WALTON, IZAAK, CHARLES COTTON, AND COL. ROBERT VENABLES. THE UNIVERSAL ANGLER, MADE SO, BY THREE BOOKS OF FISHING: THE FIRST WRITTEN BY MR. IZAAK WALTON; THE SECOND BY CHARLES COTTON, ESQ; THE THIRD BY COL. ROBERT VENABLES. LONDON: RICHARD MARRIOTT, 1676

8vo (5 7/8 x 3 1/2 in.; 147 x 90mm). Part I with engraved piscatorial title-page, 10 small copperplates of fish, 2 pages of music: Part II with engraved cipher on title-page: Part III with engraved piscatorial frontispiece by F.H. Van Houe, 10 copperplates as in Part I; some light marginal dampstaining throughout, Part I with expert restoration to title without loss of text or image, closed marginal tear to A5, repair to lower corner of G5 without loss of text, closed tear to lower corner of H, closed tear to S2, ownership inscriptions to verso of T6: Pt. III with paper flaw to A4, marginal tear to E5. Contemporary brown calf, covers ruled in blind, spine with raised bands in five compartments, second gilt lettered; minor repairs to head and tail of spine, corners bumped, some rubbing to extremities. Housed in brown solander box

Dean Sage (bookplate to front pastedown; his sale, Parke Bernet, 9-10 April 1942, lot 460)

Oliver 6; Westwood & Satchell p.219; Wing W666, C6381, V185l

8vo (5 7/8 x 3 1/2 in.; 147 x 90mm). Part I with engraved piscatorial title-page, 10 small copperplates of fish, 2 pages of music: Part II with engraved cipher on title-page: Part III with engraved piscatorial frontispiece by F.H. Van Houe, 10 copperplates as in Part I; some light marginal dampstaining throughout, Part I with expert restoration to title without loss of text or image, closed marginal tear to A5, repair to lower corner of G5 without loss of text, closed tear to lower corner of H, closed tear to S2, ownership inscriptions to verso of T6: Pt. III with paper flaw to A4, marginal tear to E5. Contemporary brown calf, covers ruled in blind, spine with raised bands in five compartments, second gilt lettered; minor repairs to head and tail of spine, corners bumped, some rubbing to extremities. Housed in brown solander box
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

The Dean Sage copy. Fifth edition of Walton's Compleat Anger, the last to be printed in his lifetime and considered by Pforzheimer to be "in many ways the most interesting." It is published here with the first edition of Cotton's Compleat Angler, and the fourth edition (the third extant, since the second edition was entirely destroyed in the fire of 1666) of Venables' Experienc'd Angler. While Cotton's contribution appeared in most subsequent editions of the Compleat Angler, the three authors appeared together only once, in this volume.