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Hunting >> Hunting in Africa & hunting dangerous game
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larcher
.416 member


Reged: 11/01/05
Posts: 2655
Loc: Saverne, Alsace, France
Who is James Mellon
      #51764 - 08/03/06 07:11 AM

Once again I am reading African hunter by James Mellon and a cohort of famous PHs.
Mr Mellon is not very talkative about himself. One learns he lived 5 years in Kenya and little more is offered to the reader's curiosity.
He looks like a fairly slim youngman, I admire his shooting big rifles with what looks like a lean frame, not exactly a big guy.
I salute his absolute (insane?) dedication and his undoubtable stamina.
Albeit all the fantastic games he shot, albeit many unusual experiences he is never caught redhanded badmouthing, what is admirable too.
I can with no risk of error guess that he is a wealthy man with plenty of free time, no offense or jealousy intended.

But who is (or was?) James Mellon?


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"I don't want to create an encyclopedic atmosphere here when we might be having a beer instead" P H Capstick in "Safari the last adventure."

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bonanza
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Reged: 17/05/04
Posts: 2335
Loc: South Carolina
Re: Who is James Mellon [Re: larcher]
      #51766 - 08/03/06 07:32 AM

When you think of the greatest international hunters of all time, one of the names that comes to mind is James Mellon II. Mellon was already an international hunter of renown in his teens, and in 1972, at the age of thirty, he became the youngest hunter ever to win the prestigious Weatherby Big Game Trophy. By that time, according to the Weatherby records, he had collected more than two hundred varieties of big game, including one hundred and thirty-five African animals-a feat unlikely ever to be eclipsed.

The Weatherby Big Game Trophy is considered the "Oscar" of the hunting world. Since its inception in 1956, only two people under the age of forty have won the award; the average age of the winner has been fifty-seven.

Mellon hunted almost nonstop from 1964 until 1976. He lived in Nairobi, Kenya, most of the time, coming home to the United States for only a few weeks each year. He is the only person in the history of big-game hunting to have collected the giant sable, walia ibex, and royal antelope. However, his collection of Asian animals is no less impressive; Mellon made New Delhi, India, his headquarters for several years while hunting the game of the Asian continent in places such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand, Afghanistan, and Cambodia.

Mellon no longer hunts extensively, but he is still a respected and influential figure in the big-game hunting world. His book African Hunter, published in 1975, stands as the single most important book on big-game hunting on the Dark Continent in the twentieth century.


--------------------


"Speak Precisely" G. Gordon Liddy.

"Life is absurd, chaotic and we must define its purpose with our actions" Abert Camus

"I''m the dude playing a dude disguised as another dude."

"Yo! Mr. White"

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bonanza
.400 member


Reged: 17/05/04
Posts: 2335
Loc: South Carolina
Re: Who is James Mellon [Re: larcher]
      #51767 - 08/03/06 07:36 AM

SA: Where are most of your trophies today?

JM: They're in Rock Hill, South Carolina, in a museum called the Nature Museum of York County.

Hey!!! This is only 5 miles from my house!


--------------------


"Speak Precisely" G. Gordon Liddy.

"Life is absurd, chaotic and we must define its purpose with our actions" Abert Camus

"I''m the dude playing a dude disguised as another dude."

"Yo! Mr. White"

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DPhillips
.375 member


Reged: 09/10/03
Posts: 819
Loc: Alaska
Re: Who is James Mellon [Re: larcher]
      #51772 - 08/03/06 08:29 AM

My understanding is that the younger Mellon did indeed come from a very wealthy and influential family (banking?). Some of the hunts and collections included in his "African Hunter" book were funded by Universities and Museums for their collections.

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larcher
.416 member


Reged: 11/01/05
Posts: 2655
Loc: Saverne, Alsace, France
Re: Who is James Mellon [Re: bonanza]
      #51913 - 10/03/06 03:48 AM

thanks Bonanza,

Your answer is almost comprehensive. I am pleased Mr Mellon is still alive for one doesn't hear from him. A discreet man after so many accomplishments.
I think that some photos of dioramas in his book are from this museum : ie the bongos or some little duikers?


--------------------
"I don't want to create an encyclopedic atmosphere here when we might be having a beer instead" P H Capstick in "Safari the last adventure."

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ForrestB
.224 member


Reged: 04/03/04
Posts: 7
Loc: Texas
Re: Who is James Mellon [Re: larcher]
      #52025 - 10/03/06 03:11 PM

Decendent of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh. Founders or financiers of: Mellon Bank, Gulf Oil Co., Alcoa, US Steel, Pittsburgh Coal. Huge philanthropists: Mellon Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, National Gallery of Art, various Mellon Libraries and Museums, National Parks, and scores of other causes.

James Mellon II was born with, literally, more money than he could ever spend and after college he packed it off to Kenya to hunt. He missed the whole hippie, free-love, psychodelic drug period of the 60's because he was on one long hunting trip.

What a life!

Good interview here:
Sports Afield interview with James Mellon II

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EricD
.416 member


Reged: 27/02/04
Posts: 4636
Re: Who is James Mellon [Re: ForrestB]
      #52047 - 10/03/06 08:10 PM

In reply to:

He missed the whole hippie, free-love, psychodelic drug period of the 60's because he was on one long hunting trip.



I think he made the right choice!

Erik

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