Introductory. xv 



rivers, through the Snowdon land, after 

 big pike in the Midlands ; in fact, every- 

 where and anywhere that offered a chance 

 of good fishing. Nor have fish always 

 been the only object of my angling 

 expeditions : often enough it has been to 

 explore some delightful valley referred 

 to in some old writer, or to fish for rare 

 old books on angling in the old book- 

 shops. Beware of taking to collect books 

 on angling. You will find yourself be- 

 come so attached to the fascinating hobby, 

 that you would, if necessary, pawn the 

 shirt off your back to obtain some coveted 

 edition. Not that one might not select a 

 thousand worse ways of investing time 

 and money than in forming an angling 

 library; for these little shabby volumes 

 of the sixteenth and seventeenth and of 

 earlier and later centuries are growing 

 in value at a marvellous pace. 



There is a steady and increasing 

 demand in the United States of America 

 for old books on angling, and indeed 

 on sport generally; and it is pleasant to 



