Game Books

We offer three sizes of game book, two for normal useage and one very large ' Estate Book'.

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The first two books are made and bound in London by a leading Bookbinder with high quality leaves, gold blocked edges to the leaves and watermarked papers inside the front and back covers. I have decided to offer only the half bound leather versions in the best quality as the fully bound version is a lot more expensive and in my opinion not as attractive as the half bound and it is just as strong.

The pictures show the gold linings and half bound features which make for a very nice present in either the small ( 220mm X 160mm ) or the large ( 290mm X 220mm ) version.

The rulings and columns are different in small and large.

The SMALL half bound leather book, as I hope you can see from the photo, has few rulings and wider spacings to allow more scope for photos, drawings and also more space for writing.The remarks space is the complete right side of the two pages - so plenty of room for detail; each book has about 65 pages. This small game book is offered in half bound leather as described, but also in a dark green moc. croc. covering. This book is great value for money and apart from the end covers the gold edged paper, water marked end sheets, rulings etc are exactly the same as the small leather one. The LARGE leather half bound book has the traditional columns for date, place, 10 game columns,total, guns and a large 'comments on the day' . As it is laid out as a line for each days shooting and this book is much wider than the small book so there is plenty of room to record many days shooting -by my reckoning over 400 days.

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I suppose with its gold linings, quartered corners and size this book is the quintessential game book and a fantastic gift to the aspiring sportsman or as a continuation in a line of game books for those assiduous record keepers of many, many days in the field. Again we can offer this book with handsome dark green moc. croc.ends, it has exactly the same quality paper pages and rulings as the leather bound large book. It offers fantastic value at almost one third of the price.

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Last, but certainly not least is the very large Estate book designed by The present Duke of Northumberland for the Countryside Alliance. At 390mm X 310mm and 60mm thick, this is a work of art with magnificent drawings, paintings and vignettes by fourteen of the best living sporting artists.

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Each page has its own picture with themes as diverse as keepers being watched by poachers to pencil drawings of grey partridge chicks , fabulous in its quality of the pictures it has set into each picture a game book leaf with 18 columns for game and a lot of space for photos, drawings, comments and additional information.

This book is bound in leather and canvas ( there is a fully bound leather version ) and very well made; it will give enjoyment in many ways as its pictures are revisited and its contents expanded.If you would like one, please be quick as it is a limited to 600 copies and published in 2006.

We sell a very smart SHOTGUN PERMIT/FIREARMS CERTIFICATE wallet, it is made from very nice soft leather with a transparent perspex front .Very simple but good quality. Prices Small moc croc. game book: £32 plus Vat Small half bound leather game book £77 plus Vat Large moc. croc. game book £47 plus Vat Large half bound leather game book £130 plus Vat Large Estate book, leather half bound £595 including Vat Large Sporting Register, leather half bound £625 including Vat Country Alliance Large Game Book £395 including Vat Shotgun Permit Holder £15.50 plus Vat

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I have often been asked if I sell Stalking books and my answer was always no, as I didn't think one existed . But after three enquiries in two days I realised that there was a gap in the market and I had better get my thinking cap on. Far better than putting on my own thinking cap I contacted four stalking friends each of whom stalks the four main different species and as I knew they all were great recorders of their activities I asked for their ideas as to an interesting stalking book. After many days and hours of combining and rehashing their different ideas and layouts I could see a useful book / diary / journal taking shape but how would I publish it? The simple answer was a high quality, loose leaf, 6 ring landscape A4 Binder.

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So, after much deliberation the MODERN STALKING book was born and thinking I would have a ready sale I showed it to one of the previous enquirers who had prompted my first efforts. No, that wasn't what was required ! - an old fashioned " Lodge Book " was wanted. I asked what that entailed and the result is the TRADITIONAL STALKING book.

After having spent a lot of effort on my Stalking books and obtaining a sample of the new Ring Binder it was pretty obvious that this was a format that could be used to record all of our Field Sports and perhaps all in the same book!

It was some time and a huge number of rehashes, alterations and consultations with interested parties before my new GAME SHOOTING , GAME FISHING and PIGEON SHOOTING books were born. Each sport has completely different pages relating specifically to that sport with the common denominator being detail on the left page and names and comments on the right side.

In each book I have tried to keep the layouts simple but there is a theme running through all sections which is to record the information that will be of interest historically and that hopefully these facts will be a good informative read in years to come.

With different pages for all four sports and a common ring binder this allows for a new concept in Game Books - now you can keep all the different records in one book.

Each of the five sections has its own FRONT PAGE - this is a simple title page with four different pen and ink drawing to depict each sport. On the back of each front page there is a YEARLY TOTALS page with space for 10 years. There are columns for different species together with columns for running annual totals.

The DAILY RECORD pages form the bulk of each book or section and each of the four/five sections has its own dedicated pages; on the left side there are plenty of columns for detail and on the right the whole page for names, comments and an unnamed column for your own particular use, I use this column to note the disposal of game.

Each book/section is supplied with two pages of 300 gram light cardboard for PHOTOS and SKETCHES; if you use this page for photos then you can use the spacers provided - these are the thickness of most photos and prevent the book from getting out of shape. These pages and spacers are common to all sections.

The concept is one of mix and match - you purchase the ring binder ( With your Gold Blocked initials if you wish ) and then fill it with the Section or Sections of your choice. The paper I have used is 150 gram Soperton; this is a high quality, white, unfinished paper which I have chosen because it is great to write on with a fountain or ball point pen. The Daily Record page titles are printed in black with the lines in medium and faint blue; some vertical lines are in red to delineate between sections. The font is Garromond.

To ORDER your GAME BOOK you first choose the BINDER, then your SECTION PACK .

Stage 1. THE BINDER - size 35 x 23 cms - there is a choice of colour - ROYAL BLUE or FOREST GREEN - the covering material I have chosen is an excellent quality imitation crocodile. The Binder has a nice feel and it has nicely marbled end papers, it also takes the gold hot foil blocking well.

The binder comes with your choice of book title.

a. STALKING JOURNAL
b. GAME BOOK
c. FISHING BOOK
d. PIGEON DIARY

These titles are gold blocked ( type is 11mms high ) on the front cover.

Cost of the Binder - £45 plus vat.

As an addition to the front cover title, you may wish to have your initials or the name of a property also on the front cover, there is no restriction on the number of letters. There is a small charge for this - £15.

If you opt for your initials on the cover then you may also change the books title . You can title it as you wish, its your choice - perhaps SPORTING REGISTER, FISHING DIARY, STALKING RECORD, or a PROPERTY NAME or whatever your preference. The hot foil gold blocking will usually be done in 36point Engravers Roman ( 11 mms high ) and looks very smart - please see a sample in the photos. Smaller lettering is available.

Cost of Gold blocking Initials - £15 plus vat
Cost of Gold blocking a different book title - £15 plus vat

Stage 2. THE SECTION PACKS - this is the interesting part as you choose pages to suit your interests. If you are a Fisherman and not interested in anything else the you will only choose the Game Fishing pages, but if you are an all round Sportsman and enjoy all the Field Sports then all four sections may be your choice.

The Binder will take 60 pages comfortably and each of the section packs below have 15 pages - so all four different sections will fit in one book. If your interest is solely shooting you will want to choose the Game Shooting Pages ( 15 pages ) and probably three packs of extra pages ( 15 pages per pack ) - this will then make a complete game book of 60 pages. Or you may want to start with one pack of 15 pages and then purchase other sections at a later date.

SECTION PACKS
1. Modern Stalking
2. Traditional Stalking
3. Game Shooting
4. Game Fishing
5. Pigeon Shooting

Each section pack has one titled front page with a yearly total page on the reverse, 12 double sided daily record pages and two photo & sketch pages with their spacers making 15 sheets ( 30 sides ) in all.

Price of individual SECTION PACKS as above ( each containing 15 sheets ) - £20 plus vat.

THE SECTIONS.
I hope that the adjoining photos ( please enlarge ) will be clear enough to show the different page layouts and the names of the columns in each of the sections, but for the sake of completion I will list below the column headings for each page in each of the different section packs.

MODERN STALKING

FRONT PAGE: Titled "RIFLE" in large letters with underneath, a good pencil drawing of a Roebucks Head. The reverse side is the yearly totals page, species by species with a running total.

DAILY RECORD page LEFT side : Columns for Date, Property & Beat, Stalk or Seat, Wind, Weather, Time, Calibre, Bullet, Range, Red, Roe,4 blank species columns, Chest or Neck, Weight, Age, Trophy.

DAILY RECORD page RIGHT side : Stalker ( 1/4 ), Comments ( 1/2 ) and blank ( 1/4 ).

All these pages are double lined - that is a faint line separates the upper and lower prominent lines making two lines, there are 10 double spaced lines per page. This double spacing allows you two choices; if you want maximum space from your book then you use each line as a separate entry which will give 20 days per page or if you wish to add more detail to each days activity then use both the upper and lower lines giving 10 days per page.

The double lines on the YEARLY TOTAL page allows annual running totals to be made for each species as well as an overall running total. I know this sounds complicated but with each pack I enclose sample pages clearly filled out to show the options.

TRADITIONAL STALKING

This section shares the front title and its reverse with the Modern Stalking Section but the Daily Record Pages are quite different; also there is more space in the Daily Record left page columns and these are titled as below.

DAILY RECORD page Titles are Left page : Date, Shot by, Weight, Points, Age, Range, Where Shot and Beat.
DAILY RECORD page Right page: spaced 1/4 Stalkers name, 1/2 Comments and 1/4 blank.

GAME FISHING

Fishing front page, fishing yearly totals, fishing left page, fishing right page.

I believe this to be a new approach to a fishing record book as each line in the 12 x DAILY RECORD pages has space for a lot of detail and also for details of 6 fish caught of two species .

FRONT page has a title of "Rod" and a pencil drawing of a brown trout considering a dry fly; its reverse has species by species yearly total columns together with running totals.

The DAILY RECORD LEFT page columns : Date, Water & Beat, Weather & Conditions, Water Height, Species, 6 x individuals columns which are divided laterally into three lines to give space for lure, weight or length and whether caught or released. Within these 6 columns column 4 is dived into only two to allow for a different species on the same day, but it can be used as a sixth column for individual fish as required. Then we have 4 small daily total columns which can be titled as you wish - these are running total columns for different species.

The DAILY RECORD RIGHT page: has two simple columns - 1/4 for names of rods and 3/4 for comments. Again this is double lined to give plenty of writing space if required.
Again each pack contains a sample sheet filled in with examples.

GAME BOOK

This section resembles a normal game book but I have tweaked it to it to allow entries for a party as well as an individuals score during the same day. I have also added several blank columns for perhaps geese, snipe or doves etc.

FRONT PAGE - this is titled "Gun "and has a pen and ink sketch of a cock pheasant just about to fly over your right shoulder - my favourite shot! On the reverse there is a page for yearly totals species by species as well as blanks and a column for running totals.

The DAILY RECORD page, LEFT side have columns for: Date, Host & Property, Weather, Grouse, Pheasants,Grey Partridges, Red Leg Partridges, Woodcock, Pigeons, Mallard, Teal, five blank species columns, Number of guns, Shots fired and Party's Total. The double line layout works well here as it allows the top line to show the party's figures and the bottom line for the individuals own scores and these can then be totalled separately in the right hand column.

The DAILY RECORD page, RIGHT side has a simple layout of Guns ( 1/3 ) and comments ( 2/3 )

PIGEON SHOOTING

This is I think an innovation and one which I should have come up with 35 years ago, it would have saved all the endless pieces of paper and old diaries kept over 30 years of professional pigeon shooting. It is quite a simple affair but I think it will make a fascinating read in years to come.

FRONT PAGE - A good pen and ink drawing of a flaring pigeon with "PIGEON" above it. The reverse having spaces for 20 years worth of annual bag totals as well as accumulated totals.

DAILY RECORD page LEFT side - columns for Date , Farm, Crop, Wind, Weather, Decoy or Flight, Time of first shot and last shot, Corvids, Ferals, Woodies, Shots fired and Woodies running total.

DAILY RECORD page RIGHT side - Guns ( 1/4 ), Comments (5/8 ) Disposal ( 1/8 )

I hope that this is not too complicated, but if it is please phone for an explanation. In years to come I believe this book will provide a fascinating insight of the keeper and perhaps also to show the way to better sport in the future; so now go and sharpen the quill - thats if you dare own a penknife.