THE COMPLEAT ANGLER; or, Contemplative Man's Recreation: Being a Discourse on Rivers, Fish-Ponds, Fish, and Fishing. In Two Parts: The First Written by Mr. Isaac Walton; The Second by Charles Cotton, Esq. With The Lives of the Authors: And Notes, Historical, Critical, Supplementary and Explanatory;by Sir John Hawkins
(London: for Samuel Bagster, In the Strand, 1808).
VERY RARE EXTRA ILLUSTRATED COPY OF THE FIRST BAGSTER EDITION. THE ADDITIONAL PLATES ARE OF SCENERY, FAUNA, FLORA,FISHES AND TINTED OR COLOURED BY HAND. The Bagster printing of 1808 was the first to try an exact reprinting of the 1653 first edition.
A beloved classic of the English language and what many call the finest "How-To" book ever written; 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). Item #33788
THE FIRST BAGSTER EDITION, RARE LARGE PAPER COPY, AND A UNIQUE, HEAVILY EXTRA ILLUSTRATED COPY. Vignette half-title, engraved portrait frontispiece, two plates of music, 17 illustrations of fish within the text, AND A TOTAL OF AN ADDITIONAL 84 PLATES IN ALL. A UNIQUE COPY, HEAVILY EXTRA ILLUSTRATED, MANY TINTED OR COLOURED BY HAND. Royal, thick 8vo, superbly bound by Bayntun of Bath, England in very fine full crushed dark green crushed morocco, the spine with raised bands separating the compartments, the bands gilt stopped, the compartments with full gilt panels incorporating fine tooling in a very pleasing pattern, the centers of the panels with fishing motifs in gilt, the covers elaborately decorated in gilt iin all over designs incorporating multi-ruled and multi-layered panels both gilt ruled and blind ruled and with fine gilt fishing motifs at the four extremities of each cover, board edges gilt ruled, turnovers with triple gilt fillet rules, marbled endleaves, all edges gilt. vi, 512 pp. A very handsome copy, the binding and text-block and plates all beautifully preserved, some mild rubbing to the corners, the binding is strong, the gilt work and presentation are all very pleasing, an especially fine example.