Lot 705
ALDAM W.H.
Auction: 12 July 2004 at 11:30 BST
Description
A quaint treatise on "Flees, and the art of artyfichall flee making," by an old man ... with editorial notes and patterns of flies and samples of the materials for making each fly by W.h. Aldam ... 1st edition, 2nd state, 2 chromolitho plates, with 2 completed flies and 23 flies and dressing materials in 22 sunken compartments on 6 linen guarded boards, original cloth decorated in blind and gilt, a.e.g., contained in the original printed cardboard slip case, corners rubbed, some paper discolouration and spotting throughout, 4to., London: John B. Day, 1876
Note: Hecksher 18; Westwood & Satchell p. 3
An estimated 200 copies were produced over several years. The author of the Treatise has now been identified as a Robert Whitehead from the appearance at auction in 1999 of the manuscript upon which Aldam based his work, but nothing further is known about him. The first state has the date 1875, but copies with both dates seem to have been issued simultaneously.