1931 Rare First Edition - THE COMPLEAT ANGLER illustrated by Arthur RACKHAM. Art and Spirit of Fishing.
Author: Izaak Walton. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
Title: The Compleat Angler, or The Contemplative Man's Recreation. Being a Discourse of Rivers, Fishponds, Fish and Fishing Not Unworthy the Perusal of most Anglers.
Publisher: London, George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1931. First edition illustrated by Arthur RACKHAM.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 10 " X 8 ".
Pages: 223 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good special publisher's binding issued after the original limited edition in vellum and before the cloth edition, finely bound in green full morocco leather (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed mainly on the upper and lower part of the spine - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. Upper edge gilt.
Content: Very good, near fine, content (bright, tight, and clean - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with the beautiful 12 full-page color plates and numerous black & white illustrations by Arthur Rackham.
Estimate: (USD 500 - USD 700)
The book: Rare and Attractive First illustrated edition by Rackham in the special publisher's morocco binding of The Compleat Angler (the spelling is sometimes modernized to The Complete Angler, though this spelling also occurs in first editions) -- a book by Izaak Walton. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London. Walton continued to add to it for a quarter of a century. It is a celebration of the art and spirit of fishing in prose and verse.
It was illustrated by Arthur Rackham in 1931.
The illustrator: Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) was a prolific British artist and illustrator, best known for his deluxe editions of popular children's books. Artistically inclined since childhood, Rackham started illustrating for newspapers, but it was not until he began drawing for children's literature that he received critical acclaim.
The author: Izaak Walton (c. 1593 – 15 December 1683) was an English writer. Best known as the author of The Compleat Angler, he also wrote a number of short biographies including one of his friends John Donne. They have been collected under the title of Walton's Lives.