BENN, Timothy. Flies of the Future. The Trout Fly Patterns of Dr J.C. Mottram. Haslemere: Creel Press. 2020.
8vo. Original green morocco-backed cloth boards, gilt border to sides, spine with gilt raised bands and lettering, in matching slipcase; pp. 111, illustrated in colour throughout, with Mottram fly tied by John Smith mounted in recess to front pastedown; new.
No. 27 of limited edition of 30, this one of 15 copies of Collector's edition, with facsimile signature of the author and signature of his wife Christina to title page. This fascinating survey of the work of the visionary fly-tier J.C. Mottram was the last work, published posthumously, of Tim Benn, publisher, angler, founder of the Creel Press and longtime friend of Sotheran's. It is a typically lavish and stylish production, while the text has the authority and enthusiasm that distinguished its writer. He argues that Mottram (1879-1945) was a man so far ahead of his time that he was not sufficiently understood by his peers, and that his flies, which at the time seemed wild and eccentric, prophesied the development of fly fishing. The book contains detailed illustrations and descriptions of each of his flies.
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