FOREWORD 



THERE are probably many anglers who, whilst 

 pursuing their contemplative recreation, have at 

 some time wondered by whom and at what date 

 the various forms of fishing-tackle, and the different 

 methods of angling, were first introduced : this work 

 on the ancient angling authors is the outcome of 

 an attempt to satisfy that natural curiosity. 



Though only English angling literature is here 

 dealt with, it must not therefore be inferred either 

 that the art of angling originated in England, or 

 that the first treatise upon it appeared in the 

 English language. On the contrary, the origin of 

 angling is lost in the impenetrable depths of pre- 

 historic times : the paintings on the Egyptian tombs 

 show that fishing, by methods not very dissimilar 

 from those in use at the present day, was practised 

 in the East from the earliest periods of which any 

 records exist Moreover, not only did the ancient 

 Egyptians practise the art of angling in order to 

 appease the pangs of hunger and to delight their 

 palates, but even in those early days the capture 



