Brookes, R[ichard]
The Art of Angling, Rock and Sea Fishing: with the Natural History of River, Pond, and Sea-Fish.
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Seller ID: 1370 London: John Watts, 1740. First edition ([xv], 249, index, adverts), illustrated with 133 engravings in the text picturing a variety of fresh and salt-water fish and other sea creatures. Duodecimo (16.5cm) in full calf with gilt decoration, titles worn and barely visible. Richard Brookes, M. D., (fl. 1721- 1763) is described in the ODNB entry as an 'industrious compiler'. His chief writings were A History of the Most Remarkable Pestilential Distempers (1721), The Art of Angling, Rock and Sea Fishing...(1740), The General Practice of Physic (1751), An Introduction to Physic and Surgery (2 vols., 1754), and A...System of Natural History (6 vols., 1763). Among his translations from the French was A Natural History of Chocolate (1730). As a 'compiler' Brookes was ordinarily reliant on the work of others for much of his material, if not his actual text, but identifies two of his principal sources for the Art of Angling: Willughby (for the illustrations) and Chetham, or 'Mr. Chetwynd' as he says, (for large swathes of text). Indeed, Brookes' account is weighted more on the side of natural history than on sporting techniques for capturing fishes. Some of those he describes are of a sort only incidentally caught by commercial fishermen, themselves surely no anglers, such as the 'porpuss' and hammerhead shark (Westwood & Satchell, 42- 43). Hinges starting but holding; otherwise a very good copy. Price: $400.00 
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