FLY FISHING PRINTS
Plate Y - Bass Flies. Orvis Favorite Flies. Circa 1892
LAKE FLIES. PLATE Y.
Bob White, Caddis Cork Body, Epting, Gov. Alvord, Ferguson, De Gem.
Favorite Flies and their Histories (1892) by Mary Orvis Marbury.
Mary, daughter of Charles Orvis, founder of the Orvis fishing tackle company, produced one of American fishing literature's milestone volumes, Favorite Flies and Their Histories in 1892. The book not only served generations as the bible of fly patterns but further strengthened the Orvis Company's reputation for expertise and reliability.
Favorite Flies was the first encyclopedia of American (as opposed to British) patterns. The book became a best seller upon its publication in 1892 and subsequently went through nine printings by 1896. The book contains 32 colored illustrations of 290 variations. It is one of the earliest works to use chromolithography, a method for making multi-color prints. The legacy of Mary Orvis Marbury, through her book and her leadership in Orvis's commercial fly-tying operation, is the standardization of American fly patterns.
Today, a fly-tier and fisherman with nostalgic inclination will take pleasure in duplicating and testing the old patterns.
Mary Orvis Marbury was born in Manchester, VT in 1856. At her father’s encouragement, she served an apprenticeship under an expert fly-tier. In 1876, she assumed responsibility at the astonishing age of 20 for fly production for the Orvis company in 1876. She hired, trained and supervised 5-7 local Manchester, VT women in the craft and production of the Orvis flies.
Managing the Orvis company's fly-tying department, Mary recognized how little standardization there was among fly patterns and how that created a problem for customers whose expectations of ordered flies would differ from what they would receive. She became inspired to set pen to paper and rectify that problem.
Mary Orvis Marbury’s role in the book was more than that of an editor or collaborator. In 1890, Mary sent to 200 seasoned anglers throughout the United States letters with specific questions about their favorite flies and how they use them. Their answers were compiled into the book and combined with beautiful illustrations released two years later.
Upon the publication of her book, she remarked that she took satisfaction in the more humble mission of recording what is accomplished by others.
An original 1892 edition of the book Favorite Flies and their Histories by Mary Orvis Marbury can be found in the Buffalo River Co library.
We have archivally scanned the 32 color chromolithographic plate prints found in the book. Our digital archivist has lightly restored and enhanced the images in preparation for printing your Giclee print order. We print the entire image as it was created many years ago. That means we also reproduce the artworks aged patina, subtle imperfections, and signs of aging.
Our Giclee prints are created to look like the original, as if you wandered into a vintage store and saw it hanging on the wall with an aged patina that only the vestige of time can impart … so that their timeless essence is evoked for display in your home, office, mountain cabin, or lake house.
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