WITH A ROD IN FOUR CONTINENTS (Chapters on Trout angling in Natal & Western Cape. Tiger fish & Nile Perch in West Africa. Scarce!)

100pp. Leatherette hardcover with gilt title to FC and spine. B/W photo illustrations. Inscribed by author, signed and dated.

Previous owner's name is stamped to the pre-title and title pages. Faint tide-marks to top right corner of ffep and side edge of fixed front EP. Tiny nick to top edge of title page. Otherwise very fine throughout!

An extremely scarce title that for some strange reason has evaded the scrutiny of serious collectors of South African angling literature, despite having an entire chapter devoted to trout fishing in Natal and the Cape Province. Rarer still is another chapter devoted to angling in West Africa, targeting Tiger fish and huge Nile Perch, the author landing a 44 pounder before breakfast and another of 62 pounds between tea-time and before dusk one fine day.

Paul Curtis's excellent book,  'Fishing the Margins, the History and Complete Bibliography of Fly Fishing in South Africa' also makes no mention of this book, yet I am pretty confident that Paul would have included it in his bibliography had he been aware of it at the time, especially since the author of this book was also a keen fly fisherman! It would have also filled the rather glaring gap in South African angling literature between 1978 and 1983, five years where not a single publication relating to angling in South Africa was produced.

We can only assume that the print-run of the book must have been rather small, possibly more of a 'twighlight years' labour of love than of a potential profitable venture. The accompanying inscription 'To Ding, with many "gaisuwar"', a Hausa greeting used by West African tribes (Hausa is one of Africa's most commonly spoken languages after Arabic, French, English, Portuguese, and Swahili. It is a lingua franca and a language of trade in West Africa. It is spoken in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Germany, Ghana, Niger, Sudan, and Togo) supports the assumption that this little collection of memoirs was possibly intended more for a private readership of family, close friends and associates .

Iain Gunn first visited South Africa in 1948 where he spent some time fishing in the Underberg area in Natal. This memorable trip sparked many more angling trips to South Africa in the ensuing years spanning several months in total. He also spent a considerable amount of time in the Cape, staying with friends surrounded by vineyards on the slopes of Table Mountain in Constantia. He makes mention of all the major fisheries within 60 km from this base; Wemmershoek and Steenbras Dams, The Eerste River and the Smalblaar River, some of which he fished on a regular basis. He also makes kind mention of The Cape Piscatorial Society and A.C. Harrison who he found to be a most knowledgeable and helpful source of information on the local waters of the Cape.

Much later, in 1974, he ventured to the North-Eastern Transvaal to fish some lesser known waters. 

The rest of the book contains further memoirs of his other fishing exploits abroad; in Newfoundland, New Zealand and closer to home in the United Kingdom. Clearly a man who loved his fishing, and seldom travelled anywhere in the world without his trusty old fly rod.

The author, born in Dublin in 1907, is the elder son of the late Colonel Gilbert Gunn OBE of The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. After education at Strathallan School, Perthshire, Edinburgh Academy and Brasenose College, Oxford, he entered the Overseas Civil Service and served, apart from some war years with the Royal West African Frontier Force, as an Administrative Officer from 1930 - 1960. He retired in 1960 with the rank of Provincial Commissioner and subsequently was a member of the Ross and Cromarty County Council for six years. He was appointed CMG in 1960.