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I finished reading the above non-fiction book today and thought some of you fly anglers and fly tiers may find the story as interesting as I did.
Here's my quick review:
In 2009 a 20-year-old American student named Edwin Rist was studying the flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Rist also happened to be a salmon fly tier. Like many who share his passion for tying salmon flies, he was not a fisherman, an odd fact I learned in the book. He tied for the artform, not to catch fish. He was also obsessed with using traditional feathers in his flies – feathers that in many cases are illegal to trade on international markets because they come from endangered exotic species.
While pursuing his music studies in London, Rist learned that he was living only a short train ride away from the Natural History Museum in Tring, Hertfordshire. That particular museum houses one of the largest collections of preserved birds on earth.
The proximity to those feathers was too much for young Mr. Rist to bear. After much planning, he visited the museum off hours to expand his personal collection of tying materials. He was successful in that endeavor. Further, he sold the results of his thievery on-line to willing salmon fly tiers around the world, while keeping many feathers for himself.
It took more than a year for detectives to catch him. But the real surprise in the book was Mr. Rist’s legal defense and the resulting decision of the English court. I will leave that to you to find out by reading the book.
The author, Kirk Wallace Johnson, is a fly angler himself and an excellent writer. He has produced a well-researched book that is part history, part mystery and a sad commentary of how some on the fringes of our hobby can rationalize crimes against nature for personal gratification.
The book was published by Viking Press in 2018. It is currently available at the Anne Arundel County Public Library.
Here's my quick review:
In 2009 a 20-year-old American student named Edwin Rist was studying the flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Rist also happened to be a salmon fly tier. Like many who share his passion for tying salmon flies, he was not a fisherman, an odd fact I learned in the book. He tied for the artform, not to catch fish. He was also obsessed with using traditional feathers in his flies – feathers that in many cases are illegal to trade on international markets because they come from endangered exotic species.
While pursuing his music studies in London, Rist learned that he was living only a short train ride away from the Natural History Museum in Tring, Hertfordshire. That particular museum houses one of the largest collections of preserved birds on earth.
The proximity to those feathers was too much for young Mr. Rist to bear. After much planning, he visited the museum off hours to expand his personal collection of tying materials. He was successful in that endeavor. Further, he sold the results of his thievery on-line to willing salmon fly tiers around the world, while keeping many feathers for himself.
It took more than a year for detectives to catch him. But the real surprise in the book was Mr. Rist’s legal defense and the resulting decision of the English court. I will leave that to you to find out by reading the book.
The author, Kirk Wallace Johnson, is a fly angler himself and an excellent writer. He has produced a well-researched book that is part history, part mystery and a sad commentary of how some on the fringes of our hobby can rationalize crimes against nature for personal gratification.
The book was published by Viking Press in 2018. It is currently available at the Anne Arundel County Public Library.
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