1697 Fishing Hawking Elk Hunting Illustrated Nicholas Cox Gentleman’s Recreation

An important 17th-century book on fishing, hunting, and gentleman’s outdoor sports by Nicholas Cox. “The Gentleman’s Recreation” is a charming, illustrated book devoted to tips, tricks, and strategy for hunting, fishing, and hawking. According to Schwerdt,

“Cox's book is well composed, comprehensive, and compact. It fills a space in the not overcrowded list of old English hunting and hawking books and certainly compares favourably with John Ray's additions to the 'Ornithology,' which deal with fowling and hawking.”

Cox included his own strategies and superstitions in this work, most notably in fishing. Westwood & Satchell is quoted as saying,

“Cox is of the superstitious, astrological, necromantical order of angling writers. He makes us acquainted with divers miraculous streams and unaccountable fishes.”

He also notes animals that were foreign to many British readers, including the elk in which he describes as “colored for the most part like a hart, and hath cloven feet, but with joints like an elephant in his forelegs, and therefore sleepeth leaning to posts or trees.” (Lucas, p.1)

While this example is lacking the general title page, the fourth Rolls edition includes advertisement leaves with “Books Sold by Nathaniel Rolls”

Item number: #2403

Price: $950

COX, Nicholas

The gentleman's recreation : in four parts, viz., hunting, hawking, fowling, fishing : wherein these generous exercises are largely treated of, and the terms of art for hunting and hawking more amply enlarged than heretofore : also, the method of breeding and managing a hunting-horse : whereto is prefix'd a large sculpture, giving easie directions for blowing the horn, and other sculptures inserted, proper to each recreation.

London : Printed by J. Dawks for N. Rolls, 1697.

Details:

•Collation: [8], 138; 91; 78; 71; [1], 106; [2], 101, [1]

oLacking the following (otherwise complete):

General title page

Hunting plate

Art of Angling, pages 35-50

oManwood’s Forest Laws has separate title page:

“An abridgment of Manwood’s Forrest Laws and of all the Acts of Parliament made Since…”

•London, Rolls, 1696.

•References: ESTC R 2155; Schwerdt I, p. 123; Westwood & Satchell, pp. 68; Wing C 6706; Lucas, Hunt and Working Terriers;

•Language: English

•Binding: Leather; tight & secure

•Size: ~7.75in X 5in (20cm x 12.5cm)

•We find this very rare and desirable book selling elsewhere for as much as $4,000

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