The team

Hermann Dietrich-Troeltsch

Hermann Dietrich-Troeltsch was born in 1939 in Freiburg (Breisgau) in Southwestern Germany. His father Ernst was a successful racing driver who published Germany’s first post-war automobile magazine. Both of Hermann Dietrich-Troeltsch’s grandfathers were well-known in pre-1933 Germany; Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923) was a prominent Protestant theologian whose works remain influential even today. After his early death, Troeltsch’s wife Martha married the liberal politician Hermann Dietrich (1879-1954), who finally became vice chancellor and minister of finance in the Brüning cabinet, the last democratic government before the Nazi seizure of power. Dietrich adopted Ernst Jr. and his children – he brought the family to the Black Forest during World War II. It was here that Hermann Dietrich-Troeltsch became acquainted with hunting and fishing from his earliest youth. After having graduated with a degree in economics, HDT submitted his thesis on the history of economic management and reparations in the Weimar republic. When his father died unexpectedly HDT, then 15 years old, took over his business interests in the Motor Presse Stuttgart group.

Andrew Herd

Andrew Herd trained to become a fishing bum from the age of 6, but made a mess of his career path and had to become a physician instead, qualifying at the Middlesex Hospital, London, in 1982.

After a varied career in medicine, which included an appointment as the McIndoe Research Fellow in Plastic Surgery at the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, he took one of the best decisions he ever made, which was to marry Dr. Barbara Holder and settle in County Durham, where he works three days a week. The remainder of the time he fishes, writes about fishing, or takes photographs of other people fishing, notably for Pure Fishing, for whom he has acted as a consultant for a number of years.

Andrew has published many books, including his History of Fly Fishing trilogy, which is available from the Medlar Press, and he is the executive editor of Waterlog magazine. His most recent work is The Anglers’ Bible, a detailed examination of the Hardy Anglers’ Guides up to 1914.

Alberto Calzolari

Despite the fact that no salmon has ever swum in Italian waters, Alberto’s love for the art of fly tying led him to become an accomplished salmon fly dresser. Born in 1964 in the ancient town of Bologna, Alberto Calzolari is an internationally known fly tier, lecturer and columnist. He started fly fishing when he was very young and soon became mesmerized by the beauty of fly tying silks, feathers and hooks, not to mention becoming fascinated by fly fishing history. His love for tying, sharing experiences and writing, was the inspiration that led him to contribute to Italian and foreign magazines, and to collaborate with authors and international organizations. Many of his flies are now in museums or private collections. For years he has been the Italian correspondent for the Castabout Bulletin of the Catskill Fly Fishing Center in USA. The story of how Alberto came to publish his first work, “Italian deeds and misdeeds” is very long, but the book is a journey through human nature, and is about fellow fly fishermen and the amusing aspect of fishing with the fly. Although Alberto would prefer to call himself a storyteller instead of writer, he divides his time between researching and tying classic flies, writing, lecturing, binding and collecting books, and surfing—age permitting and not necessarily in that order. He lives in the Bologna countryside with his wife Federica, his life-long companion, two children and a patient Golden Retriever, all of whom are very understanding of his countless passions.

If you wish to reserve a set, please email the Medlar Press by clicking this link.