The complete angler, or the contemplative man's recreation, of Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton. Edited by John Major. Fourth edition.

London, D. Bogue and H. Wix, 1844. Two parts in one. 8vo (17.0 x 11.3 cm). Engraved portrait, engraved half title of the original edition of 1653, 12 engraved plates and 74 woodcuts with nice angling scenes in the text. Half calf with marbled boards, elaborate blind tooled spine with gilt title on black morocco label, marbled flyleaves and marbled edges. = According to Westwood and Catchell, "This reprint far surpasses Major's previous efforts in 1823 and 1824". The frontispiece is an engraved portrait of Izaak Walton (tissue guarded). A second (opposite) frontis is a facsimile of the original 1653 title page with a baroque title vignette depicting fish. The frontis to Part II is an engraved portrait of Charles Cotton. The title page of this edition shows a romantic scene of a man fishing in a river. John Major wrote the richly illustrated introductory essay on Walton. The other plates show 17th century scenes in an early 19th century romantic style by John Absolon. In the rear, a "Linnaean arrangement of the fish" is added, written by Richard Powell and extracted from Shaw's General Zoology and Pennant's British Zoology, followed by more notes on the contents and meaning of "The Complete Angler". This is regarded as John Major's best edition. Boards a bit scuffed, small repair to top end of the spine, text and plates clean. A nice copy of an influential work. Dean III, p. 329; Westwood & Satchell, p. 230.