World’s Oldest Fly Fishing Manuscript for Sale

The oldest fly fishing book discovered to date will be offered for sale by Maggs Bros of London, at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, April 9-12^th.

Read more in the press release below.

The world’s oldest fly fishing manuscript for sale in New York for $185,000

Maggs Bros Ltd, antiquarian booksellers of London, England, will be offering for sale at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, Park Avenue Armory, April 9-12th 2015, a fascinating recent discovery which changes the history of fly-fishing.

Contained within the medieval Haslinger Breviary is a four-page tract on fishing which includes the earliest known collection of fly-tying patterns. Dating from the 1460s in Austria, the tract was written by a priest who had a parish in the Traun valley – the Traun river flows from the Alps to the Danube. It is a hugely significant discovery because it pre-dates the previously acknowledged earliest collection of fly-tying patterns from Tegernsee by at least 30 years.

To see a short film on the discovery, please visit http://www.onlinefishing.tv/channel/game/preview/oldest-fishing-book.

Notes for editors:

Maggs Bros Ltd have been dealing in rare books and manuscripts since 1853 and is one of the world’s largest antiquarian booksellers. With loyal clients the world over, Maggs are relied upon to build libraries for discerning customers and experts in their fields, seek out the extraordinary and remarkable, and help build the international reputation of the industry. High resolution images are available upon request. For further information, please contact: Jonathan Reilly [email protected] +44 (0)20 7493 7160