The Book of the Hackle

1979. Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, 1979. 8vo. Full red morocco, titled in gilt to covers and spine, all edges gilt, in slipcase; xii, 140 (1, limitation page), 5 plates containing a series of 19 individual hackles; a near fine copy, with only a little mild surface wear to slipcase. Limited edition, this being copy 61 of 85. A rare and lavish book on the subject of hackles, the feathers wound around a fishing fly which give them much of their aesthetic appeal. As a long time breeder of high grade cock hackles, Frank Elder wrote the draft of this book towards the end of his life. After his death, it was released a few years later in both a standard edition and under a very small limitation. The book covers all subjects relating to hackles, covering their size, colour, proportions and so on, with the degree of precision you would expect from a leading authority on the matter. The book is closed with a series of 29 hackles laid in.