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YES ! - A t l a s t ! ! !
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Be they Borzoi, Azawakh or Afghan,
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Sloughi or Saluki, Whippet or Galgo,
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Lurcher, Cirnecho dell Etna, Polish Chart,
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Pharoah Hound or Podenco,
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Deerhound, Greyhound, or Irish Wolfhound,
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Magyar, Agaror, Italian Greyhound -
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t h i s i s t h e i r b o o k !
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- and yours!!
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This is to tell you of the publication of an important collector's item
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and indispensible reference work:
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O U R L E V R I E R S
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THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
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OF ALL SIGHTHOUNDS
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by Xavier Przezdziecki
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- a legendary text first published in French in 1984 as "Le Destin des
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Levriers", and only now receiving its definitive English translation in a
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limited, numbered edition.
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All of the author's illustrations are reproduced - 18 in colour with 64
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specially commissioned line drawings and 38 black and white illustrations
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- and the format has been enlarged to a generous format of 8.5 by 11
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inches.
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This collector's item, running to 272 pages, is issued in soft covers in
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an edition strictly limited to 1,000 hand-numbered copies.
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We are inviting you to order your numbered copy - with the order form you
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can find by clicking here!!
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Tell us you're interested -
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send us a message now to
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sloughis.elevages@wanadoo.fr or levriers@aol.com
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and please, help spread the word... perhaps you would be so kind as to let
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other enthusiasts know of this publication...
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forward this page to your friends!
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ABOUT THE BOOK....
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Take this passage by Monty Roberts, who, having explained the appearance,
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disappearance and reappearance of the horse in North America, goes on to
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say:
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"The American mustang has become a diversified genetic entity: tough,
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highly intelligent, and blessed with physical attributes often superior to
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most of our domestic breeds. The Mustang's physiological make-up tends to
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help them overcome illness or injury; in this regard, the domestic horse
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pales in comparison."
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Xavier Przezdziecki traces the obscure origins of the Gazehound,
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Sighthound or Levrier from the Orient to Africa through all their many
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diversities and comes to very much the same conclusions.
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Unsurpassed since its first publication in French in 1984, rare enough to
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have justified a reprint last year, this fascinating, visionary and
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thorough treatment of the history, morphology, iconography - and destiny -
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of the Levrier has never till now been available to the English-speaking
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world.
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Commissioned by Mme. Agnès Rey, the widow of the author, this complete
new translation is the work of Cambridge alumnus, writer and broadcaster
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Jonathon Brown.
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In addition, Grian Wharton adds an introduction, placing the ideas and
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vision of Przezdziecki in the contemporary scene.
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Przezdziecki had a vision : that the Levrier is a breed apart :
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This is the account of that vision.
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Whatever your dog be, Sighthound or Gazehound, Greyhound or Whippet -
no one word will quite contain the scope of the vision of this book and the
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use of the generic word Levrier is designed to reflect that fact - or
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indeed if your interest is in a tale of exploration & investigation into
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history & zoology, you will love this book.
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It includes a complete list of Types and a blend of science and
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romanticism that is apt for its subject!
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A review of the French edition in the magazine Mammalia, edited by Museum
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in conjunction with the French National Centre for Scientific Research,
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gave this account of the original book:
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"Greyhounds are usually considered as a group of breeds of dog with some
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shared morphological characteristics that therefore mostly stem from the
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same origins. The author has the deep conviction that greyhounds are a
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species apart and endeavours to bring us round to his way of thinking.
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"He recounts their history with passion, a history that began some 9,000
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years ago. Neolithic artists featured greyhounds in their rock art in the
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mountain ranges of the Sahara. The different phases of the greyhound's
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history are those of our very own history.
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"There surely exists no more complete or better illustrated work
dedicated to the greyhound, an animal for which the author wishes,
and justly so, a special destiny."
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Sir Terence Clark, student of the desert-bred Saluki, has this to say:
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"The moment I started reading this book I knew it was written by a kindred
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spirit. On my return from years in the Middle East I too was struck by the
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gulf that had opened up between the true Salukis of the desert and those
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in the West. With this book Xavier Przezdziecki offers an erudite
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appraisal of the Saluki which deserves to reach the wider readership of
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the English-speaking world."
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Przezdziecki opens with the earliest known image of a Levrier, 9,000 years
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old ;and he closes with a French translation of the second century treatise
On Hunting with Hounds by the Roman historian and statesman Flavius
Arrian.
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Publishers Aris & Phillips have kindly given permission to reproduce the
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new translation by Malcolm Willcock of this classical text, the earliest
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document in the history of the animal.
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Please forward this message to anyone who may be interested...
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individuals, your local club or notice-boards.
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Thank You ! ! ! !
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Digest of the Table of Contents
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Part One
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History and the Levrier
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Archaeology and Prehistory
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Antiquity
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The Levrier in Pharaonic Times
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Ancient Greece
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The Roman Period
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The Levrier of Today
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Historical Research
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An Historical Account of Types
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An Historical Account of Breeds
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Part Two
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Cynology and the Levrier
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The Cynological Characteristics of the Levrier
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Research Into Origins
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Types
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Safeguarding the Levrier
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Maps, Bibliography etc
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Note: this is a privately funded edition and only a very restricted number
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of press copies has been put aside: please apply with full details to
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levriers@aol.com - thank you.
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