(London: John Major, 1823).

FIRST EDITION OF JOHN MAJOR'S SUPERB ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF WALTON'S COMPLETE ANGLER, a great sporting book, and one of the most treasured works in the English language. "Major is well known for his beautiful edition of Walton and Cotton's Complete Angler" - DNB XII:823.
Walton's ANGLER has been described as "full of wisdom, kindly humour, and charity; it is one of the most delightful and care-dispelling books in the language." "More than most authors he lives in his writings, which are the pure expression of a kind, humorous and pious soul in love with nature, while the expression itself is unique for apparent simplicity which is really elaborately studied art" - DNB XX:732. Item #33578

The Important First John Major edition. With 14 copper-engraved plates, including 2 portraits, 2 plates of music, and 10 lovely illustrations engraved by Cook and Pye after drawings by Wale and Nash, and with 77 woodcuts throughout the text. 12mo, in contemporary full tan polished calf, the boards with blind-embossed ruled boarders with floral corner pieces, with handsome antique rebacking, the spine with raised bands with gilt checks and stops creating gilt framed compartments featuring smaller gilt frames within, with starburst corners, one compartment with a gilt ruled and lettered brown morocco label, additional gilt work at the head and tail, endpapers and page edges marbled. lx, 412, [4 ads] pp. An very attractive copy of this important and handsomely illustrated edition, the textblock is solid and quite clean with just a bit of mellowing to the prelims, the binding sound and attractive with just minor expected age to the calf, the inner hinges neatly reinforced, early owner's notations on front blank fly-leaf.