Part of my Ray Bergman Collection
Ray Bergman?s Book ?Trout? Collection
1) 1938 First edition by Penn Publishing of Philadelphia. No Dust Jacket, Good Condition.
2) 1939 Third Printing by Penn Publishing of Philadelphia. No Dust Jacket, Good Condition.
3) 1942 Fourth Printing by WM. Penn Publishing Corp. New York. No Dust Jacket, Good Condition.
4) 1945 Ninth Printing by Alfred A. Knopf of New York. No Dust Jacket, Fair Condition.
5) 1947 Eleventh Printing by Alfred A. Knopf of New York, No Dust Jacket, Fair to Good Condition.
6) 1949 Twelfth Printing by Alfred A. Knopf of New York (Borzoi), Dust Jacket worn and chipped. Book in Good Condition.
7) 1951 Fourteenth Printing by Alfred A. Knopf of New York (Borzoi), Dust Jacket has shelf wear only. Book in Very Good Condition.
1952 Second edition, REVISED and Enlarged, Reset and Printed from New Plates, Printing by Alfred A. Knopf (Borzoi), Dust Jack has two main Chips, one on upper left corner and second on the spine. Book in Good Condition.
9) 1962 Second edition, REVISED and Enlarged, Reset and Printed from New Plates November 1952, Reprinted May 1959, March 1962, Printing by Alfred A. Knopf (Borzoi), Dust Jacket has minor Chips and is shelf worn. Book is in Good Condition.
10) 1976 Third Edition Enlarged, Printing by Alfred A. Knopf (Borzoi), Dust Jacket in very good condition with slight shelf wear, Book in Very Good Condition.
11) 1938 Original Color advertisement and book cover. In Good Condition.
The Book Trout was originally printed in November of 1938 with an unexplained second printing that I am looking into from November 1938 time frame as well. The book from 1938 has been reprinted thirteen times. This statement is true only up to the 1976 edition. As I receive newer printings I will update the facts as they are presented. A second edition that was REVISED and ENLARGED was reset and printed from new plates November 1952. The book was reprinted eleven times from 1952. The Third edition was enlarged in April of 1976 and the second printing was in October of 1976.
The Data presented here so far has been taken out from the collection of books that I own. As older and newer releases are obtained I will be able to add further updates to the data and hopefully link together the true printing origin from start to finish. No other book in the fly fishing world has had so many issues and updates from the time the book was written by Ray until the last printing in on the year 2000 with a forward by a true gentlemen and fly angler the late Gary LaFontaine. This book when you think about has stood the test of time for 62 years of printing life. For readers it has stood the test of time for 66 years. Anglers still hunger and search for this book. Tyers like Bastian and I still tye and fish these forgotten patterns. I wonder if Ray when he wrote this book knew that he would long be talked about and that his book as of today seems to live on forever.
I currently have purchased and am awaiting the arrivals of the book Trout from 1944, 1969, 1973, 1990 and 2000. I hopefully will be able to piece by fact further printing information together. I could do this a lot easier, but this is a hobby collecting this book and fact-finding has been a ton of fun. Tying the flies and fishing them has been priceless. Until I speak with you again, it has been a pleasure to have met so many knowledgeable people here on this web site. I wanted to share a piece of my fly-fishing and fly tying life behind the scenes.
Andy B
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Thanks for sharing with us. I'm kinda doing something similar, replacing my Harry Middleton paperbacks with all first edition new/mint hardbacks. I will finish it out with "Rivers of Memory" hopefull this summer, and one day, when I'm rich, "Starlight Creek Angling Society."