The Rare First
The American Angler’s Guide. Being a compilation from the works of popular English authors, from Walton to the present time; together with the opinions and practices of the best American anglers.
New York: Burgess, Stringer & Co., and for sale by John J. Brown & Co, 1845.
Price: $2,250.00
About the item
First edition. Frontispiece, two woodcut plates of hooks. 224, [3 leaves of ads] pp. 1 vols. 18mo. The Rare First. Original black cloth, boards with gilt vignettes, borders in blind. Spine ends chipped with tiny losses, upper cover lightly spotted, faint dampstain at bottom margin. Very good copy of a rare book. Black morocco backed slipcase and chemise. Westwood & Satchell, p. 4; Goodspeed pp. 159-163; Henderson, p. 66-67; Bruns B 253 ("a very rare item"); Wetzel, p. 113.
Item #303270
Sage Sale: "Said to be the first book on angling written by an American and printed in America". The book describes the more important American fish and how to catch them, Goodspeed noting that most interesting are "the chapters on tackle, baits, and the general practice of angling, for these tell something about American angling usages then prevalent". As Brown was a tackle dealer, it is not surprising that this area is among his chief concerns, and he goes into much useful and historical detail.
An important contribution to American angling.
