The Compleat Angler, or The Contemplative Man's Recreation

London: George Harrap & Co, 1931. First Thus. Very Good +. Original vellum with gilt to spine and front board. Top edge gilt. Scattered spotting to boards and toning to spine. Front hinge tender; small crack to upper rear joint but both holding well. Bookplate to front pastedown. Preliminaries toned and foxed, but textblock and illustrations largely clean and unmarked. Signed limited edition, this number 498 of 775.

Izaak Walton's The Compleate Angeler (1653) is perhaps the quintessential pastoral work on fishing: Structured as a dialogue between a fisherman, huntsman, and fowler, the book is a celebration of the natural world and the thrills of fishing as a pastime. Here the text is visualized with Arthur Rackham's unparalleled illustrations, making it a delight for fishing enthusiasts and collectors alike. Despite Rackham's illness and personal struggles during the project, it was seen as an opportunity to revitalize his career. "No fewer than six plates have landscape backgrounds, plates which should remind us of Rackham's very serious reputation as a landscape painter, with a fine vision of natural forms" (Gettings).
Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) is perhaps the most acclaimed and influential illustrators of the Golden Age of Illustration. A prolific artist even from his youth, Rackham got his start as an illustrator working for the Westminster Budget Newspaper (1892). Over the next few years, he took on more and more commissions for children's books, hitting his career high in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Rackham turned his imaginative pen to every classic-from Shakespeare to Dickens to Poe. Very Good +.