MACKY, John. [MALONE, E.J. Editor] The Diary of an Irish Water Bailiff 1791-1809. (DELUXE LIMITED EDITION OF 60 COPIES ONLY)

West Yorkshire: Smith Settle Publishing, 2008. First edition limited to 60 copies only. Large octavo. pp. [xxxvi], 168. Deluxe Limited Edition, number 27 of 60 copies published. Signed by E. J. Malone, Peter Kealey and the binder, Ken Smith on the limitation page. Bound in full red morocco over bevelled boards, spine divided into six panels by five raised bands flanked by gilt fillets, title in gilt direct in the second panel; marbled endpapers; red and gold endbands. All edges gilt. A fine copy in fine slipcase.
This special edition with a fly, The Judge, dressed by Peter Kealey on a size 5/0 hook, mounted within a recessed oval panel inside the front cover. The fly pattern is beautifully dressed and it is strikingly gorgeous. “This is essentially a social history of Irish angling, in the form of the diaries of John Macky, Inspector of Rivers to Lady Hamilton who owned much of the River Bann. Macky occupied the post from 1787 onwards. In 1798 the estate changed hands and a new, and thoroughly crooked, bailiff was appointed over Macky’s head. Macky’s “fears for his own position kept him from speaking out to anyone but his diary, telling of the actions of an unscrupulous employee and his family”. Includes much of the daily life of the area around the Bann and its inhabitants in the years 1791 to 1809, as well as a detailed historical sketch of the Honorable The Irish Society which owns the fisheries of the lower Bann.