Ian Mason, who sadly died early in 2007, commanded a unique position and reputation in the global livestock world, and was well-known as the author of 'The World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds'. The Dictionary has been expanded by Lawrence Alderson and other authors into 'The World Encyclopaedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding' published in 2016 by CABI.


Books by Lawrence Alderson include:                                                   

BREEDING THE BEST: White Park Cattle 
Published by KDP (Amazon) 2019 
Chapters on: Domestication and Early Civilisation
                                Ireland and Wales
                                1200 - 1900 AD
                                Modern Times: 1900-1950
                                Modern Times: 1950 to present
                                Famous Bulls and Cows
                                Exports
                                Derived Breeds and Related Breeds
                                Breeding Policies
                                Conformation and Type
                                Linear Assessment
                                Qualities
                                Management
                                Publicity and Promotion
                                The Future

'Breeding the Best' is the authoritative history of the breed, and deals comprehensively with topics as varied as cultural significance, linebreeding, founder effect, chromosomal aberrations, conformation, colour, performance testing and BLUP.  The foreword by The Lord Barber of Tewkesbury states that the "the author's minutely detailed knowledge of cattle throughout the ages, together with his lifelong experience of domestic breeds of livestock, have been combined with scholarship and a gift for stitching a mass of information into a compelling narrative form. The result is a landmark in the treatment of the history and current circumstances of a single breed."

WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA of LIVESTOCK BREEDS and BREEDING                  Written with co-authors and published by CABI in 2016, this is a major international work which expands and is based on Ian Mason's 'A World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds'. It includes detailed history and characteristic of breeds of major domesticated species, with briefer coverage of minor species. There also is a significant section on genetics, breeding and conservation.                                        

A NEW HORIZON IN SHEEP BREEDING
Currently out of print. A revised edition is in preparation and will be available on-line.
It describes the creation, development and qualities of the British Milksheep, also known as Alderbred, which set new standards of performance for British sheep and has been exported to several countries.

THE CHANCE TO SURVIVE (3rd edition)
Published by Pilkington Press, 1994
The first and standard work on the conservation of endangered breeds of livestock

RARE BREEDS
Published in UK by Laurence King Publishing and in USA by Bullfinch Press, 1994
A photographic celebration of the traditional farm animals of Europe (photographs by Robert Dowling)                                                                                               

ANARCHY or ESTABLISHMENT (biography of Lawrence Alderson)                       A detailed assessment of the life and work of Lawrence Alderson by Henry Thwaites.      Published by Hayloft Publishing in 2019 

Other titles include:
Genetic Conservation of Domestic Livestock (Vol 1 and 2) - see below under second-hand books
Conservation Genetics of Endangered Horse Breeds - see below under second-hand books
The Adaptation of British Breeds of Livestock to Different Environments 
Rare Breeds (Shire series) - see below under second-hand books
Observers Book of Farm Animals - see below under second-hand books
Shetland Breeds - see below under second-hand books

The library also contains:
Reference books                                                                                                                                                 
Volumes of considerable antiquity and historical value include works by Culley (1807), Cobbett (1823), Youatt (1881 horses, 1847 pigs, 1837 sheep, 1834 cattle), Wallace (1889), Sinclair (1886) and Pegler (goats). More recent references include Elwes (1913), Trow-Smith (1959) and Davidson (1948), plus many works on horseracing both on the flat and over fences.                                     

Encyclopaedia of Agriculture (3 vols) (ed Green & Young) 1908  1908                

Racing Calendar (1930, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939)                                                

General Stud Book (1933; Vol. XXVII)                                                          

Bloodstock Breeders' Review (1939, 1946, 1966)                                              

Arabian Horses in Poland in their genealogical charts (Rozwadowski) 1972

Old stud / herd / flock books                                                                                                                                                       
The collection includes first volumes (marked ^) for several breeds:
Horses: Thoroughbred (see above), Arab (see above), Suffolk ^, Cleveland Bay and Caspian ^ 
Sheep: Australian Merino ^, Swaledale ^, Bluefaced Leicester ^, Border Leicester ^, Improved Leicester ^, Devon Longwool ^, Exmoor Horn ^, Herdwick ^ and Wiltshire Horn ^ 
Goats: British Angora ^ 
Cattle: Hereford, Shetland ^, Red Poll, Sussex, White Park ^, Gloucester and Murray Grey (UK) ^ 
Pigs: Oxford Sandy & Black ^

Other second-hand books                                                                                               
Second-hand books are held from time to time, either single copies or very small numbers. Currently in stock are copies of: 
Genetic Conservation of Domestic Livestock (Vol 1) (ed L Alderson), 1990
Genetic Conservation of Domestic Livestock (Vol 2) (ed L Alderson & I Bodo), 1992                                                                                                                                                                         
Rare Breeds (4th edition Shire series) (L Alderson), 2001                                                          
The Observer's Book of Farm Animals (L Alderson) 1976
Conservation genetics of endangered horse breeds (ed I Bodo et al), 2005
The Old Pig (Martin Wiscombe), 1996                                                            
Shetland Breeds (ed N Kohlberg & P Kopper), 2003