The Complete Angler or The Contemplative Man's Recreation. [with] Instructions How to Angle for a Trout or Grayling in a Clear Stream

London: William Pickering, 1836. First thus. Very Good +. First Nicolas edition (true first published in 1653). Two large octavo volumes finely bound by Macdonald in half green crushed morocco over green cloth boards. Spines with five raised bands, gilt titles and decorations in the spine compartments. All edges marbled, but plain end papers. Collating [16], ccxii, [6], 129, [1, blank]; [4], 131-436, [32]: complete, including frontis and 14 plates. Vignette illustrations throughout. Previous owner's gift inscription, dated 1861. Very Good+ copies with the leather on the spines a bit dry. A few spots of foxing internally, but generally contents clean. Title-pages printed in red and black. A handsome copy overall.

Walton's famous pastoral work on fishing, The Compleat Angler, is combined here with additions by Robert Venables and Charles Cotton on the art of fly fishing in particular. Walton, the son of innkeepers, moved to London to become an ironmonger but would spend the last forty years of his life collecting information and writing on fishing. The book was first published in 1653 but re-released in numerous editions both due to its popularity and Walton's propensity to revise and contribute more chapters to it. It has stayed in print since it was first published and is noted for its well observed descriptions of English country life. "The Compleat Angler has something in common with 'Lady Chatterley's Lover:' while many know the title, few have actually read it. Yet it's the most frequently reprinted book in the English language after the Bible" (The Guardian).

Coigney 44. Horne 43. Oliver 41. Very Good +.