THE COMPLEAT ANGLER. [bound with] THE LIVES OF DONNE, WOTTON, HOOKER, HERBERT, & SANDERSON, WITH LOVE AND TRUTH & MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS

[London]: Nonesuch Press, 1929. First Collected Edition. No. 1,245 of 1,600 copies. 216 x 130 mm. (8 1/2 x 5"). x, 631, [1] pp.Edited by Geoffrey Keynes.
Original russet morocco with central gilt medallion containing initials I. W., raised bands with gilt titling, top edge gilt on the rough, all other edges untrimmed, ENTIRELY UNOPENED. (Lacking original marbled slipcase.) With six black & white plates and 12 color in-text illustrations by Thomas Poulton and Charles Wright. Dreyfus 61. ◆Leather slightly dulled from leather preservative and some subtle darkening in places, a hint of offsetting from plates, otherwise in fine condition, obviously never read.

Produced with the aim to unite the popular, disparate perceptions of Walton produced in readers who have only read one or another of Walton's well-known works, this collection was edited "with a discreet efficiency which allows Walton to speak for himself." (F. Meynell in a letter to G. Keynes) Included, of course, is his classic work on the art of angling, complete with wise fish lore, written by an indomitable angler who knew every haunt of fresh water fish in the south of England. Also present are Walton's famous biographies of Donne, Herbert, Hooker, Henry Wotton, and Bishop Robert Sanderson. Though Walton knew all of these worthies except Hooker, and although he attempted to make his biographies factually accurate, he nevertheless "guilelessly transforms his subjects into his own image, that of a staunch, heart-of-oak traditionalist who views men and life with the eyes of an Anglican archbishop." (Day) His miscellaneous writings and Keynes' "Life of Walton" round out the collection. The publisher's morocco is pleasant, and our unopened copy ensures that the volume is internally pristine..