Bibliotheca Salmo Salar: A Selection of Rare Books, Manuscripts, Journals, Diaries, Photograph Albums, & Ephemera on the Subject of Atlantic Salmon Fishing - Hardcover

Wood, Charles B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1567924581 ISBN 13: 9781567924589

Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher, 2017

Synopsis

Every activity generates its own literature, but few outdoor sports have generated as much enthusiasm and literature some of it incredibly esoteric, most of it interesting, and some of it downright irresistible as salmon fishing. It is not an inexpensive sport. All salmon demand clean, fast-moving, fresh water, and the Atlantic salmon, which often returns as many as five times to the same rivers to spawn and can attain weights of over sixty pounds, have seen their southern runs entirely eliminated by dams, pollution, and commercial fishing. What remains are the few closely guarded rivers of Canada, Iceland, Great Britain, and Scandinavia all of them relatively inaccessible. All of them beautiful. All of them damn expensive to fish. Charles Wood, a distinguished antiquarian bookseller, has been pursuing these fish for decades, and he has also built up what is probably the most extensive collection about the sport in private hands. For this selective bibliography he has chosen 230 of what he considers the most interesting titles (some of them so rare that they might be encountered only once in a lifetime) and arranged them by country and publication date. All titles are illustrated. What makes the book a real pleasure is the knowledge he brings to bear not only as a bookman, but also as a reader and a fisherman. He knows the rivers; in many cases he knows the people who fished them and wrote the books. And he knows what qualifies as quality, whether it is an elusive and fugitive mimeographed account of an excursion to a Norwegian river or a deluxe full leather quarto containing an original salmon fly. So this is no dry, pedantic list of famous books, but rather a fascinating and illuminating journey into a world of piscatorial lore, adventure, and description.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Every activity generates its own literature, but few have generated as much enthusiasmsome of it incredibly esoteric, most of it interesting, and much of it downright irresistibleas salmon fishing. It is not an inexpensive sport. Salmon demand clean, fastmoving, fresh water, and the Atlantic salmon, often returning as many as five times to the same rivers to spawn, and attaining weights of over sixty pounds, have seen their southern runs entirely eliminated. What remain are a few closely guarded rivers in Canada, Iceland, Great Britain, and Scandinaviaall of them relatively inaccessible. All of them beautiful. All of them expensive to fish. A distinguished antiquarian bookseller, Wood has been pursuing these fish for decades, and has what is probably the most extensive collection in private hands. For this selective bibliography he has chosen 230 of the most interesting titles (some of them so rare that they might be encountered only once in a lifetime) and arranged them by country and date. All titles are illustrated. What makes this a real pleasure is the knowledge he brings to bearnot only as a bookman, but also as a reader and a fisherman. He knows the rivers; and often the people who fished them and wrote the books. He knows what qualifies as quality, whether it is an elusive and fugitive mimeographed account or a treasured limited edition. For collectors, this will be considered the last word. For the rest of us, it makes the expense, travel and anticipation? almost unnecessary. A deluxe edition of 85 copies will also be issued. Bound by hand in quarter leather by Gray Parrot, enclosed in a sturdy slipcase, and containing three additional pamphlets, handsomely produced and exceedingly rare, these books will be signed and numbered by the author. Reservations, filled on a first-come, first-served basis, are encouraged.

About the Author:

Charles B. Wood was born in 1936 and has fly-fished since the age of ten. A graduate of Trinity College, Hartford, and the University of Pennsylvania, he has run his own rare book business, specializing in architecture, the arts, and related subjects. Although he does not deal in angling books, he has published several collectors items, all on the subject of salmon fishing. The thrill of the chase, in book dealing, book collecting, and salmon fishing, is what keeps him engaged.

About this edition

• Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1567924581
• ISBN 13: 9781567924589
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 248