserve Virginia's hunt
mother, Nora Mary McMullen, and on "Riding Cross Country and
country. As president of the
his college years spent at Cambridge Finding the Right Horse." Emerson
Piedmont Environmental Council,
after studying English literature at is a top-level combined training
she has been a driving force behind
Yale. coach and monthly columnist for
halting the urban sprawl creeping "While at Cambridge, Mellon The Chronicle of the Horse. He is a for-
toward her beloved rolling fields
became the galloping connoisseur, mer vice president of the USET and
and woodland.
which was his term," noted twice president of the U.S.
On your next visit to the Library,
Cormack. "He said, 'There I hunted Combined Training Association.
don't be startled by the fox on the
with the Fitzwilliam, the Quorn, the In his lecture to a standing-room-
front wall. He is a welcome presence
Belvoir and the Pytchley. And I rode only crowd, he spoke candidly
to greet our members and guests.
regularly in the off season, and I about his education as a rider.
rowed the college boat. There I Through his trials, tribulations and
drank freely of [England's] scenery, reading everything he could find on
Recent NSL Lectures history, sport and beer. I rode con- horsemanship, he has formed a flex-
Continued from page 1 stantly, I rowed intermittently and I ible but sound philosophy on safe
read a little.' His degree at and sensible riding.
the cause of a great outcry in Cambridge remains classified." Soon after their victory in the
England." Cormack shared many fascinating 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia,
Before Paul Mellon's service in details about each painting in his the NSL hosted "Conversations with
World. War II, he purchased a few slide presentation-either why Champions," with Gold medalist
paintings but did not begin serious Mellon acquired it, characteristics of David O'Connor and team Bronze
collecting until 1959. Eventually, he the painter's style or other intriguing medalists Karen O'Connor and Nina
acquired the famous "Blue Boy," background to the piece. Fout. The trio talked about their
adding it to his collection of world- An example is the painting "Dort experiences preparing for and riding
class fine art and sporting art. or Dordrecht: The Dort Packet-Boat in the Three-Day Event, competing
Mellon developed an apprecia- from Rotterdam Becalmed" by against the toughest international
tion for art through his father's col- J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). In the sce- riders in the sport. David brought
lection in their Pittsburgh home, nic painting, a large ship sits slides taken at the event and follow-
brightening things for Paul and his becalmed on the Thames River out- ing the lecture, all three answered
sister Ailsa. side London. Local residents are questions from the audience.
"The halls were dark, the walls rowing a small boat to the ship for In October, international course
were dark and outside, Pittsburgh the purpose of selling fresh water to designer Richard Jeffreys described
itself was dark The pictures gave a the sailors aboard the motionless his career designing and decorating
very warm and friendly glow to the ship. But as Cormack points out, a show jumping courses. With his
young boy and girl growing up with young woman on the rowboat, out involvement in the Olympics at Los
some family difficulties," said of view of those on the ship, is dip- Angeles, Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta
Cormack. ping water right out of the Thames- and Sydney, he gave an enlightening
Mellon purchased the painting, a tricky bit of insight into 19th-cen- talk regarding the evolution of the
Pumpkin with a Stable Lad by George tury life in the painting that most complexity of show jumping
Stubbs (1724-1806) in 1939 because viewers would have missed. courses.
of the warmth and expression of Cormack delighted the group In November, George Mavroudis
quiet communication between the with details on other paintings in gave an excellent presentation on the
chestnut Thoroughbred and the boy. Mellon's collection by Edgar Degas people and wildlife of Kenya and
"I think he loved it because of the (1834-1917), Claude Monet (1840- other African backcountry. An excel-
relationship between the horse and 1926), Johann Zoffany (1733-1810), Continued on page 5
-4 - The NSL Newsletter, Spring 2001
New Art for Founders Room
1
Directors of The National
Sporting Library
Arthur W. Arundel
Magalen 0. Bryant
Donald Calder
James Cummins
John H. Daniels Turner Reuter (r) hangs the Ben Turner Reuter (r) hangs the NSL's
Edward P. Evans Marshall painting, "A Lady's Hunter Troyes beside the Ben Austrian painting
Diana J. Firestone and Her Black and Tan, and Pug Dog "From Old Virginia."
Helen K. Groves on an Estate."
J
George A. Horkan, Jr. acqueline Ohrstrom, wife of NSL
Jacqueline B. Mars Chairman George Ohrstrom, and
Christopher Ohrstrom F. Turner Reuter, Jr., an NSL board
George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. member, are responsible for bringing
F. Turner Reuter, Jr. new life to the Founders' Room.
B. Francis Saul, II Mrs. Ohrstrom is lending the
Library a Ben Marshall ("A Lady's
Joan Irvine Smith
Hunter and Her Black and Tan, and
Robert H. Smith
Pug Dog on an Estate" dated 1799) to
William C. Steinkraus
go over the fireplace. She also is lend-
John von Stade
ing a Ben Austrian ("From Old "Huntsman to Mr. Seabright's Hounds."
Kenneth Y. Tomlinson
Virginia" dated 1910). This splendid
Don W. Wilson
game scene will be flanked by two Reuter is lending the Library
Peter Winants
Edward Troyes from the Library's Richard Barrett Davis's "Huntsman
collection on a wall where Mrs. to Mr. Sebright' s Hounds, on Pilot,
Stephen (Kats) Clark's Femeley often 1835." Reuter recently hung the new
THE NATIONAL SPORTING
dwells. paintings in the Founders' Room.
LIBRARY NEWSLETTER
(ISSN 1068-2007)
Number 62, Spring 2001
Published quarterly by the Recent NSL Lectures Dubai
Continued from page 4
National Sporting Library
Race Day
102 The Plains Road
lent photographer who owns an
Post Office Box 1335
East African safari company, Some 30 members of the
Middleburg, VA 20118-1335
Mavroudis shared many superb Chairman's Council gathered
Telephone [phone] slides along with many interesting in the Founders' Room in
http:/ /www.nsl.org anecdotes from his excursions. · . March to watch a live satellite
Lisa Campbell, Editor December's speaker was noted feed of the Dubai World Cup.
Kenneth Tomlinson, President British author Robin Page who Captain Steve, owned by Mike
Robert Weber, Librarian described the tragic state of foxhunt- Pegram and trained by Bob
Elizabeth Manierre, ing in England. Page spoke passion- Baffert, defeated To the
Exhibits Curator ately on why hunting is natural and Victory (by Sunday Silence) in
Walta Warren, necessary to societ)r. Afterwards, he the world's richest race which
Assistant to the Director signed copies of his new book, The carried a $6 million p.urse.
Peter Winants, Director Emeritus Hunting Gene.
The NSL Newsletter, Spring 2001 -5 -
Harry Worcester Smith Papers ... ing, breeding fox terriers and shoot- Masters of Foxhounds Association.
Continued from page 3 ing woodcock. Mayhap, after the sorting is done,
Smith's own writings and the some intrepid soul will stray into the
and privileges of an MFH, all this to material he saved are so varied. It is thicket and hopefully tum out a bet-
bolster his view in an ongoing argu- fair to say that if field sports were ter memorial to Harry Worcester
ment with one of the local hunts. involved in anyway, he either took Smith than now exists.
Of more than casual interest is his pen in hand or picked up scissors.
exchange of letters with Walter There is much material for a
Shaw Sparrow, the famous British never-written book on the recog-
William Haggin
sporting art authority, together with nized hunts of Virginia. The file con-
that of Eugene Connett of the tains a study of practically all the Perry Collection
Derrydale Press during the time of hunts in existence during his time
its demise in 1942. Another piece of and some long gone, like the Donated to NSL
revealing correspondence is the half Cobbler, the Belvoir and the Rock
dozen or so abrupt notes dashed off Hill. Most contain some fascinating
N
to people of long acquaintance with anecdote, such as Errol Flynn icole Perry Gorman of
whom he had been embroiled in one appearing in the Piedmont hunt Upperville has donated her late
of his famous disputes, signifying field in a gray wide-brimmed soft husband's exceptional collection of
that the friendship was at an end. felt hat, and the Old Dominion's sporting books to the National
He used an enterprising device to carted stag of bye-days. Sporting Library.
gather information about some of In the 1930s, very few foxes lived "This donation represents an
the old properties over which he in Virginia and native deer had been important addition to the library's
hunted in Virginia, and about some hunted out. Old Dominion imported collection," said NSL Librarian Rob
of the horses which were famous in six red deer from England and kept Weber.
the territory. He sent off a question- them at the kennel. One deer would Included in the donation is Notes
naire, either a post card or letter, be released and given a head start. of the Thoroughbred from Kentucky
seeking to know such details as The hounds were released for a fast Newspapers (1927) by John L.
acreage, value, date acquired, previ- and exciting chase until the deer was O'Connor--one of only seven copies
ous owners and other concerns. I bayed. A cart pulled by mules would known to exist. The book chronicles
imagine some of his correspondents then be brought in to return the deer thoroughbred racing in Kentucky
thought him completely imperti- to the kennel. between 1787 and 1833.
nent, but most of them replied with Smith's own system of hunting Washington rare-book appraiser
the information requested. hounds is set forth without much Richard Hooper says the condition
There are hundreds of newspaper ambiguity. He favored a small pack of the donated volumes is particu-
clippings and excerpted magazine - seven or eight couple, all anybody larly noteworthy. For example,
articles, including the interesting needs in thick country. Portraits of Celebrated Racehorses of the
obituaries of Westmoreland Davis Of course, his hounds were so Past and Present Centuries (1887) by
and Alan Potts. Davis was a former well mannered that at a lawn meet Thomas Henry Taunton is beauti-
governor of Virginia, proprietor of they could be put on the porch with fully bound in half-morocco and
Morven Park and MFH of Loudoun a wave of the hand. He advocated cloth with raised band and gilt sport-
Hunt, who invited Smith to take the hunting from early in the morning ing devices.
Loudoun Hunt country in 1908. for as long as there was any day- The late William Haggin Perry
Alan Potts served as clerk of the light, and frequently he wasn't too was an accomplished Thoroughbred
Great Hound Match in 1905. particular about that. He alluded to breeder and racing leader known for
Three splendid articles I came the hazard of jumping five-barred his long association with Claiborne
upon were by Dr. Howard Collins, gates when the moon wasn't terribly Farm in Kentucky. Together they
MFH of Millbrook Hunt (N.Y.), on bright. bred such great horses as Coastal,
standards for the judging of All of the above could be ampli- Gamely and Lure. Perry was MFH of
American hounds in an old copy of fied well beyond the scope of this the Keswick Hunt from 1938to1949
The Chronicle. Another piece was by preview. There is a lot left in a lot of and also involved with show
S. L. Wooldridge, publisher of The boxes and many gaps to be closed - hunters.
Chase, on the development of the i.e., no Edward Troye material has
foxhound in Kentucky. I came upon been unearthed nor anything on
material on greyhounds and cours- Smith's initiative in founding the
-6 - The NSL Newsletter, Spring 2001
BOOK REVIEW George Hottel,
NSL's Volunteer
Nymphs and The Trout, New applications of a
of the Year
technique for fly fishermen.
Frank Sawyer. Stanley Paul & the pheasant tail fibers," Sawyer
Company, Ltd., London, 1958. writes, adding, "The artificial has a
First edition. Illus. Index. 175 pp. very good entry to the water and
will sink deeply when required,"
In 1958, the dryfly-nymph debate
was still much in evidence, with
many rivers limited to dryfly only.
The debate is well represented in the
NSL' s collection including G. E. M.
Skue's Minor Tactics of the Chalk George Hottel (l) is congratulated by
Stream (1914) and first editions of George Ohrstrom, Jr.
Frederick M. Halford' s Dry Fly G
With the publication of his Fishing in Theory and Practice (1889) eorge Hottle!, a retired execu-
book, Nymphs and the Trout, and The Dry Fly Man's Handbook tive, has been named the
Frank Sawyer explains how to tie National Sporting Library's 2000
(1913).
and fish his nymphs. His study of Volunteer of the Year.
Sawyer's water was opened to
the nymphs in the English river he ;/He has made enormous contri··
upstream nymphing in 1928.
managed, Avon-above-Salisbury, led butions to this library," director Ken
Upstream nymphing is casting to
him to create a lightly dressed, Tomlinson said in a ceremony hon-
sighted fish. The angler becomes a
quick-sinking fly that could be cast oring Hottle. "People wonder how
hunter-looking, observing, spot-
accurately to sighted trout. we can run such a large Library with
ting fish. A precise cast is made
Nymphs, of course, are the juve- so few employees? We couldn't-
upstream, above the trout. All ey~s
nile stage of the mayfly which live without people like George Hottel."
then focus on the fish. If you see his
under rocks in many streams. Chairman George L. Ohrstrom Jr.
mouth open and close, strike. "With
This first edition with sixteen pic- joined the staff at the ceremony.
a nymph the most important thing is
tures came from celebrated Hottel spent most of his career as
to concentrate on the fish, to watch
American Catskill fly-tyer Harry an industrial executive in New
its head and more especially the
Darby's library, with at times "criti- p.qgland before .r etiring to Florida.
mouth," Sawyer writes in the·
cal".· penciled notes in the margins. "Casting and Striking" chapter. But he and his wife, Gloria, wanted
Sawyer died in 1980; Darby died in In his chapter, "The Questions of to be near their children who live in
1983. Ethics," Sawyer· articulates and the Washu;_gton area, and they set-
Nymphs and the Trout would be tled in Middleburg.
defends his own code for the use of
revised and published in a second He currently is working on the
the nymph: "An artificial nymph
edition in 1970, and this same edi- can be used with deadly effect archives of the National Beagle
tion was published in America in Club. His most spectacular find to
throughout the trout season, but I
1973. This was Sawyer's second date is a Washington Post clip fea-
think it is only during the months of
book. turing General William (Billy)
July and August that it can give the
Sawyer's most famous fly, the Mitchell and General George Patton
fisherman the highest degree of
pheasant tail nymph, defines .his sport, and the knowledge that he is at the 1929 Upperville Colt and
unique contribution to nymph fish- Horse Show. Hottel also worked on
accomplishing something beyond
ing. By using fine copper wire, in the Duplicate Book Sale in 1999 and
the powers of the ordinary wet or
lieu of tying thread or silk, and four 2000.
dry-fly enthusiast."
pheasant tail fingers for the body, he "The National Sporting Library is
During these two months the
created a streamlined, quick-sink- such a magnificent place to volun-
water is at its clearest, mayfly
ing, generic fly. teer," says Hottel. "I suspect we will
hatches have subsided and the "wild
"When wet this pattern has a have even more volunteers when
trout of the river are really wild."
translucent effect, and one can see people get a sense of how gratifying
-Douglas Lees
the red of the wire showing through is this work"
The NSL Newsletter, Spring 2001 -7 -
The Chairman's Council
These friends of the National Sporting Library have taken a leadership role in their support of the
Library by joining the Chairman's Council:
Mr. and Mrs. William Abel-Smith Bill H. Gunn Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rathbun
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Arundel Mrs. Virginia Gunnell Dr. and Mrs. F. Turner Reuter
John L. Ayers Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Hardaway, III Mr. and Mrs. F. Turner Reuter, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. William Backer James L. Hatcher, Jr. David and Catherine Rochester
Thomas M. Beach Hon. Amo Houghton, Jr. B. Francis Saul, II
Mr. and Mrs. Zohar Ben-Dov Mrs. Ingrid M. Hinckley Mildred Fletcher Slater
Magalen 0. Bryant Mr. and Mrs. George A. Horkan, Jr. Gordon G. Smith
Elizabeth Busch Burke Sam Huff Robert H. Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Calder Mr. and Mrs. Manuel H. Johnson William Steinkraus
Mr. and Mrs. Rodion Cantacuzene Dr. and Mrs. Edward B. MacMahon Mead Stone
Mr. and Mrs. Finn M. W. Caspersen Peter Manigault George Strawbridge, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Cheatham, III Jacqueline B. Mars Mr. and Mrs. Phillip S. Thomas
Jane Forbes Clark Joel McCleary Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Y. Tomlinson
Mr. and Mrs. W. Carey Crane, III Mrs. Paul Mellon John von Stade
Paul D. Cronin Mrs. James P. Mills Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Warren
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Daniels Col. and Mrs. Robert W. Newton Mrs. Margaret R. White
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory M. Dubenitz Barnaby A. Ohrstrom Mr. and Mrs. S. Bonsal White
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Duke Christopher Ohrstrom Hon. and Mrs. Charles S. Whitehouse
Edward P. Evans Mr. and Mrs. Clarke Ohrstrom Mrs. James Wiley
Mr. and Mrs. Bertram Firestone G. F. Ohrstrom Dr. and Mrs. Don W. Wilson
Mr. and Mrs. Paul R. Fout Jacqueline Ohrsh·om Mr. and Mrs. Stephen M. Wolf
John H. Fritz Mrs. Ricard Ohrstom Mr. and Mrs. Michael Zakroff
Helen K. Groves Lorian Peralta-Ramos John R. Zugschwert
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Guarrielo Frederick H. Prince
LIBRARY HOURS
Monday: 1:00-4:00 p.m. Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 a.m. -4:00 p.m. Week:end.s by appointment
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MIDDLEBURG VA
THE NATIONAL SPORTING LIBRARY
102 The Plains Road
Post Office Box 1335
Middleburg, Virginia 20118-1335
Address Correction Requested
The NSL Newsletter, Spring 2001 -8 -