PBA Galleries

Black and white photograph. Image measures 12x8" with the margins measuring 17¾x13. Framed.

Grey stands masterfully on the wooden dock with a rod and pith helmet in his right hand, while extending his left hand to grasp the dorsal fin of his record 582-pound broadbill swordfish that is suspended by a winch above Grey. Among the vast amount of memorabilia that Grey kept in the "trophy room" of his Altadena residence was another print of this photograph (see Pauly, Thomas H.: Zane Grey - His Life, His Adventurers, His Women, p. 308-309). A similar photo with Grey clasping a pectoral fin from the other side of the massive fish was used for the frontispiece and dust jacket of "Tales of Swordfish and Tuna" (1927). Grey very well may be the greatest deep sea angler that ever lived, spending the lion's share of his enormous fortune earned as the best-selling author of his time in pursuit of bigger fish in increasingly exotic, faraway locations. Operating his smaller fishing boats in tandem with his 130-foot three-masted schooner Fisherman 1, he was able to stay at sea for lengthy periods of time, pioneering many new techniques in big game fishing, including the use of light tackle. He was the first person to land a fish weighing more than 1,000 pounds on a rod and reel, and at one time he owned 14 different big game angling records. He worked extensively with manufactures to develop new reels, rods, and fishing lines. Although the western novels that made Grey rich and famous now seem relegated to a bygone era, his nine major fishing books are still eagerly read by anglers and avidly collected. Ernest Hemingway was a great fan of Grey's fishing books and gave copies of them to his friends. Zane Grey was inducted into the IGFA (International Game Fish Association) Hall of Fame in 1998. Making a dramatic presentation, signed photos of Grey of this size and quality have become rare.