1931 "The Compleat Angler" with Drawing
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GUEST:
Back in 1969, we were reading the Dallas Morning News one day and noticed that our bookstore was having a moving sale. And all their books were half price, so we went down and found a rare book at half price.
APPRAISER:
Nice, and what I really like about the book that you brought, it is The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton that was illustrated by Arthur Rackham, but it came in this wonderful box here, and whenever a book is in a box, you know it's either one of two things. It's either something that can't come out of a box because of its condition being too bad, or in this case, the pleasant surprise, when it's in beautiful condition. It's what we call a gift book. And Arthur Rackham, who was an English illustrator, became very famous for and became the preeminent illustrator for what we call gift books: books that would have been given out, special occasions, usually with a box, but they don't often survive. The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton, it's really one of the most sought after fishing books and most famous fishing books known. It's in a nice green Morocco leather binding, which is a deluxe condition that you'd like to have a book in. Here is the title of the book, The Compleat Angler. It was published in the 17th century in London. This copy was published in London, but in 1931. It's illustrated with these very wonderful illustrations that Arthur Rackham has become so world renowned for. And in this case, the subject matter is angling, or fishing. And fishing is a very, very popular subject to collect. Another unexpected surprise with this copy is, on the half title, he has done an original drawing of an angler taking a nap, it looks like, while here, a crow or a bird has come in to steal his fishing bait away. Signed and dated 1931, the year of publication. It's all the things we look for: its condition, it has the extra inscription with the drawing, it's a good subject matter that's highly collectible. And the market for Arthur Rackham is very good. Do you recall what you paid for it?
GUEST:
Somewhere in the $300 to $500 range, I don't remember.
APPRAISER:
Okay, that's 1969. Well, you did very well and you kept it well. I would put an auction estimate of $4,000 to $6,000 on it, and for insurance, I would be looking to put a number of $8,000 or $9,000 on it, so you've done very well with it.
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