64. JOHNSON, Cuthbert. Agricultural Chemistry for Young Farmers. London: James Ridgeway, [1843]. 12mo, original illustrated wrappers. Pp. 92, uncut. A fine copy. $200.
Sole edition of a rare little work, by the respected agricultural authority and author of the popular Farmer's Encyclopedia. A choice copy. Not in the NUC.
65. JORDAN, Alexis. De L'Origine des Diverse Variétés ou Espéces D'Arbres Fruitiers et Autres Végétaux Généralement Cultivés‚ é Pour les Besoins de L'Homme. Paris: J. B. Bailliére, 1853. Large 8vo, later boards, cloth spine, with original printed wrapper mounted on front. Pp. 97. One corner bumped, occ. foxing. $85. Sole edition, a presentation copy inscribed by Jordan to fellow botanist and author Paul Antoine Sagot. With extensive later marginal notations in pencil.
66. (Kliyogg.) [VAUGHAN, Benjamin.]. The Rural Socrates; or an account of a celebrated philosophical farmer, lately living in Switzerland, and known by the name of Kliyogg. Hallowell: Peter Edes, 1800. 8vo, early marbled boards, calf spine (spine worn, hinges split). Pp. xii, [4], 203, xiii. A very good copy within. $175. First edition thus. Kliyogg was an uneducated but intuitively scientific farmer whose untutored achievements attracted the attention of a number of learned societies and appealed to the romantic sensibilities of the age. He was visited by a number of prominent figures, among them Lavater and Arthur Young. This study by Vaughan, American political economist and intimate of Franklin, incorporates Young's edition of Hans Hirzel's report with other accounts and Vaughan's own research. Evans 38923; Rink 1131.
67. (Landscape Design.) HENDERSON,
Charles. Henderson's
Picturesque Gardens and Ornamental Gardening Illustrated. New York: Peter
Henderson & Co., nd (1908). Oblong 8vo, ornamental wrappers, side-stapled
under cloth spine. Pp. 168. Illustrated with halftone photos. A little dog-eared
and marginally worn, a few marginal archival tape repairs; a very good copy.
$150.
A scarce, cheaply produced but
wide-ranging guide to ornamenting public and private grounds, issued by the
succeeding generation of one of America's chief horticultural establishments;
with brief, profusely illustrated chapters on statuary and fountains, lawns and
elaborate bedding, topiary; aquatic, Japanese, wild and sunken gardens,
rockgardens, rose gardens, herbaceous borders, etc. First published in 1901,
this edition is the first to include eight full-page ornamental bedding diagrams
at the end. Hedrick/Woodburn, p. 562.
68. Le BERRYAIS, Louis René. Traité des Jardins, ou le Nouveau de la Quintinye, contenant 1. La description & la culture des Arbres Fruitiers; 2. des Plantes Potageres; 3. des Fleurs; 4. des Arbres & Arbrisseaux d'ornement. Paris: chez Fr. Didot, 1775. 2 vols, 8vo. Full 18th c. mottled calf, raised bands, gilt compartments, marbled edges. Pp. xxvi, [2], 356; 344. Half-titles. 11 engraved plates, folding. Top of one spine sl. worn, a little rubbed. Clean, tight set.
SOLD. First edition. Le Berryais collaborated with Duhamel du Monceau in the writing of Traité des Arbres Fruitiers. Hunt 648; Pritzel 5107. 69. LISLE, Edward. Observations in Husbandry. London: J. Hughes, 1757. Large 4to, early ruled calf (front board detached). Pp. xvi, 450, [3]. Fine engraved frontispiece portrait. Apart from an unfortunate (but not too large) library stamp smack in the middle of the title page, and some insignificant marginal worming, a fine copy, needing rebinding, of this handsomely printed work. $350. First edition, edited posthumously from the author's ms. notes by his son Thomas. The period covered is from the end of the 17th century, up to about 1715. Lisle's work is a true first hand experience account, with names of his farmer acquaintances and their practices and advice, interspersed with the recommendations of standard writers. "[Lisle's work] is just the evidence a modern historian wants. It tells how farming was done by named farmers living in specified places."--Fussel, p. 95. This 4to format is scarce. Perkins 1021. 70. MARKHAM, Gervase. Markham's Farewel to Husbandry: or, the enriching of all sorts of barren and sterile grounds in our nation, to be as fruitful in all manner of grain, pulse, and grass, as the best grounds whatsoever. London: for George Sawbridge, 1676. 4to, modern 3/4 calf, marble boards. Pp. [iv], 126, [4]. Woodcut illustrations in the text. A fine copy.
SOLD The tenth edition, corrected and revised, like much of Markham's work in print throughout much of his century and into the next. Wing M654.
71. MARSHALL, Charles. An Introduction to the Knowledge and Practice of Gardening.
The second edition, considerably enlarged and improved. London: Printed by John
Rider for F. and C. Rivington, 1798. 12mo, original boards. Pp. xii, 408.
Backstrip gone, else a very good, uncut copy. $450.
"This instructive little book,
professedly for the young gardener, remained poular over a long period..."-
Henrey II, p. 468. Chief among the additions to this second edition is a section
of 75 pages listing trees, shrubs, perennial and annual flowers, with particular
observations, greatly amplifying the treatment of ornamentals. A nice copy, with
an interesting provenance of American interest, bearing the early ownership
signature "JMerrick", i.e. John Merrick, who emigrated from England to
Hallowell, Maine in 1798, the father of railroad executive and philanthropist
Samuel Vaughan Merrick. The elder Merrick has made some horticultural notes in
pencil and ink on the endpapers, including a list of 28 "Vegetables in
constant demand in a family." Henrey 1009
72. MARSHALL, Humphry. Catalogue Alphabetique des Arbres et Arbrisseaux, qui croissant naturellement dans les Etats-Unis de l'Amérique Septentrionale. Traduit de l'Anglois...avec des notes & observations sur la culture; par M. Lézermes. Paris: Chez Cuchet, 1788. 8vo, modern marbled boards, calf spine gilt, morocco label. Pp. xxii [i.e. xxiv], 278, (2). A fine copy, with the half-title. $2,500. First French edition of Marshall's landmark work, the first botanical treatise by an American. Marshall's botanic garden was a focal point of early American horticulture, and a major source of American plants for European distribution. The French edition contains additional material by the editor, and is a rarer book than the original. Oak Spring Sylva 18; Hunt 694. 73. [MARSHALL, William.] A Review of the Landscape, A Didactic Poem: also an Essay on the Picturesque: Together with Practical Remarks on Rural Ornament. By the author of "Planting and Ornamental Gardening; A Practical Treatise." London: for J. Nicol, 1795.
SOLD 8vo, modern quarter-calf, marbled boards. Pp. xv, 275; half-title. Mild blindstamp on title, a very fine copy.
First edition of a major contribution to the controversy sparked by the publication of Richard Payne Knight's poem The Landscape and Uvedale Price's Essay on the Picturesque, which in unison attacked the formalism of Capability Brown and his followers in favor of a more natural, picturesque style. Marshall's answer acknowledges the literary merits of the two, but defends "poor Brown" from what he views as excessive antagonism, and finds in the two works a tiresome rehashing of ideas stolen from Gilpin. Henrey 1270.
74.McNAB, William. Hints on the Planting and General Treatment of Hardy Evergreens, in the Climate of Scotland. Edinburgh: Thomas Clark, 1830. 8vo, printed self-wraps, stitched as issued. Pp. 40, uncut. A fine unopened copy.
SOLD First edition. McNab was perhaps the greatest of 19th century Scottish gardeners, responsible for reviving the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh from a state of neglect to one of the world's great plant collections, with an unrivalled collection of evergreens. The present treatise deals primarily with broad-leaved evergreens and is one of only three short works published by the author, all quite scarce. A second edition was issued in 1831. 75. Memoirs of the Board of Agriculture of the State of New-York. Vol. I. Albany: S. Southwick, 1821. Thick royal 8vo, original printed boards. Pp. [9], [v]-xlviii, [A]-R, 364, 109, [10]. Hinges split, threads sound. An excellent, uncut copy. $300. First edition, the first volume issued by the Board, formed in 1819. Includes the text of an address by James Madison, a communication from John Sinclair, and the first of Amos Eaton's geological surveys (the earliest in America to be undertaken with a specifically agricultural objective). Very scarce in the printed boards. Rink 1256.
77. (Miniature Book.) La Petite Corbeille de Fleurs. Paris: Chez Marcilly fils aine., nd. 2 3/16 x 1 1/2 inches. Full straight grained morocco, ruled in gilt, stamped "souvenir" on front. Pp. 88; half-title. Title vignette and eight plates, hand colored. Some internal soiling, slight adhesion on one plate, affecting one letter of text on facing page. $350. A charming miniature floral guide, with delicately colored plates.
"The first purely agricultural association in the state."
78. (NY State.) Agricultural Association of Duchess and Columbia. The Farmer's Club of the Counties of Duchess and Columbia, wishing anxiously to promote a spirit of industry and improvement, offer the following Premiums for 1818. [Hudson: 1818.) Broadside, 12 3/4 x 8 inches. Browned, marginal stains.
SOLD Signed in print by William Wilson, a Scottish physician who emigrated to New York and was solicited by Robert Livingston to settle in Dutchess County. This is the earliest surviving printed literature from New York's first purely agricultural association, a listing of exhibition premiums for 1818 and 1819, followed by qualifying rules and regulations. Worth noting is a resolution "that a subscription paper be presented to Mistresses of families in the vicinity... to encourage domestic economy, to offer Premiums to them and their families." Not in Imprints; Rink 1029, recording the Clements copy only.
79. NOLHAC, Pierre de. Les Jardins de Versailles. Paris: Goupil & Cie., 1906. Folio, original pebbled cloth, ornamented with gilt. Pp. 186, illus.; marbled endpapers, t.e.g. Ornamental extra wrappers bound in. Minor soiling to covers, a fine, tight copy. $225. A handsomely produced history of the gardens at Versailles, profusely illustrated with full page and other views of parterres, fountains, sculpture, original designs by Le Brun, portraits, related paintings, features no longer in existence, etc.
80. (Nursery Catalogue - Holland.) H. DeLange
& Sons, Florists, at Haarlem, in Holland. 1843. Public Auction of a
Considerable Quantity of Flower-Roots, From Haarlem, containing several parcels
of double and single hyacinths, early and late tulips, narcissus, double and
single jonquils, anemones, ranunculuses, crocus, &. [Np: 1843.]
12mo, self-wraps, stitched. Pp. 11. SOLD
Interesting list of 191 lots of bulbs of
all sorts, but no indication of where the auction was held, or agents involved.
Probably American, as the sporadic pricings in pencil in this copy are in US
currency.
81. (Nursery Broadside.) Catalogue of a Quantity of Pear Trees....Peach and Plum Trees, Rose Bushes, &c. To be sold on Thursday, March 25th, 1841, J. L. Cunningham's Auction Room, Corner of Milk and Federal Streets. [Boston: 1841.] Broadside, 19 1/4 x 7 3/4 inches, untrimmed. Foxed, sm piece torn from lower edge, affecting only the auctioneer's initials.
SOLD Interesting documentation of nursery stock listed by variety in 106 lots "imported by S. G. Perkins of Brookline, in the Ship Switzerland." The pears are mostly described with notes and ripening dates. 21 rose varieties are named. One of a Hundred Copies 82. PARKER, Thomas Netherson. Leaves Out of the Book of a Country Gentleman. Oswestry: W. Price, 1847. Folio, original marbled boards, leather spine. Pp. [iii], 21, (1). With 14 wood engraved double page plates and 8 copper engraved plates on 4 leaves. Minor wear at extremities, a fine copy.
SOLD Only edition, one of a hundred copies, fifty of which were for sale and fifty for presentation. The present copy is inscribed on the front cover, "Sir Baldwin Leighton, Bart. From the Author". The culminating publication of the long lived amateur inventor whose improvements in agricultural machinery were promoted through a series of pamphlets published from the end of the eighteenth century onwards. The plates illustrate hot-houses, wine-cellars, wasp traps, ink stands, ice-houses, and numerous improvements in the author's "favourite subject", gates. Not in the NUC, Perkins or R.A.S catalogues.
83. PEDERSON (Bjergaard), J. & G. H.
Howard. How to Grow Cabbages and Cauliflowers Most Profitably. Edited by
W. Atlee Burpee. Philadelphia: W. Atlee Burpee & Co., 1889. 12mo, original
illustrated wrappers. Pp. 85, illus. Minor chipping to wrappers; a fine copy. $50.
Two prize-winning essays from a contest
sponsored by Burpee, supplemented by recipes for cabbage and cauliflowers by S.
J. Soyer, chief cook to the Royal Danish Court.
84. PERCIVAL, Olive. Our Old-fashioned Flowers. Pasadena: 1947. 8vo, patterned boards, cloth spine. Pp. 245. Colored frontis; line drawings in margins. A little rubbed. $40. First edition, privately printed by Ward Ritchie in an edition of a thousand copies. Includes history of plant names, indexes of flowers, herbs and roses, with their old names, and a bibliography of books on old-fashioned plants. 85. (Periodical.) The American Entomologist [and Botanist]. An illustrated magazine of popular and practical entomology and botany. Volumes I & II. St. Louis: September 1868-December 1870. Folio, early morocco (with binder's ticket of R.P. Studley & Co., St. Louis). Pp. 252, 384. Illus. Binding rubbed, some staining and marginal wear. $225. All published thus far, it was suspended for 9 years and a third and final volume was published into 1880. A pioneering journal of primarily economic entomology and botany, edited by a pair of British-born eminent authorities, Benjamin Walsh, State Entomologist of Illinois (who began his entomological career at the age of 50!) and Charles V. Riley, later organizer of the entomological division of the Dept. of Agriculture and curator of the national insect collection. 86. (Periodical.) The Farmer & Artizan, Devoted to Agriculture, Mechanics, and the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Martin Seavey, editor and proprietor. Vols. I & II. Portland, Me.: April 1852-April 1854 (all). 8vo, leather-backed marbled boards. Fine copies. $250. All published of a very scarce agricultural and technical monthly, with a healthy percentage of original contributions, concentrating on Maine and the northeast. The Union List of Serials lists no complete run. 87. (Periodical.) The Farmer's Cabinet; Devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture, and Rural Economy. Vols. I-V, Philadelphia, July 1836-July 1841. 5 vols, illus. 8vo, original 1/4 calf, marbled boards. Some foxing and minor blemishes, insect damage to one leaf affecting text, overall a clean, attractive set. $600. All published under this title, later continued as "The Farmer's Cabinet and Herd Register", ultimately merging with the American Agriculturist. Scarce as a complete set, undoubtedly one of those offered in the last number of Vol. 5: "The five volumes, neatly bound and lettered, forming an important register of events... may now be obtained by application to the office of the Cabinet." Hans Sloane's Copy.
88. PHILIPS, John. Cyder. A Poem. Im two books. London: for Jacob Tonson, 1708. 8vo, early speckled panelled calf (spine worn, hinges split) , new morocco label. Pp. 89. Engraved frontispiece. What appears to have been singed blank corners of the half-title & frontispiece have been restored, otherwise a fine, crisp copy, with the half-title. $450. First edition of "the most important of Philip's productions...written in imitation of Vergil's Georgics, and an exact account of the culture of the apple tree and of the manufacture of cider varied by compliments to various friends and patrons, and by many local allusions to Herefordshire... where Withington was especially famous for cider. Phillip Miller, the botanist, told Johnson that 'there were many books written on the same subject in prose which did not contain so much truth as that poem'"--DNB. According to the same source and Foxon, Philips received from the publisher one hundred large-paper copies. Despite its having been trimmed by the binder to conventional dimensions, our copy appears to have been one of these, given the volume's provenance and thick paper. With the bookplate of Hans Sloane (1660-1753), noted physician and naturalist, founder of the Chelsea botanic garden, whose collections of books and specimens contributed substantially to the founding of the British Museum. Foxon P237. 89. PICCIOLI, Giuseppe. La Cultura de' Fiori e degli Ananassi Senza Stufa. Nuova edizione, accresciuta e corretta dall' autore. Florence: Anton-Giuseppe Pagani, 1797. 12mo, early stiff paste-paper wraps (worn at extremities). Pp. 103, (1). A fine copy within. $275. First collected edition of three treatises by Piccioli, with notes and corrections by the author. A brief list of Italian gardening books is included. 90. PLATT, Sir Hugh. The Garden of Eden. Or, An Accurate Description of All Flowers and Fruits Now Growing in England, as well in seeds and herbs, as the secret ordering of trees and plants. London: for William Leake, 1653 [i.e. 1652]. 12mo, full early calf rebacked. Pp. 175, (1). Mildly browned, a very good copy.
SOLD Second edition. Platt was the most famous of Elizabethan gardening authorities. His major contribution to the literature was Floraes Paradise, first published in 1608, subsequently issued under the present title, edited and expanded posthumously from manuscript by his kinsman Charles Bellingham. The work is arranged in individually numbered instructions, hints gleaned from Platt's own experience and that of his fellow gardeners, whom he names. This homely citation of sources, from "Mr. Stutfield (that married my L. North's brother's daughter)" to "Master Hunt, the good horseman", accounts for the special interest and appeal of Platt's work. A second part was issued in 1659. Rohde, The Old English Gardening Books, pp. 31, 120; Henrey 293 & 297; Hunt Catalogue 281.
91. (Pomology - New Hampshire.) Group
of Ten Mounted Photographs of Maplehurst Fruit Farm, Pittsfield, New
Hampshire. Ca.1900-1910. $650.
Attractive group documenting a
turn-of-the-century New Hampshire orchard, probably prepared for display or
promotional purposes. Each of the photos is mounted on heavy card board and
titled in elaborate calligraphic script. 5 of the photos are identified as by
Charles H. Flood, Brookline, Mass., and 5 by Henry W. Osgood, Pittsfield, N.H.
The photos include a view of the entire orchard, the homestead, various
varieties in bloom, a woman picking apples, a fruit-laden branch, etc.
92. (Poultry.) New England Society for the Improvement of Domestic Poultry. List of Premiums for the Exhibition in Boston, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, September 7, 8, 9 and 10, 1852. Boston: Cross & Freeman, printers, [1852]. Broadside, 28 1/4 x 23 inches, untrimmed. Folded, a few small stains, narrow tear from blank margin. $600. Handsome exhibition poster, the text giving rules and regulations and the various divisions with premiums, set within a border of 25 woodcuts of fancy poultry and apparatus
93. (Prince Nursery.) Printed form letter
from the Linnaean Botanic Garden. Dated in ms. July 16, 1826. I page 4to.
Addressed to James Dexter of Albany on verso and docketed in his hand. Folded. SOLD
Nice piece of horticultural ephemera, a
printed letter of acknowledgement from America's premier early nursery:
"Linnaean Botanic Garden. Sir, Your favour received, enclosing an order for
trees, which shall meet due attention. Your obedient servant, William Prince. N.
B. Orders for trees, &c. must be left with Messrs. T. &. J. Swords, No.
99 Pearl St." In this copy "trees" is crossed out and
"bulbs" substituted in ms.
The Prince Nursery in
1798.
94. (PRINCE,
William, 1766-1842.) Ms. Invoice & Directions for Planting.
Flushing, April 9th, 1798. Folio sheet 13 x 7 3/4 inches, written on
both sides. Addressed to Mr. Benjamin M. Mumford and docketed
"Wm. Prince's Bill of Trees." Minor stain. SOLD
Rare early
document from the most important American nursery of its time.
"Bo't of Wm Prince. The following trees and shrubs-- in 4
bundles marked BMM...", followed by a list of 72 named
varieties of fruit trees, small fruits, roses, flowering and
ornamental trees and shrubs and the note "Mr. Prince has sent
the largest trees his nursery afforded; to complete the assortment
some of the trees have been sent rather small-- & directions for
the management of them added."
On the verso, Prince's recommended method
of planting cherry trees ("The holes round the roots should be filled with
black mould & a fifth or sixth part of well mellow'd manure mix'd together
in the filling, pressing the earth gently down with the feet & leave a
hollow round each tree to catch the rain...etc.), and directions for the passion
flower and fig trees, and the strawberries. William Prince had established his
own nursery on land adjacent to his father's only 5 years before. For the next
50 years the Prince nurseries, through sophisticated offerings and popular
gardening books authored by William and his son, would be a major influence on
American horticultural taste.
95. (Prince, William.) (caption title:) 1835 & 1836. Annual Catalogue of Esculent Vegetable and Other Seeds of the Choicest American and Imported Varieties. Linnaean Botanic Garden and Nurseries, William Prince & Sons, Proprietors, Flushing, Near New-York. Np nd [New York: 1835.] 12mo, original plain wraps, stitched. Pp. 28. Some marginal stains. In a cloth folding case.
SOLD Fine seed catalogue from the premier horticultural establishment of the period, listing vegetables, herbs, annual and perennial ornamentals and shrubs, together with several pages of text providing interesting details of Prince's trade, including mention of dried herbs packed by the Shakers. The Prince catalogues are rare, most known by one or two copies; the present catalogue is unrecorded in Imprints. An attractive copy in original plain wraps, bearing the ownership inscription of prominent New Yorker Emilien de Wall, with his Wall Street address. 96. PRINCE, William Robert, aided by William Prince. The Pomological Manual; or, a treatise on fruits: containing descriptions of a great number of the most valuable varieties for the orchard and garden. Second edition. New York: T. & J. Swords, 1832. 2 vols in 1, original boards, cloth spine, printed label. Pp. 200; 216. Small piece missing from top of spine, otherwise fine. $300. First published in 1831. Entirely a catalogue of detailed fruit decriptions (excluding apples), admittedly a good portion derived from a wide variety of sources, but still with enough of the esteemed nurseryman's own experience (and that of his colleagues) in evidence to make Hedrick's dismissal of the work puzzling. Hedrick, p. 478; Imprints 14371. 97. PRINCE, William. A Short Treatise on Horticulture: Embracing descriptions of a great variety of fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs, grape vines, bulbous flowers, green-house trees and plants, &c. New York: T. and J. Swords, 1828. 8vo, original paper boards, cloth spine, wanting the printed label. Pp. x, 196. A little wear at foot of spine, scattered foxing. A nice uncut copy. $750. First and only edition. An influential work by the preeminent American nurseryman of his time. "The publication in 1828 of A short treatise on horticulture by William Prince of the famous Linnaean Botanic Garden marked the beginning of a new era in horticultural books in America. This was the first book of the kind in America that broke away from the English custom of treating horticulture in calendar style. The book was at once popular." - Hedrick, p. 477. The section on grapes is a substantial 30 pages, with interesting descriptions of American varieties. Hedrick considered the book common, but that was over 40 years ago and our experience suggests otherwise, and only one copy shows up in the auction records of the past thirty years. AI 34887; Rink 1693. 98. QUINTINYE, Jean de la. Trattato del Taglio de gl' Alberi Frutiferi...Tradotto dalla lingua Francese all' Italiana da N.N. Bassano: Gio: Antonio Remondini, 1697. Sm. 8vo, early boards, leather spine. Pp. [xii], 228, (3). Engraved frontispiece and 7 folding plates. Half-title present. A fine copy.
SOLD Scarce Italian translation of the treatise on pruning from Quintinye's Le Parfait Jardinier.
The Editor's Presentation Copy 99. RAPIN, René. Hortorum libri IV, et Cultura hortensis. Hortorum historiam addidit Gabriel Brotier. Paris: J. Barbou, 1780. 12mo, early mottled calf, ruled in gilt, spine with gilt pineapple motif in compartments, morocco label, inner gilt dentelles. Pp. xxxvi, 319; half-title. Engraved frontis. A.e.g. Extremities rubbed, front hinge tender. A sound, attractive copy within.
SOLD A worthy edition of this oft-printed horticultural classic, edited by eminent librarian and classical scholar Gabriel Brotier, who has provided a concise history of gardens from ancient times, including those of China. This copy bears a presentation inscription, "Donné par Mr. Brotier..."
100. REA, John. Flora: seu, De Florum
Cultura. Or, a complete florilege, furnished with all the requisites
belonging to a florist. In III books. London: by J. G. for Thomas Clarke, 1665.
Folio, contemporary ruled calf, rebacked preserving most of original spine,
morocco label. Pp. xx, 239, [3]. Title in red & black. Extra pictorial
engraved title, 8 engraved plates showing 16 garden designs. Neat repair to tear
in title, one leaf misbound, one plate trimmed close, blank corner of one plate
torn away, occasional light stain. Overall a clean, fresh copy. SOLD
First edition. Rea had over forty years'
experience as a gardener when he wrote his esteemed work, judged by Henrey
"the most important English treatise on gardening to be written during the
second half of the 17th century". His collection of plants was among the
best in England, particularly known for its unrivalled selection of tulips. His
treatise is dedicated to Thomas Hanmer and is written for the owners of smaller
gardens. There are two variants of the imprint of this edition, priority
undetermined. One "J.G. for Thomas Clarke" , as here and one "for
Richard Marriott", whose name appears in the imprint of the engraved title.
This copy agrees with that in the Hunt Catalogue. Henrey 325; Wing R421; Hunt
Catalogue, 301.
101. RENEAULME, Paul de. Specimen Historiae Plantarum. Paris: Hadrian Beys, 1611. 4to, early panelled calf, neatly rebacked. With 25 plates engraved on copper. Title partially rebacked at an early date, repairing several neat tears, affecting one letter. Occasional foxing, but generally clean within, and overall a sound, attractive copy. Engraved bookplate of the Society of Apothecaries, and the ms. note "from the Library at Chelsea Garden 1832"; pencilled ownership signature "Wilfrid Blunt, Eton College, 1947."
SOLD First edition of one of the earliest botanical books to be illustrated with etchings, Wilfred Blunt's copy, at one time in the Chelsea Garden library. Reneaulme's work was a pioneering attempt at plant classification illustrated with strikingly original plant portraits, but it failed to attract wide notice. In The Art of Botanical Illustration, Blunt calls Reneaulmes book "strangely neglected... Its etchings however, are of the highest quality-- exquisitely sensitive and extremely personal in treatment. They are assuredly the work, not only of a great lover of nature, but of a great master of the etcher's craft. It would be as impertinent to attempt to colour them as it would be to apply a water-colour wash to the etchings of Rembrandt." Appended to Reneaulme's text, as in some copies, is Jacque-Auguste de Thou's Crambe.Viola. Lilium. Phlogis. Terpsinoe 1611, a series of poems, dedicated to Reneaulme. A very good copy, with ample margins and an appealing provenance. Hunt 192; Pritzel 7542; Nissen 1621; not in Cleveland or Mass Hort collections. Unique Prospectus. 102. ROHDE, Eleanor Sinclair. The Story of the Garden From Medieval Times to the Present. London: The Medici Society, 1932. Narrow 4to, 3/4 morocco and millefleurs patterned paper boards by Sangorski & Sutcliff, in a slipcase. $135. Unique prospectus for Rohde's classic study, consisting of the first 16 pages of text, the frontispiece and six plates, three of which are in color, and trimmed and pasted on blank leaves. An additional leaf gives information regarding the illustrations ("There will be five plates in colour...").
103. ROHDE, Eleanor Sinclair. The Story of the Garden. London: Medici Society, 1932. 8vo, cloth, pp. xii, 326. A good copy in a torn dj. $65. First edition, by one of the best gardener-scholars. Profusely illustrated, with a bibliography. 104. ROSE (or La Rose), Louis. Le Bon Fermier, ou L'Ami des Laboureurs. Lille: J. B. Henry, 1767. Sm 8vo, early stiff wrappers. Pp. iv, 540 (i.e. 440), errata leaf; uncut. Marginal wear to wrappers, small marginal stain. A very good copy.
SOLD A scarce provincial agricultural guide, containing an ideological introduction, followed by a wealth of practical information in the form of a classical dialogue, and a concluding ode. Particular attention is given to manures and the culture of flax. This appears to be the second of three editions (1765, 1767, 1769, this last confusingly designated the "seconde edition.") The first is very rare and recorded only in the Bibliotheque Nationale catalogue. No edition in Kress or Goldsmith. The NUC lacates only two copies (ICU and PKsL). 105. (Roses.) HOLE, S. Reynolds. A Book About Roses. How to grow and show them. Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1869. Sm 4to, pictorial gilt cloth. Pp. 277. Neatly rebacked, cloth a little worn & stained. $135. First edition of an oft-reprinted classic. Hole organized the first rose show in England, and his text includes a good deal on roses for exhibition. An interesting appendix notes the major rosarians of the time and their introductions. Stock lists nearly 50 separate printings of Hole's book over a 60 year period. Stock 1253. A Presentation Copy 106. (Sericulture.) COBB, Jonathan Holmes. A Manual Containing Information Respecting the Growth of the Mulberry Tree, with Suitable Directions for the Culture of Silk. Fourth edition, enlarged. Boston: Weeks, Jordan and Company, 1839. 12mo, original cloth. Pp. xii, [13]-162, plus 4 pp. ads; illus. Folding plate. Library bookplate and blindstamp on title. Rubbed at extremities, a very good copy. $125.
Enlarged edition, with a substantial appendix newly added, giving a short historical account of the American silk industry, receipts for dyes, newly invented machinery, a list of books on the subject, etc. A family presentation copy of the most influential American work on the subject, inscribed "Jona. Cobb Esq., with the respects of the author." Imprints 55014.
107. (Sericulture.) PREVOST, Louis. California Silk Grower's Manual.
San Francisco: H. H. Bancroft and Company, 1867. 12mo, original limp cloth,
titled in gilt. Pp. xii, [13]-246. Frontispiece. Ends of spine worn, moderate
foxing and stains. $450.
First edition, by the self-described
"Pioneer Silk Culturist of the Pacific Coast." Although silk culture
had been pursued in America for more than half a century before, Prevost's
manual is one of the first entirely based on personal experience in this
country, and not based on foreign sources. Prevost's is a thoroughly California
book, with information on various growers throughout the state, and treating the
subject particularly as it regards the superior conditions there.
This copy bears in several places the
ownership stamp of Mrs. Carrie Williams, a dedicated turn-of-the-century silk
grower of San Diego, author of her own grower's manual, and proprietor of the
Southern California Silk Company, which ran a museum and school for silk
culture. Her pencilled markings are in evidence throughout, and a small sheet of
notes is laid in, along with a folded brochure for her silk company, and a
clipped review of her manual, with portrait.
108. (Sheep.) LIVINGSTON, Robert. Essay on Sheep: Their varieties-- account of the Merinoes of Spain, France, &c.; reflections on the best method of treating them, and raising a flock in the United States; together with miscellaneous remarks on sheep and woolen manufactures. Concord, N.H.: Daniel Coolidge, 1813. 12mo, early marbled boards, leather spine, morocco label. Pp. 142; woodcut on t.p. Boards rubbed, lacking front flyleaf. A very good, sound copy. $185. Third edition, first published in 1809. A standard work of its time. Livingston was among the first to import merinoes into the US, and was largely responsible for the subsequent "merino-mania". Imprints 28966; Rink 1612. 109. SINCLAIR, Sir John. The Correspondence of The Right Honourable Sir John Sinclair. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831. 2 vols, 3/4 morocco, marbled boards, raised bands, gilt. Pp. xxxiv, 492, 36, 2; xii, 452, 49. Moderate wear at extremeities, title labels wanting; blind stamp on title, very good, sound copies. Frontis. portrait, colored map, 8 pp. autograph facsimiles. With a mounted sample of Sinclair's autograph bound in. $165. First and only edition, the London issue, with the Colburn and Bentley cancel titles. 110. SMITH, Charles H. Landscape Gardening: or, Parks and Pleasure Grounds. With Practical Notes on Country Residences, Villas, Public Parks and Gardens. With Notes and Additions by Lewis F. Allen. New York: C. M. Saxton, 1853. 8vo, original cloth, leather spine, gilt. Pp, xii, [13]-367 + ads. Top one inch of spine missing, foxed; a sound copy. $250. First American edition, a publisher's presentation copy, faintly inscribed in pencil "To the editor of the Independent with the respects of the Pub. Price $1.25." Allen's editorial additions are substantial, with copious critical notes on almost every topic that contrast English and American climate, practice and taste. 111. STEPHENS, Henry. Catechism of Practical Agriculture.. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1870. 12mo, limp cloth gilt. Pp. [ii], 64. Illus. Some foxing, marginal wear; very good. $50. Introductory manual of general agricultural practices, by the author of the popular Book of the Farm.
112. STRONG, A. B. The American Flora,or
History of Plants and Wild Flowers. New York: Strong and Bidwell, 1846.
4to, early 3/4 morocco, marbled boards. Pp. 137, (1), iv. 52 plates, hand
colored. A.e.g. Binding rubbed; lightly browned, occasional foxing, but over all
a clean and fresh copy. $1200.
First edition, Volume I only. Strong's
Flora was erratically issued in 3 and 4 volume editions over a nine year period,
with varying number of plates. Bennett notes the confusion surrounding the work,
and the fact that "complete sets of any of these four early editions are
extremely difficult to locate." -- p.103. A better than average, complete
copy of the first volume. Pritzel 9012.
113. (Sugar.) Sugar Cane: A Monthly Magazine, Devoted to the Interests of the Sugar Cane Industry. Vols. III-V, VII-X, (1874 lacking),1871-78. 7 vols, thick 8vo. Occasional illus., folding plates, mounted photos. Crimson half-morocco, marbled boards. Some bindings rubbed, overall a sound set. $350. 114. THAER, Albrecht. The Principles Of Agriculture. Translated by William Shaw and Cuthbert W. Johnson. New York: Greeley & McElrath, 1846. Thick 8vo, stamped cloth gilt. Top of spine a little worn, a fine copy.
SOLD First American edition of the first English translation of the great German agriculturist's Principles of Rational Agriculture (1810, etc.), with a preface by the American editor John Stuart Skinner, and a biographical memoir. 115. (Thornton.) Only 20,000 Tickets and Ten Thousand Prizes!!! For the Promotion and Encouragement of Science...Dr. Robert John Thornton's Royal Botanical Lottery. [London:] Whiting, Printer, [1811]. 8vo handbill, printed on both sides.
SOLD Rare survival from a sad episode in botanical history. Facing financial ruin, Thornton was forced to hold a lottery in which the prizes consisted of his collection of paintings including a unique "portrait of Linnaeus in his Lapland dress", as well as all remaining copies of his beleaguered and unparalleled Temple of Flora in both the folio and 4to formats, the value of which was secured by the forced destruction of all the original plates. This handbill provides many details regarding the proposed lottery, and the verso is taken up with most of the text of the parliamentary "Act to enable Doctor Robert John Thornton to dispose of his collection...by way of chance, 21st May 1811." 116. (Trade Catalogue.) RALPH & CO. Descriptive Catalogue of Agricultural and Horticultural Implements., and of Machinery, Field and Garden Seeds, Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Domestic Animals, Fertilisers, &c. New York: Ralph & Co., [1852.] 8vo, original illustrated front wrapper, removed. Pp. 94. Illus. Light dampstaining throughout. $350. Fine illustrated catalogue from the Union Agricultural Warehouse on Fulton Street. Each of the departments is represented with a sampling of woodcuts, including garden tools, various mills, carts and wheelbarrows, plows and harrows, livestock, garden furniture, pumps and fountains. Also of note is a 45 page cultural guide to the vegetable garden, with full descriptions of numerous varieties. Very scarce. Not in Romaine. 117. (Trees.) BAKER, Richard St. Barbe. Among The Trees. With a forward by Theo. A. Stevens. London: Privately printed for The Men of the Trees, 1930. 4to, 3/4 japan vellum and cloth. Pp. xiii, 95, uncut; with 49 full page half-tone and gravure photo plates. A little soiled, early owners correspondence tipped in at front. $95. First edition, one of a thousand copies, signed by the author. "This book has been written for the pleasure of tree lovers who recognize the spiritual as well as the aesthetic and economic value of trees to human life." Baker was involved in forest protection and tree husbandry, and lectured world-wide on the subject. 118. (Trees.) BOUTCHER, William. A Treatise on Forest-Trees: Containing, not only the best methods of their culture hitherto practised, but a variety of new and useful discoveries, the result of many repeated experiments. Dublin: William Wilson, 1776. 8vo, early calf. Pp. [xviii], 311; plate. Sm piece chipped from bottom of spine, occ. marginal stains, but a nice, sound copy.
SOLD Second edition, with a plate not found in the original 4to edition of 1775. "The best eighteenth-century work published on the subject."--Henrey, II, p. 403; Henrey 478.
119. TULL, Jethro. The Horse-Hoing
Husbandry: or, An Essay on the Principles of Tillage and Vegetation. Wherein
is shown a method of introducing a sort of vineyard-culture into the
corn-fields, in order to increase their product, and diminish the common
expence; by the use of instruments described in cuts. London: for the author,
1733. Bound with, A Supplement to the Essay on Horse-Hoing Husbandry.
The second edition. London: for the author, 1740. Folio, early polished calf,
neatly rebacked, raised bands, gilt morocco labels. 6 folding engraved plates; 1
plate (supplement). Moderate foxing and soiling; neat repair to tear in title; a
very good copy. With ownership signature of Goning Walker, August 12th 1742, and
his marginal notes and underlinings. $1600.
Second (first folio) edition. Perhaps the
only book that ever sparked a revolution in agricultural practice, the 'new
husbandry' based on Tull's seed drill and his advocacy of tillage over manuring.
Perkins 1782 (this ed.); Fussell II, p. 4.
120. TURNER, Cordelia Harris, ed. Cyclopedia of Practical Floriculture. New York: Townsend Mac Coun, 1884. Folio, original green cloth gilt. Pp. [xvii], 424. Spine worn, cloth rubbed, title foxed; library bookplates. $175. Second edition, originally published in 1877 under the title The Floral Kingdom, Its History, Sentiment and Poetry. A very scarce Victorian compendium of flower culture and lore. The text is printed within red borders, with elaborate ornamental capitals. It is divided in two sections: I. Description, Language and Poetry of Flowers; II. Cultivation and Analysis of Plants. With an original poem contributed by W. C. Bryant, and reproduced in manuscript facsimile. See BAL 1764.
121. TUSSER, Thomas. Five Hundred Points of
Good Husbandry. With an introduction by Sir Walter Scott and a benediction
by Rudyard Kipling, incorporated in a forewrad by E. V. Lucas. London: James
Tregaskis & Son, 1931. Thick 4to, full reverse calf, raised bands. Pp. xii,
(1), 336; half title. Uncut. Slight discoloration at head and foot of spine,
else fine copy. $325.
One of 500 copies, printed on Batchelor
hand-made paper, printed at the Caxton Head and Raven Presses, and bound by Bain
and Co. A handsome edition of Tusser's classic, printed from the text of 1580.
122. Useful and Ornamental Planting. With an index. Published under the superintendence of the Society for The Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. London: Baldwin and Craddock, 1832. 8vo, early 3/4 calf (worn). Pp. 151. $75. First edition. Mostly arboriculture for timber, with a chapter on ornamental plantings. 123. (Veterinary - Horses.) THOMPSON, J., of Clifton, Yorkshire. Modern Practice of Farriery; or, Complete Horse Doctor. Explaining the various symptoms of the appproaching disorders and the most approved cures... Likewise the most certain rules for chusing horses, with directions for riding. Philadelphia: Printed by Joseph Cruikshank, 1807. 12mo, early full calf, morocco label, spine ruled in gilt. Pp. xxiv, [25]-152. Bottom of spine worn, moderate foxing; a very good copy.
SOLD Possibly the second American edition, certainly the first available. Shipton & Mooney 46888 lists a work of the same title by J. Thomson, published in 1793, of which no copy is located. A nice copy of a scarce pocket guide, mostly devoted to diseases and cures, with brief sections on riding and management. Scarce. Imprints 13690; Henderson, p. 177. 124. VILMORIN-ANDRIEUX et CIE. Les Fleurs de Pleine Terre. Comprenant la description et la culture des fleurs annuelles, bisannuelles, vivaces et bulbeuses de pleine terre. Cinquième édition. Paris: Chez Vilmorin-Andrieus et Cie., 1909. Thick royal 8vo, original stamped cloth, leather spine with raised bands and gilt compartments. Pp. 1357. 10 chromolith plates of flowers; 3 color landscape plans with printed tissue overlays, 2 of which folding; 1 b& w plate. Profusely illustrated with cuts in text. Rubbed, half-title with neat tear, no loss; minor marginal stain to first few leaves. A very good, sound copy.
SOLD 125. (Viticulture.) BUCHANAN, Robert, "The Vineyards of Ohio", 4 pp. article in The Western Journal and Civilian, Vol. XI, No. 5. St. Louis: 1854. 8vo, original printed wrappers. Fine. $60. Buchanan, the central figure of Ohio viticulture, provides a brief but fact filled account of the year's vintage in the vicinity of Cincinnati, and statistics of vine culture in the region. 126. (Viticulture.) COXE, Tench. Advertisement "80,000 American Vines for Sale." in the Aurora General Advertiser, Philadelphia Dec. 12, 1799. Large folio bifolium, untrimmed, as issued. Minor tears and edge wear. $125. A small ad in a Philadelphia newspaper documenting an interesting venture by the reformed-Tory financier, entrepreneur and political economist Tench Coxe, a large scale offering of vines "produced from stocks of of the Cape of Good Hope, Champagne, Burgundy, St. Emilion, Sauvignon and Medoc, from the three last of which the fine clarets are made. Being produced in the latitude of Bristol, Lancaster, Bedford, and Pittsburg (Pennsylvania), it is presumed they will thrive in any part of the United States." One wonders if the source of Coxe's sizeable offering could have been the nursery of Peter Legaux' nearby Pennsylvania Vine Company, whose fortunes were flagging at the time, and whose stock was similarly derived from Burgundy and Bordeaux, and highly-touted vines from the Cape of Good Hope. There is no mention of Coxe and his venture in Pinney's History of Wine in America, but see pp. 107-114, regarding Legaux and his company.
129. WANGENHEIM, Friederich Adam Julius von. Beschreibung einiger Nordamericanischen Holz- und Buscharten, mit Anwendung auf teutsche Forsten. Goettingen: Johann Christian Dieterich, 1781. 12mo, contemp. paper boards. Pp. 151, (9). Old lib. stamp on title. A fine copy. $1,500. Sole edition. A scarce descriptive catalogue of eastern American trees and shrubs, written to encourage their introduction into Germany. Seventy plants are identified in German, Latin and English, botanically described and evaluated for economic potential. Wangenheim (1747-1800) was a forester who came to America with the Hessian troops, and stayed on to study native flora. Pritzel 9990; BMNatHist, p. 2262; not in Hunt, Cleveland or MassHort collections. 131. WASHINGTON, George. Letters From His Excellency George Washington, to Arthur Young, Esq. F.R.S. and Sir John Sinclair, Bart. M.P. Containing an account of his husbandry, with his opinions on various questions in agriculture; and many particulars of the rural economy of the United States. Alexandria: Cottom and Stewart, 1803. 8vo, original boards, rebacked. Pp. 128, uncut. Some staining and darkening throughout; crude repair to marginal tear on last leaf. $350. First edition. Rich documentation of Washington's agricultural expertise, with frequent reference to Jefferson and Hamilton as well. Imprints 5536; Sabin 101720; Rink 1144.
132. WATSON, Elkanah. 2 ALs, Providence,
Jan. 1st, and Jan. 27th, 1774. 2 pp and 1 page 4to, signed "Elka.
Watson" and "E.W. junr.", both to an unnamed correspondent in New
Haven, a close friend who then drafted a further letter on the verso of the
second letter to Thomas Davis, Jr., evidently a mutual friend of Watson's.
Folded, wear at edges touching a few letters, no loss; neat tears at folds. $1850.
Two very fine and remarkably early
letters, written just before and after Watson's 16th birthday, and only a few
months after the fifteen-year old had arrived in Providence to indenture himself
as apprentice to wealthy merchant John Brown, marking the beginning of a
relationship that would assume national historical importance.
In the first letter, Watson describes his
happy circumstances in Providence: ""By what little experience I have
had of the business, I make no doubt but what I shall content myself here. Mr.
Brown has given me a great deal of encouragement since I have been with him; I
think I can freely & with great propriety say that I never enjoyed a more
happy & contented life than I have since have lived with Mr. Brown." He
then goes on to smooth out a misunderstanding with his correspondent, expressing
himself in highly emotional fashion, referring to "that dismal hour that I
parted with you at the bridge, such an hour I'm sure I never underwent in all my
life... I was very anctious to have a little conversation with you before we
parted, but when I drew near you as we were taking our long farewell of each
other, my heart & tongue failed me, was I [to] have gained the whole world,
I could not have entered into any conversation with you..."
The second letter is written as a cover
letter and continuation of the first, which Watson delayed in sending. and
includes news of goings on at Brown's store, tea sales, prices of goods
("Fish is exceeding low in the market, price for good Jamaica fish is only
9/lb."), and mentions the Boston tea party: "The tea affair makes a
great Noise in these parts, I have not the time to aquaint you the
particulars..." and family news: "I was visited by cousin John Watson
and Mr. Russell... and by them I had the unexpected news of your sisters
Lothrop's being delivered of a girl." In a cramped post script in the
margin, he writes of his eminent employer: "Perhaps you may want to know
Mr. Brown's circumstances, which I shall communicate to you a few words, viz. he
owns more navigation than any two merchants in the colony, we have four sloops
& a Leary ship abt. 250 tons now on the stocks. There is four of us that
attends the store." His friend has drafted a letter on the verso,
mentioning Watson, his letter and those to whom he wished to be remembered.
In the ensuing year, Brown would embrace
Watson as a trusted confidant and emissary in Brown's crucial secret role as
naval and munitions supplier to the Revolution. Watson's services on behalf of
Brown would continue for nearly a decade, and his missions would take him
throughout the colonies and across the Atlantic. Altogether rare and fascinating
survivals from the very beginning of a distinguished and influential career.
133. WAUGH, Frank A. The Landscape Beautiful. A study of the utility of the natural landscape, its relation to human life and happiness, with application of these principles in landscape gardening and art in general. Illustrated by members of the Postal Photographic Club. New York: Orange Judd Company, 1912. Large 8vo, gilt decorated boards, cloth spine. Pp. 336; 49 half-tone plates. Corners bumped, else a fine copy. $75. Second printing, one of Orange Judd's most attractive productions. Waugh wrote a number of books espousing an aesthetic derived from the natural landscape. 134. WAWRA v. Fernsee, Dr. Heinrich Ritter. Itinera Principum S. Coburgi. Die botanische Ausbeute von den Reisen ihrer Hoheiten der Prinzen von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha. I. Reise der Prinzen Philipp und August vom die Welt (1872-1873). II. Reise der Prinzen August und Ferdinand nach Brasilien (1879). Vienna: 1883-88. 2 vols, large 4to. Original printed boards, cloth spine gilt. Pp. xviii, 182; vi, 205. With 57 lithograph plates, 15 tinted, 42 colored, 8 of which double page. Lightly rubbed, blank lower margins of titles neatly cropped, front flyleaves wanting; else a clean attractive set. $3,500. First edition. Handsomely illustrated report of the botanical excursions of three Princes of Saxe-Coburg to Brazil and elsewhere, with brilliant plates of their collections. Stafleu & Cowan TL2 16.847; Nissen 2113. 135. WHEELER, James. The Botanist's and Gardener's New Dictionary. Containing the names, classes, orders, generic characters, and specific distinctions of the several plants cultivated in England, according to the system of Linnaeus. Directing the culture of each plant, describing its singular virtues and uses, and explaining the terms peculiar to botany and gardening. London: for W. Strahan, 1763. Thick 8vo, early full calf, rebacked. Pp. xxxi, 480. 2 engraved plates. An excellent copy. $500. Sole edition of an excellent horticultural compendium by a Gloucester nurseryman, the founder of a firm that lasted well into this century. "The work shows Wheeler to have been one of the first converts among nurserymen to Linnaeus' system, appreciating the precision of the Swede's description of species." - Henrey II, p. 387. Harvey, Early Nurserymen, p. 93; Henrey 1493. 136. WILDER, Marshall P. Address Delivered at the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, September 12, 1879. Boston: Franklin Press, 1879. 8vo, printed wraps, removed. Pp. 27.
SOLD First edition, with the author's complimentary slip tipped in. A brief but interesting overview of the society's first 50 years by its most illustrious former president.
137. WILLIAMS, Thomas B. Farmer's Guide in
the Management of Domestic Animals, the Treatment of their Diseases. A
treatise on horses, mules, neat cattle, sheep, swine, poultry, bees, etc. New
York: Phelps & Fanning, 1851. 12mo, original illustrated wrappers. Pp. 100,
illus.; frontis. Wrappers soiled, spine worn; foxed & moderate stains
within. $75. 138. WILLMOTT, Ellen. Warley Garden in Spring and Summer. London: Bernard Quaritch, 1909. Folio, original cloth. Pp. [iii], 30 toned photogravures. Binding moderately rubbed, a fine copy within. $500. First edition. Gertrude Jekyll referred to her friend Willmott as "the greatest of living women gardeners". This superb document of her extensive gardens, illustrated (a la Jekyll) with Wilmott's own photographs, shows what her vision, aided by great wealth and a staff of 85 gardeners, was able to achieve. The gardens disappeared with her wealth after World War I, and she died impoverished and embittered. 139. (Wisconsin.) Transactions of the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. Madison: Atwood & Culver, 1872. 8vo, orig cloth. Pp. 200. Folding color lithograph frontis. ; illus. Binding worn at extremities, occasional soiled leaves within; a sound copy. $135. The second volume of the series, with a fine folding litho view of the residence and pleasure grounds of Milwaukee financier Alexander Mitchell, described in detail in the text. Much on fruit growing, and an interesting list of gardeners, florists and nurserymen in the state. Scarce. 140. [WORLIDGE, John.] Systema Horti-Culturae: or, The Art of Gardening. By J.W. Gent. London: for Tho. Dring, 1683. 8vo, early calf, rebacked. Pp. [xxii], 298, [22]. Extra engraved title (dated 1862), and 3 plates. Corners worn, rubbed; mild running marginal stains within. Early owner's note at bottom of title: "I suppose the author is Jon. Wolridge [sic] gent. who writ ye Systema Agricultura." A very good sound copy, with ample margins.
SOLD. Second edition, enlarged. A very scarce horticultural guide by an author "generally considered one of the most enlightened of seventeenth-century writers on gardening and husbandry" --Henrey, p. 205. The work is divided into three sections: I. Of Gardens of Pleasure, ann the solid ornaments thereof; II. Of the diverse trees, flowers and plants that beautifie and adorn a garden; III. Of Esculents or plants for food. The engraved plates illustrate formal designs and fountains. Worlidge's book is a model of garden writing from the first period of popular horticulture, written in an amiable, accessible style for the small-plot gardener, and stressing the sensual rather than medical attributes of plants. An appealing work, and elusive in the trade. No copy of the first edition of 1677 appears in the auction records of the past 35 years, and only one of this second edition. The catalogue of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society lists only the third edition of 1688, as does that of the Hunt Botanical Library; the Cleveland Collections hold a copy of the first edition, but not this enlarged edition. Henrey 371; Old English Gardening Books, p. 132. 141. YOUNG, Arthur. Le Cultivateur Anglois, ou Oeuvres Choisies d'Agriculture, et d'Economie Rurale et Politique. Traduit de l'anglois par CC. Lamarre, Benoist, et Billecocq; avec les notes de citoyen Delalauze, coopérateur du Cours d'Agriculture de l'abbé Rozier. Paris: Chez Maradan, 1800-1801. 18 vols., 8vo. Early full calf, morocco labels, spines gilt. 73 (in 72) engraved plates, many of which folding. Extremities worn, a few volumes with chipped spines, one label wanting, an occasional tender hinge, but on the whole a presentable set, sound with all covers intact. $1,250. A very scarce French translation of selected works of the great English agriculturalist, handsomely illustrated with engraved plates of machinery and implements, views, diagrams, buildings, maps (one of which colored), mostly new to this edition. Included are the various agricultural tours of England, Ireland and France, a concise reduction of the Annals, Course of Experimental Agriculture, Farmer's Guide, and the Practical Essays, etc. Not in in BLC, Perkins Catalogues, RAS Catalogue. 142. YOUNG, C. S. All Of Nature's Fashions in Lady's Slippers for the Northern and Eastern Parts of the United States. With photogravures from the living plant. Boston: Bradlee Whidden, (1895.) 8vo, stiff pictorial wrappers tied with silk ribbon. 18 unnumbered leaves, 6 photo plates.
SOLD A scarce amateur botanist's photographic survey of New England Cypripediums, illustrated with gravures from the author's photos of isolated living specimens. Not in BMC NatHist. |