Alfred Ronalds' "Companion"
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:21 pm
After some negotiation with it's former owner, I was recently able to add this rarity to my collection:
“The Companion to Alfred Ronalds’ Fly Fisher’s Entomology"
While relatively common, most of the existing copies are in poor condition and the flies are either missing or badly moth eaten. In many years of collecting, I have never seen another "Companion" that contains examples of all the 47 patterns, each of which conforms to Ronalds’ patterns in the sixth edition (1862) of his book. In this example every pattern is in its proper pocket, and not only does this wallet have 3 each of all 47 patterns, the flies remain in remarkable condition for being close to 160 years old with only one or two having even the slightest evidence of deterioration. Even the gold ribbing on the patterns is still brilliant and the flies are dressed to a very high standard, nearly as fine as the specimens in Aldam. A wonderful glimpse into mid 19th century fly dressing and how the Ronalds’ flies should actually look.
Sorry for the low quality iPhone pics, It is my intent to eventually photograph the flies properly and I will share the images with Forum members when I do so.
“The Companion to Alfred Ronalds’ Fly Fisher’s Entomology"
While relatively common, most of the existing copies are in poor condition and the flies are either missing or badly moth eaten. In many years of collecting, I have never seen another "Companion" that contains examples of all the 47 patterns, each of which conforms to Ronalds’ patterns in the sixth edition (1862) of his book. In this example every pattern is in its proper pocket, and not only does this wallet have 3 each of all 47 patterns, the flies remain in remarkable condition for being close to 160 years old with only one or two having even the slightest evidence of deterioration. Even the gold ribbing on the patterns is still brilliant and the flies are dressed to a very high standard, nearly as fine as the specimens in Aldam. A wonderful glimpse into mid 19th century fly dressing and how the Ronalds’ flies should actually look.
Sorry for the low quality iPhone pics, It is my intent to eventually photograph the flies properly and I will share the images with Forum members when I do so.
- Title Page.jpg (277.74 KiB) Viewed 5927 times
- Flies 1.jpg (312.42 KiB) Viewed 5927 times
- Flies 2.jpg (290.36 KiB) Viewed 5927 times
- Dark Mackerel.JPG (180.83 KiB) Viewed 5927 times
