[ANGLING]. ALDAM, W.H. A Quaint Treatise on "Flees, and the Art a Artyfichall Flee Making," by an old man...with editorial north and patterns of flies, and samples of the materials for making each fly. London: John B. Day, 1875.

4to. 2 mounted chromolithographs after James Poole, 25 ACTUAL SPECIMENS OF FLIES WITH DRESSING MATERIAL, including 2 completed flies, displayed in 22 sunken mounts on 6 cards. (Light spotting throughout.) Original decorated green cloth stamped in black and gilt, all edges gilt (light rubbing to extremities). Provenance: A.W.K. Straton (armorial bookplate); indecipherable gift inscription on verso of frontispiece dated 1877.

FIRST EDITION, ONE OF 200 COPIES. "Most of the flies were tied by Mary Ogden-Smith, a daughter of James Ogden of Cheltenham, and some by David Foster of Ashbourne. The Mayflies, which are tied on vertically-eyed Bartlett Limerick hooks, are said to have been dressed by James Ogden himself and are likely to be the earliest example of the floating fly extant" (John Simpson, Thomas Thorp Catalogue of Angling Books, A12, 1973). THE VERY RARE ISSUE with the 1875 date on the title; sometimes called the "first issue." However, no copies were ready for issue until 1876, and "1875" copies were not necessarily the first to be released. Beazley states that only 15-20 of these copies exist. Gee 84; Heckscher 18; Kerridge 79; Litchfield 49; Westwood & Satchell p.3.

Private collection from the estate of an avid, Chicago-area angler and collector

This lot is located in Chicago.

[ANGLING]. ALDAM, W.H. A Quaint Treatise on "Flees, and the Art a Artyfichall Flee Making," by an old man...with editorial north and patterns of flies, and samples of the materials for making each fly. London: John B. Day, 1875.