A Contemplative Angler

This exhibition catalogue shows nearly 100 highlights of an extraordinary collection of rare books and print ephemera about angling. Featuring the books of a single collector, Bruce P. Dancik, who is an angler-collector in the mould of Roderick Haig-Brown, the catalogue includes titles that have contributed significantly to the development of angling as a sport and as a philosophy. Many books in the collection are titles of extreme rarity, often illustrated with woodcuts, copper or steel engravings, chromolithographs, and photoengravings. The curator, Justin Hanisch, has organized the publication into five sections: Manuals and Handbooks, Limited Editions, Angling as Adventure, Canadian Angling, and Scientific Angling.

Justin Hanisch is a biologist with the Government of Alberta and an avid collector of antiquarian books on the natural and social history of fish. In 2011, Hanisch won the second National Book Collecting Contest for Canadians under the age of 30.