American Big Game in Its Haunts

Book excerpt: From its founding in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt and the eminent conservationist writer-editor-publisher George Bird Grinnell, the Boone and Crockett Club exemplified the intersection of aristocratic big-game sportsmanship (and active contempt for market hunting), scientific curiosity, and conservationist values which provided significant leadership and support to the conservation movement in this era. The Club published several volumes of writings before 1920; this one illustrates the Club's interest and involvement in conservation action through a typical range of articles on hunting, wildlife and wilderness preservation, and natural history by prominent members, including President Roosevelt himself, while the Club's Constitution and lists of members (present and deceased) specify its purpose and suggest its niche in the world of America's social and political elite.