Learning about fly fishing at the Beinecke
August 19th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
By Chris Kremer
Currently on display at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library is an exhibition on the angling and conservation of Lee Wulff.
The exhibit is on display this summer and is curated by Stephen Jones. The show brings together an eclectic mix of the photography, samples of correspondence and samples of fly fishing innovations of Wulff, one of the great outdoorsmen of the twentieth century.
Unlike the other works featured in the Beinecke’s galleries, many of the documents presented in the Wulff show are not especially visually impressive. Some library visitors pay little attention to the exhibit, which from afar resembles a muddled mass, studded with pieces of fishing equipment, of gray and white photographs and typed letters.
But Jones said the library has “had a lot of folks come” to see the exhibit. A pair of women touring the Beinecke said they found the exhibit very interesting.
While the Wulff exhibition’s ostensibly dry documents may be prohibitive to some, it can be rewarding for the patient viewer. Those with little to no familiarity with fly fishing can learn immensely about one of its most influential figures.
