Natural History of the Fishes of Massachusetts, Embracing a Practical Essay on Angling;

Part Second -

On Trout, Interspersed with Remarks on the Theory and Practice of Angling

by Jerome V.C. Smith, M.D. 

First edition.  Boston:  Allen and Ticknor, 1833  

Hardback is overall in VERY GOOD condition.

• Tan covers with pink spine label and title in black. 
• Boards show some wear, smudges, scuffing, warping, edgewear.  Corners are bumped, frayed, with exposed board.  See photos.
• Spine has pink label with black text and is faded, with bumped ends.  See photos.
• Binding is rebacked, with original spine strip laid down. 
• Pastedowns and feps have some writing. 
• Illustrations, engravings in the text, are bright and clear.  
• Interior is gently age-toned, exhibits light foxing, some smudges, light edgewear and chipping, some bent corners.  See photos.   
• Inside pages are free of writing and intentional marks.
• Text block edges have untrimmed fore and foot edges. 
• PS2026.0812

399 pages. 4.5 x 7 inches

First Edition.  Tan cloth, rebacked with original spine strip laid down, pink label with title in black ink.  Engraved vignettes on the title page and at page 321, the title page to the second part.  Early work of natural history dedicated to the fishes of Massachusetts, with a most important Part Two, titled "On Trout, interspersed with remarks on the Theory and Practice of Angling."  This is the first practical treatise on American angling.  Binding is sound, interior is generally, lightly foxed.

The author, Jerome V.C. Smith, M.D., became interested in ichthyology while serving as Quarantine Officer for the City of Boston, during which time he lived on a small island in Boston harbor.  In his preface he acknowledges his sources and apologizes for the caricature-like quality of some of the illustrations, which he hoped to correct in a revised and enlarged edition (never issued). 

This book is generally accepted as the first American book on fishing, and "therefore a keystone of any collection"- Bruns. Bruns S-200; Goodspeed, pp. 140-41, et seq.; Henderson, p. 224; Wetzel, p. 214  

Please see photos. More photos available upon request.

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