Maroon cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.

• We provide an in-depth photographic presentation of this item to stimulate your feeling and touch. More traditional book descriptions are immediately available

• Charicles ot A Private Life of the Ancient Greeks (or, Illustrations of the Private Life of the Ancient Greeks)

Note: This book carries a £5.00 discount to those that subscribe to the F.B.A. mailing list.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. New Edition, based upon the original publication in 1866. An excellent serviceable reference copy; nothing fancy, but complete and sturdy. Rubbing to edges, tips, bumping to, scuffing of spine head and tail. Burgundy cloth over boards, silver lettering to spine. 

This antiquarian volume contains a complete manual of the art of angling for roach, with comments on methodology, equipment, tactics, and other information useful to the roach fisherman. Written in simple, plain language and including much in the way of practical instructions and useful tips and hints, this text will prove invaluable to the roach fisherman, and makes for a great addition to collections of angling literature. 

Becker, Wilhelm Adolf [Wilhelm Adolf Becker (1796 – September 30, 1846) was a German classical scholar and Professor of Archaeology at Leipzig University, better known as the author of Gallus] Translated by Reverend Frederick Metcalfe.

Wilhelm Adolf Becker (1796 – 30 September 1846) was a German classical scholar. Becker was born in Dresden, the son of German art historian, numismatist and author Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker. At first destined for a commercial life, he was in 1812 sent to the celebrated school at Pforta. In 1816 he entered the University of Leipzig, where he studied under Beck and Hermann. After holding subordinate posts at Zerbst and Meissen, he was in 1842 appointed professor of archaeology at Leipzig. He died at Meissen on 30 September 1846. His early studies of Plautus’ comedies aroused his interest in Roman daily life and led to his publication of Gallus (1838), the story of a Roman youth. Derived from Suetonius’ Life of Augustus and embellished to include all aspects of Roman life and customs, the book became a classic in its field, the English translation passing through 10 editions between 1844 and 1891. A similar work on Greek life, Charikles (1840), enjoyed comparable success. His Handbuch der römischen Altertumer, 5 vol. (1843–68; “Handbook of Roman Antiquities”), was completed by the classical scholars Theodor Mommsen and Joachim Marquardt.

The works by which Becker is most widely known are the Gallus, oder, römische Scenen aus der Zeit Augusts: zur genaueren Kenntniss des römischen Privatlebens (1838, new ed. by Hermann Göll, 1880–1882), and the Charicles: Bilder altgriechischer Sitte, zur genaueren Kenntniss des griechischen Privatlebens (1840, new ed. by Göll, 1877–1878). These two books were translated into English by Frederick Metcalfe. They contain a description of the everyday life of the ancient Greeks and Romans, in the form of a romance, with notes and appendices.

A major work is Handbuch der römischen Alterthümer (1843–1868), completed after Becker’s death by Marquardt and Mommsen. Becker’s other treatises include De Comicis Romanorum Fabulis, a treatise on Roman dramatic poetry (1837); De Romae Veteris Muris atque Portis (1842); Die römische Topographie in Röm (1844); and Zur römischen Topographie (1845).