Lot 599: Rare 1931 TN Grasslands Steeplechase Book, Gallatin

GOURLAY, John: THE GRASSLANDS INTERNATIONAL STEEPLECHASE, A complete history of the First Grasslands International Steeplechase. Privately Printed, 1931. Unnumbered from an edition of 200, with list of subscribers. Contains 20 Crayon illustrations by Paul Brown. First Edition, Quarto, 32pp. Original leather wrappers with gilt title to cover. Most of the illustrations have color highlights accentuating the jockeys’ clothing, likely added by a previous owner. 12 in. H x 9 in. W. Note: An important record of horse racing in pre-WWII Tennessee. Grasslands was a mid-sized farm located near Gallatin, Tennessee, repurposed by a fox-hunting and steeplechase club in October of 1929. Beginning with this inaugural race in December of 1930, they hosted internationally renowned Steeplechase events until the Great Depression ended operations in 1931. In his book “Recognizing Derrydale Press Books”, Don Frazier notes the similarity between this book and others published by Derrydale Press, especially those illustrated by Paul Brown.

PROVENANCE: Private Middle Tennessee collection.

CONDITION: Losses and separations to covers; erased imprint of previous child owner’s writing (name Goulding Trousdale Jr.). Coloring to jockey’s clothing likely added by previous owner.