The End of the Game by Peter Beard, First Edition

The End of the Game by Peter Beard

First Edition, First Printing, 1965

This is a first edition, first printing of Peter Beard’s highly acclaimed photobook  “The End of the Game” published by The Viking Press, New York in 1965. Focusing on the widespread destruction of the African elephant, Beard tells of the enterprisers, explorers, missionaries, and big-game hunters whose quests for progress and adventure were to change the face of Africa for ever. David Levi Strauss in “The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century” wrote, “In addition to being singularly beautiful, “The End of the Game” is thoughtful as well. Long taken s a seminal book on wildlife conservation, it is actually an epic visual poem on the subject of the loss, especially the ultimate loss of life…The book is philosophical about the rapid despoliation of East African wildlife, especially the elephants. “Death”, writes Beard in his introduction, “is the patiently awaited, unfeared fact of delicately poised African life.” On its publication in 1965, Beard's book was immediately acclaimed, with not one but two glowing reviews in The New York Times.

Featuring 75 black-and-white and color photographic plates along with numerous in-text illustrations and measuring approximately 11” x 9.5”, the book is bound in gray cloth covered boards with a photographically illustrated dust jacket. The condition of the book is Near Fine+ with a very slightly bowed front cover and some minute spotting to inside back cover. The plates are in incredible condition. There is no foxing and the images are exceptionally bright. The dust jacket is price clipped and Very Good+ with chips to the upper center edge of the front and back as well as some very minor edgewear. Overall, this is a highly collectible copy of a critically acclaimed photobook that you will not soon forget after reading.

Cited in both “The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century” and the “Open Book” by Andrew Roth.

Photographs of the front and rear of the dust jacket as well as photographs contained in the book appear below. Please note that although the photographs appear digitized as thumbnails, they are viewable in the photo viewer by running your mouse over the thumbnail. You can also click on the thumbnail to open a separate window where the picture is viewable.