The Compleat Angler, or, the Contemplative Man's Recreation

London: George G. Harrap & Co LTD, 1931. First edition. Leather. Near Fine. 10" by 7.5". Arthur Rackham. The first Rackham illustrated edition of one of the most popular sporting works ever published, Izaak Walton's fishing treatise. The first edition thus of this work, being the first edition illustrated by Arthur Rackham.Illustrated with a colour frontispiece, eleven colour plates, and twenty-five in-text line-drawings.Collated, complete.'The Compleat Angler' is Izaak Walton's well known seventeenth century work celebrating the art and spirit of fishing, in both prose and verse.The text in this edition are from the original 1676 fifth edition. The work was expanded and added to by the author for fifteen years after its first publication.Walton's writing is vivid and expands further than being just a fishing manual, with passages of rich description, such as describing the contents in the bag of an angler.Arthur Rackham was a noted and well admired book illustrator who illustrated editions of 'The Ingoldsby Legends', 'The Wind in the Willows', 'Grimm's Fairy Tales', and 'Gulliver's Travels', as well as contributing frequently to periodicals. He is considered to be one of the leaders of the 'Golden Age' of book illustrations. Rackham's work was notable for his robust use of pen and ink, which were combined with watercolours.Prior owner's ink inscription to the half-title. In a full morocco binding. Externally, fine. Light spots to the fore edge. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean with a few spots to the first and last few pages only. Near Fine