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Coursing: The Pursuit of Game with Gazehounds. Richard Grant-Rennick (ed.). Saul, Gloucestershire. Standfast Press (Standfast Sporting Library), n.d. [1976].

The late Clifford (“Doggie”) Hubbard, was known, on occasion, to use the term “sumptuous” to describe books of exquisite beauty. We would be hard pressed today to find books deserving of such praise: glossy colour pages simply cannot compete with leather bindings, vellum-covered plates and gilt edging. A few books come close, though. Coursing: The Pursuit of Game with Gazehounds is one such gem. It is a book of rare quality and beauty and, equally important, it is a fine reference volume.

A quick glance at breed registrations will indicate that the sighthounds are, for whatever reasons, not popular with the general public. They are not up there in popularity with the Golden and Labrador Retrievers, but for their fanciers, there is an undeniable aristocratic beauty found only among the fleet-footed hounds. Coursing captures that beauty, as well as the history, art and folklore of these remarkable breeds.

Breed authorities

Nearly three-dozen writers, four artists and a photographer contributed to this magnificent work. Among the writers are several well-known names, including H. Edwards Clarke, who wrote a number of articles, and the aforementioned Clifford Hubbard, who contributed a bibliography of relevant literature. With approximately 40 chapters and 10 appendices in just over 300 pages, one cannot expect a tremendous amount of detail, but Coursing delivers a great deal. This is a celebration of the sighthounds, and fanciers of the individual breeds can always refer to their breed literature for specific information.

History of coursing

Roughly the first half of the book is devoted to the history of coursing, training, judging, bookmaking and betting, and first aid for the coursing hound. The significance of the Waterloo Cup is duly noted with a chapter written by Clarke. Reflective of the times, perhaps, there’s a chapter about ‘Coursing as a Field Sport Under Attack.’ For those who support coursing, the arguments are sound; for those who do not, the illustrations will not persuade them otherwise.

Breed chapters

Individual chapters about coursing in Ireland, Portugal and America precede the individual breed chapters which are, to this reader, the real textual treat. There is, perhaps, an imbalance in the treatment of the breeds. Salukis get three chapters, including ‘Saluki Coursing Club,’ ‘Hare Coursing With Salukis’ and ‘The Saluki of the Desert.’ Most of the other breeds, including the Scottish Deerhound, Irish Wolfhound, Afghan Hound, Pharaoh Hound and Ibizan Hound get one. The Borzoi gets two. I was pleased to see that the lurcher, probably the U.K.’s most popular sighthound, was included, albeit receiving a single chapter. That chapter, though, is substantial and informative. I had no idea, for example, that the Labrador Retriever “is quite often used as a cross with the Greyhound” to produce a lurcher. I could never have imagined!

I was even more impressed to see the inclusion of the Sloughi. Much of the discussion of this rare breed focuses on its traditional use as a hunter, especially of jackal. For breed historians, it is interesting to note that Jacky Saunders, who wrote the Sloughi section, claims that it “is faster over a sandy surface than the English Greyhound and has far greater staying power.” Furthermore, “Some authorities believe that the English Greyhound was developed from the Sloughi.” Greyhound fanciers might question these assumptions.

Art and literature

The sighthounds have a deep and romantic history, much of which has been revealed in art and literature. It is fitting, then, that four chapters are devoted to the breeds as depicted by artists over the years. Gazehounds and coursing as depicted in paintings, sculpture, porcelain and Staffordshire pottery are all considered. The illustrations that accompany these sections are a joy in themselves.

The book concludes with Hubbard’s bibliography (as thorough as one would expect from “Doggie”), a list of contributors, and the 10 appendices. These address primarily coursing clubs and legislation pertaining to hunting with sighthounds.

A few quibbles

The criticisms of Coursing are few and minor (any sighthound book that includes the lurcher and Sloughi is hard to fault). One minor quibble, already noted, is the balance of coverage. The breeds don’t receive equal amounts of ink, but this is probably to be expected. Nonetheless, Deerhound and Wolfhound fanciers may be upset at the perceived short shrift.

Another minor complaint is the organization of the book. A curious absence among the breed chapters is the Greyhound, which is included in the first sections of the book that deal with racing, training, first aid and so on. There, the Greyhound is included with ‘Famous Greyhounds,’ and, by association, ‘The Waterloo Cup.’ One would have liked a general chapter with the others about the archetypal sighthound .

Likewise, the opening “chapter” (it is only one page), ‘A Whippet Story,’ is followed by ‘The Origins of Coursing.’ The Whippet story is supposed to, I assume, set the stage for what follows, but it would seem more appropriate to start at the beginning (i.e., ‘The Origins of Coursing’) and to add the lone Whippet page to the breeds section.

But much to praise

These criticisms are so minor, however, as to be almost insignificant. There is so much to praise about Coursing. Not the least of its many qualities are the abundant illustrations. Michael Lyne, Mary Browning, John Tickner and Leslie Benenson are the artists; James Shurmer is the photographer.

In both black and white and colour, the art work is outstanding. Each breed in its section receives a full-page, full-colour illustration reminiscent of the great dog art of yesteryear. In addition to these are the many black-and-white illustrations, the photographs throughout the text, and the colour illustrations of the breeds in art.

Authored by breed authorities, of substantial size, gorgeously illustrated, hardcover and in a dust wrapper… I would like to think that Doggie Hubbard would find Coursing “sumptuous.” As a bonus, it comes with its own built-in bookmark. Perfect.

Bryan Cummins is an anthropologist and owner of Bryan’s Books, one of the world’s largest antiquarian dog book businesses. He is also the author of over a dozen books in anthropology and cynology including The Terriers of Scotland and Ireland, First Nations, First Dogs and three Airedale-related books.

Originally published in the March 2007 issue of Dogs in Canada. Subscribe now and never miss an issue.