Product Details
FORMERLY THE PROPERTY OF JOHN KINGSLEY-HEATH
A SMALL COLLECTION OF ITEMS RELATED TO JAMES LIPPITT CLARK AND RUSSELL B. AITKEN,
The first a miniature bronze Cape buffalo skull and horns by James Lippitt Clark (1883-1957), measuring 5 3/4in. at the widest point horn to horn and standing 1 7/8in. in height, the underside of the left horn signed 'J.L. CLARK', previously sold at Christies as Lot 141 in their single owner 'THE RUSSELL B. AITKEN COLLECTION OF SCULPTURE AND WILDLIFE', 3rd April 2003, the provenance listing the sculpture as having been acquired by Aitken directly from the artist
The second a signed first edition of 'TRIALS OF THE HUNTED' BY J.L. CLARK, with forty-seven plates, Chatto & Windus, 97 & 99 St. Martin's Lane, London, 1929, the first fly leaf with a gummed note with the seal of His Highness the Raja of Sangli S.M.C., with a dedication 'Col. R.F Macnabb from 'Cabatwardham' dated 1933, the second flyleaf with a personal dedication dated Oct.23-1951, reading 'To my very good friend "Russ" with much esteem and regards. From James L Clark'
The third a first edition copy of 'Great Game Animals of the World' by Russell Barnett Aitken, F.R.G.S., Barrie & Rockliffe The Cresset Press, 1969', with a Christmas card from Irene and Russell Aitken to Mr Kingsley-Heath
Provenance: James Lippitt Clark, b. Nov. 18 1883, d. Mar 16 1969 was an adventurer, explorer and hunter with a close association to New York's American Museum of Natural History. Throughout his career, wildlife art and sculpture featured heavily in his life and he was an integral part of the new generation of taxidermists, utilising life size clay models over which the skins were applied (previously sewn up animal skins were simply stuffed with rags). Theodore Roosevelt was one of his most laudatory clients, in one letter citing an example of his work as being one of 'the best mounted heads I have ever seen'.
Russell B. Aitken, b. Jan. 20 1910, d. 2002) was an artist, hunter and adventure writer.
He served as Major in the U.S.A.A.F. during the Second World War and was stationed for the most part at Luke Field, Arizona and then Yuma Army Airfield as a gunnery specialist. He personally trained over 32,000 pilots and gunners in the area of marksmanship and was also a member of the Army Air Force skeet team where for a time, he held the world record of 742 straight rounds. In 1949 he was "High Gun" meaning he was the best skeet shooter in the United States. He was a regular on the Live Pigeon circuit, winning numerous prestigious titles. He was a keen hunter, travelling five continents in pursuit of game, with a number of record trophies featuring in Rowland Ward's records. An avid conservationist, he was an early and generous benefactor of the World Wildlife Fund and also The National Audobon Society (one of the oldest conservation organizations in the world).
A celebrated ceramic sculptor and enamellist, he had his own studio in Cleveland before moving to New York, known to collectors and dealers alike and his work can be found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His mural for the 1939 World's Fair was the largest decorative mural ever fired in vitreous enamel and now resides at the Metropolitan Museum.
Having also studied for a degree in journalism, between 1948 and 1952 he was an associate editor of Field & Stream, personally contributing over 300 articles to it and other publications.
John Kingsley-Heath was one of the last great professional white hunters to have enjoyed the fruits of Africa while much of that continent was still uncharted. He led a remarkably colourful life, seemingly undiluted by the tedious minutiae of day-to-day living, and had been, in his own words, "shot-up, blown-up and eaten-up" in turn by various adversaries, human and otherwise.
John was born 1926 in Palestine to Col. A.J. Kingsley-Heath O.B.E. a former Commissioner of Police and Attorney-General of Kenya. He was schooled in England, firstly at Monkton Coombe near Bath. With his schooling finished, he sat and passed the Regular Commission board and joined the Welsh Guards aged eighteen. He saw active service in two theatres of the war, namely France (where he was "shot-up") and Palestine (where he was "blown-up" by a landmine) and had attained the rank of Captain by the end of hostilities.
He came home but remained a serving officer when he went up to Trinity College where he read History and Law. Always a keen sportsman, he was a Hockey Blue for the University and was later capped for England. He also loved his rugby and turned out for Blackheath regularly.
It was after he came down from Cambridge that his adventures in Africa began. He was seconded to the Colonial Service with the rank of Major, first in Tanzania and then with the East African High Commission in Kenya. He travelled widely through these and neighbouring countries which only served to further whet his appetite for adventure. This appetite, coupled with his knowledge of firearms and local languages set the path for the next three decades; that of an expert outfitter, conservationist and professional hunter.
It was fortunate that John's talents were so well honed to the demands of Africa. The post-war decades were a difficult time for Great Britain as she divested herself of many colonial obligations, both from pressure and design. John struck-up a firm friendship with Syd Downey and in 1956 he became a director and shareholder of Ker & Downey, in the company of Syd Downey, Donald Ker, Jack Block and Eric Rundgren. He was responsible for opening the company's offices in Tanzania and made a formal survey of the wildlife potentials of Bechuanaland and Mozambique. In tandem to this, in the early 1950s, he also farmed in partnership with 2,000 acres on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro where he reared beef cattle and grew wheat.
In 1964 tourist and farming enterprises were nationalised in Tanzania and John joined forces with Lionel Palmer at Safari South Pty. Ltd. in Botswana. Safari South quickly became the largest company of its type in Southern Africa and played a major role in the development of tourism. John was appointed both an Hon. National Park Warden and Game Warden in several countries. With such a vast area to oversee, John's abilities as a pilot were terribly important and he flew over 5,000 hours, often solo and over uncharted bush with little likelihood of assistance if he'd had to set down in an emergency.
His reputation as a safari consultant and P.H. was beyond reproach and he accompanied many well-known people over five decades. In addition he acted as a consultant and was responsible for wildlife management on the films 'Hatari' starring John Wayne, and 'Sammy Going South' with Edward G. Robinson. John put his knowledge, thoughts and experiences into writing and published 'Hunting the Dangerous Game of Africa' in 1998. The entire production run sold very quickly and the book now commands high prices on the specialist book market.
John and Sue Kingsley-Heath decided to leave Africa in 1978 to educate their three boys in England. John turned his efforts back to farming and he played a major role in bringing the Texel breed of sheep into this country to bolster and improve the national flock. With the support of H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, he also formed a Cornish Lamb Consortium that fought fiercely against the price-fixing and domination of the supermarkets.
With one foot still firmly in Africa, he was asked to return in 1992 and was appointed Chief Park Warden of the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, and later the Assistant Director of National Parks. These were the icing on the cake for a man who was hugely respected as a conservationist, professional hunter and bon viveur of note. His store of gripping tales kept his friends enthralled and these quite often featured John K-H as the subject, either being mauled by a lion ("eaten up") or picked up and thrown with huge force by an elephant. The very real danger often came from other humans though, and John had several scrapes with horribly corrupt officials who sought only to abuse their positions. Even as an octogenarian, John continued to host photographic safaris, usually in the company of his wife Sue and sons Hugh and Nigel.
Other Notes: Lt.-Col Rawdon James Macnabb, b. 7th Feb 1883, d. 21 March 1935, educated at Eton and Sandhurst, served in France and Palestine during the First World War and subsequently gained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Central India Horse. He was political agent to Jodhpur and Udaipur and Agent to the Governor General of Central India between 1933 and 1935
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Estimate £600-800