The theory and practice of archery

PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE LONDON
BY THE LATE HORACE FORD CHAMPION ARCHER OF ENGLAND FOR THE YEARS 1850 TO 1859 AND 1867
NEW EDITION THOROUGHLY REVISED AND RE-WRITTEN BY W. BUTT, M.A. FOR MANY YEARS HON. SECRETARY OF THE ROYAL TOXOPHILITE SOCIETY
LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 1887
All rights reserved
No excuse need be offered to archers for presenting to them a new edition of the late Mr. Horace A. Ford's work on the Theory and Practice of Archery. It first appeared as a series of articles in the columns of the 'Field,' which were republished in book form in 1856; a second edition was published in 1859, which has been long out of print, and no book on the subject has since appeared. Except, therefore, for a few copies of this book, which from time to time may be obtained from the secondhand booksellers, no guide is obtainable by which the young archer can learn the principles of his art. On hearing that it was in contemplation to reprint the second edition of Mr. Ford's book, it seemed to me a pity that this should be done without revision, and without bringing it up to the level of the knowledge of the present day. I therefore purchased the copyright of the work from Mr. Ford's representatives, and succeeded in inducing Mr. Butt, who was for many years the secretary of the Royal Toxophilite Society, to undertake the revision.
A difficulty occurred at the outset as to the form in which this revision should be carried out. If it had been possible, there would have been advantages in printing Mr. Ford's text untouched, and in giving Mr. Butt's comments in the form of notes. This course would, however, have involved printing much matter that has become entirely obsolete, and, moreover, not only would the bulk of the book have been increased to a greater extent even than has actually been found necessary, but also Mr. Butt's portion of the work, which contains the information of the latest date, and is therefore of highest practical value to young archers, would have been relegated to a secondary and somewhat inconvenient position. Mr. Butt has therefore rewritten the book, and it would hardly perhaps be giving him too much credit to describe the present work as a Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Archery by him, based on the work of the late Horace A. Ford.