Complete Angler. WALTON (Izaak) and COTTON (Charles).

Complete Angler, or Contemplative Man's Recreation; Being a Discourse on Rivers, Fish-Ponds, Fish and Fishing: In Two Parts; The First written by Mr. Isaac Walton, The Second by Charles Cotton, Esq. With The Lives of the Authors, and Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory. By Sir John Hawkins, Knt. The Fourth Edition, with large Additions.

Engraved frontispiece to both parts, 14 plates (two of music) and 20 woodcuts in the text (mostly of fish).

8vo. [177 x 110 x 30 mm]. lxxxii, 267, [1], xxxiv, 111, [11] pp. Bound c.1830 in brown calf, the covers with a gilt double fillet border. The spine divided into six panels by raised bands and gilt compartments, lettered in the second on a green goatskin label, the others with arabesque tools, the edges of the boards tooled with a gilt roll, the turn-ins with a blind roll, marbled endleaves and edges. (A little rubbed).
London: printed for John, Francis and Charles Rivington, (No.62) at the Bible and Crown, St. Paul's Church-yard, 1784

Occasional light spotting or minor soiling but a very good copy. With the armorial bookplate of John William Birch.

Hawkins's edition was previously published in 1760, 1766 and 1775. In this fourth edition Oldys's life of Cotton is replaced by Hawkins's own. The plates, by Ryland after Wale, and woodcuts are charming.

Stock no. ebc7669