The Ristigouche and Its Salmon Fishing. With a Chapter on Angling Literature

Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1888. First edition, no. 78 of 105 copies, initialed by the Publisher. Aquatint title-page partly printed in red after G. Reid by Annan and Swan, aquatint frontispiece after Reid by Annan and Swan, 16 etched plates after and by Stephen Parrish, Mrs. A.L. Merritt, C.A. Platt, H. Sandham, and others on japan paper, 63 etched, engraved, and wood-engraved headpieces, tailpieces, historiated initials, vignettes, and other ornaments after and by Merritt, Platt, J. Adam, and others, double-page lithographed map after and by J. Bartholomew on japan paper. 1 vols. Folio. Original olive green cloth with salmon and osprey design on upper cover. Silk inner hinges professionally repaired. A FINE BRIGHT COPY. Bookplates of Jay Gould, Lindhurst, Irvington on Hudson; and Edward Hine Johnson. Custom half morocco slipcase and cloth chemise. First edition, no. 78 of 105 copies, initialed by the Publisher. Aquatint title-page partly printed in red after G. Reid by Annan and Swan, aquatint frontispiece after Reid by Annan and Swan, 16 etched plates after and by Stephen Parrish, Mrs. A.L. Merritt, C.A. Platt, H. Sandham, and others on japan paper, 63 etched, engraved, and wood-engraved headpieces, tailpieces, historiated initials, vignettes, and other ornaments after and by Merritt, Platt, J. Adam, and others, double-page lithographed map after and by J. Bartholomew on japan paper. 1 vols. Folio. A book of almost legendary beauty, rarity, and importance, recounting the author's adventures at Camp Harmony on the Restigouche River in New Brunswick, and drawing upon his long experience fishing the river.

Dean Sage's contributions to angling literature are few in number but profoundly influential: "Ten Days' Sport on Salmon Rivers", published in the Atlantic in 1875, is a classic account. His library catalogue (2 vols., 1896, 1904) remains an important document in the history of angling bibliography and collecting. Sage's section on "The Atlantic Salmon," in Salmon and Trout (1902), is a synthesis of his own first hand knowledge as a fisherman and his assessment of the extensive literature. The Ristigouche and Its Salmon Fishing remains the work for which Sage is best known.

One of the pinnacles of nineteenth century fishing book design and production, with the notable provenance of financier Jay Gould. Sage, who lived in Albany, would have known Gould from equestrian circles, as both men maintained stables of trotting horses and bred Morgan horses. Heckscher sale (1909) lot 1681 ($180.00); Catalogue de la bibliothèque de pêche de M.G. Albert Petit (1921), no. 1861; Phillips p. 328; Gee, Sportsman's Library p. 100; Sherwin sale (1946) lot 428; Wetzel p. 206; Bruns S-4; Litchfield p. 58; Hampton (2008) p. 245; Bibliotheca Salmo Salar 11; Heller 2:469; not in Lande