GARDENING

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Les Jardins — Illustrated & Charmingly Bound

•  Subtitled “L’art d’embellir les paysages,” this gardening-themed poem includes praise of the virtues of the relaxed, relatively “natural” jardin anglais. Les jardins, Delille’s most successful work, was originally published in 1782 with many subsequent editions appearing both in French and English; the present example is a nicely bound copy of the expanded version, illustrated with four engraved plates by Monciau after Benoît-Louis Prevost and other artists.

Binding: Contemporary treed calf. Spine with gilt-stamped red leather title label, gilt-stamped compartment lines, and floral devices within compartments.

•  Brunet, II, 576. Binding somewhat rubbed and starting to crack over joints, though very firm; some onetime water exposure visible on front cover (a not entirely unattractive effect). Pages with a bit of very minor spotting, and some offsetting from plates. An attractive copy of a pretty book.

Materia Medica — Ancient Knowledge

Click the interior images for enlargements.

•  Important classical work on herbalism and pharmacology, listing the medicinal effects of hundreds of different plants known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. The present example is one of two variants of the 1549 edition, with this Haultinum imprint being notably more uncommon than the Birkmann imprint.

The work was edited by Jacques Goupyl, and is laid out with the Latin translation by Jean Ruel in side-by-side columns with the Greek text.

Provenance: Early title-page inscription, “F.M. ex dono Eduardi Davenant.”

•  Adams D656; Durling 1135; Index aureliensis 154.341; Pritzel 2295.   18th-century speckled calf (front cover) and sheep (back cover) rebacked with lighter-colored sheep preserving original gilt-stamped leather title-label; boards scuffed and worn. Title-page with inked inscription as above (and in same hand, “Illuminat mentem Lectio.” First two leaves creased; first and last few leaves with light to moderate waterstaining. A very few marginalia in a tiny, neat, early inked hand. (20639)

From Apricots to Walnuts — 13 Plates
& William Cobbett Too

•  William Forsyth (1737–1804) was superintendent of the royal garden of St. James and Kensington, where he was so successful in his work on trees that Parliament voted him thanks and a monetary reward. His Treatise was first published in 1802 in both Britain and America and saw a number of editions. In it he discusses a wide variety of fruit trees, how to care for them, and the various uses to which they may be put; the 13 plates illustrate the various trees under discussion. Its American publication is significant for occurring at the time that scientific agriculture and the nursery business were just beginning in this country, and it includes a preface on growing fruit trees in the United States by the Anglo-American political writer and agriculturist William Cobbett (1762–1835). This third American edition has the same text and plates as the Philadelphia 1802 edition, but new here is an 8-page letter (pp. 273–80) from Peter W. Yates, dated Albany, 1803.

•  NSTC C26475; Shaw & Shoemaker 4218; Gaines, Cobbett, 62c. On Forsyth, see: Dictionary of National Biography, XX, 35. On Cobbett, see: Dictionary of National Biography, XI, 142–45; Appleton, I, 669. Recent quarter walnut brown calf over marbled paper; spine with two red leather labels, gilt-lettered with a single fillet above and below; remainder of spine divided into compartments by blind rules, with gilt-stamped date at base. Pages and plates lightly age-toned, a little cockled, and lightly soiled throughout with some shallow chipping, light foxing, and waterstaining. Rubber-stamps from a now-defunct library, including one on title-page. Pencilled ownership inscription on title-page. A nicer book than the faults-list makes it sound like, to read or work with.

The Lady Had aLOT of PROJECTS!

•  Manuscript assessment of architectural and construction work planned or performed for “Madamme Hauchet du Charnoy” [sic] by Victor Delamarre, mason, and Pierre Gautier, carpenter, including estimated charges. Items cited include “un autre batimant . . . servant de bergerie,” “les grandes portes de bois chenies,” “un pavillion a deux étage entre la grande porte et la petite porte,” and “le mures du jardin” (all phrases given as written — [sic]). Click the image to the left
for an enlargement.

•  Sewn. Some edges ragged; worming to upper margins of last few leaves, touching two letters.

A Copy for the“Busted Bibliophile”

•  Floral-themed poetry, with two hand-colored plates. Flora’s Interpreter was first printed in 1832 and went through a large number of editions; this early issue, unlike later printings, does not give Mrs. Hale credit for the “anonymous” verses. The poems are organized by flower, with musings on the appropriate sentiment according to the language of flowers.

Provenance: Early inked ownership inscriptions reading “P.N. Spofford” on the front fly-leaf and the title-page.

•  Original printed paper–covered boards, front cover detached, with paper cracked over the spine and back joint, and some light staining to the covers. A few verses with pencilled notes; pages with occasional small, light spots. The pages from 157–68 are bound in twice in this copy, with the pagination skipped from 169–80; the text headers go from “rose, bridal” to “rose-bud, red.”

For Books for the BUSTED
            BIBLIOPHILE,  click here.

AMERICAN Grapes AMERICAN Wine AMERICAN Author

•  Reissue of the fourth, corrected edition, following the original 1866 publication under the title, Cultivation of the Native Grape and Manufacture of American Wine. Written by a professor of agriculture at the University of Missouri known as “Father of the Missouri Grape Industry,” this work covers viticulture on both the East and West Coasts, presenting detailed information on grape varietals, growing techniques, and the steps of wine production. The volume is illustrated with small in-text wood engravings; it closes with a short gathering of “Wine Songs.”

Provenance: Ownership stamp of “C. Witter . . . St. Louis, Mo.”

•  Amerine & Borg, Bibliography on Grapes, Wines, Other Alcoholic Beverages, & Temperance, 1851.   Publisher's dark green cloth, covers with blind-stamped grapevine borders, spine with gilt-stamped decorative title; spine extremities slightly rubbed, front cover with a few tiny spots of faint discoloration, otherwise a clean, fresh copy. Title-page with private owner's rubber-stamp in lower margin. Pages clean. A nice book. (20691)

Beauties ofthe Thames Illustrated

Click any image where the hand appears on
mouse-over, for an enlargement.

•  First edition of Ireland’s guidebook to the architectural, botanical, artistic, and historical pleasures to be found along the Thames, featuring assorted poetical digressions as well as descriptions of the splendor of Blenheim Castle and other castles and manors, the disrepair of London Bridge, and paintings by Rubens and Holbein. The two volumes are copiously illustrated with52 aquatint plates engraved by C. Apostool after drawings by Ireland, 2 maps, and a number of in-text cuts.

•  ESTC T2691; Abbey, Scenery, 430. Period-style quarter calf over marbled paper–covered sides, spines with gilt-stamped leather title and author labels, gilt-ruled raised bands, and gilt-stamped decorations in compartments. Versos only of half-titles, title-pages, and a few other leaves stamped by a now-defunct institution. Plates lightly to moderately spotted, with some instances of light offsetting to pages around plates. Pages faintly age-toned, with edges untrimmed; one leaf with lower outer corner torn away, not touching text. This supplies both handsome, interesting pictures and good, now quaint reading.

BOTANY!  

•  Third edition of this heavily illustrated introduction to botany. The volume includes 16 colored plates depicting plants and flowers, as well as numerous in-text engravings.

Binding: Publisher's scarlet cloth, front cover and spine pictorially stamped in black, white, pink, yellow, green, and gilt. All edges gilt.

•  Binding as above, spine faded, upper corners and spine extremities rubbed, cloth showing some soiling (mostly to back cover). Front pastedown with institutional bookplate; front free endpaper separated. Plates slightly age-toned. A lovely production, still notably attractive despite previously mentioned issues. (13582)

18th-Century Treatise onGARDENING — “First American”

•  Charles Marshall ( 1818) was vicar of Brixworth in Northhamptonshire, and, in addition to this work, was author of an introduction to the English language. In this Introduction to . . . Gardening he covers gardening techniques (including grafting and pruning), vegetables, flowers, and trees, and the gardening activities appropriate for various times of year. James Anderson ( 1809), a botanist, physician-general of the East India Company in Madras, and fellow of the Royal Society, gives for his part a thorough discussion of quicklime, replete with learned quotes in Latin. This work was popular in Britain, but less so in this country, as this appears to be the sole American edition.

•  Evans 35770. On Anderson, see: The Dictionary of National Biography, I, 382. Library quarter cloth over paste boards; rubbed with corners bumped. Pages browned and brittle with tears and shallow chipping, the latter in some places repaired with paper and in a few places with cellophane tape, resulting in the loss of a few individual words or letters. Some free endpapers and a fly-leaf detached. Pressure-stamps from a now-defunct library on covers, and charge pockets on rear free endpapers. All edges speckled red.

Gardener's Guidebook 1844 — 12 Plates

•  Delicate and lovely hand-coloring enhances the floral illustrations of this scarce gardener's guidebook, presented in a decorative gift binding. As proof that pretty though the plates are, they were conceived in a seriously scientific rather than a merely fanciful spirit, a small portion of each image has been left uncolored so that the viewer may examine leaf and flower structures in non-distracting black and white.

This is actually vol. 6 of Maund's eight-volume Book of Hardy Flowers; Or, Gardener's Edition of the Botanic Garden, although the title-page gives no such indication; the flowering plants described are numbered 145 through 192. The plants tend to be familiar specimens in English gardens (anemones, primroses, violets), although more uncommon flowers are offered.

A considerable and interesting array of ads for other Griffin publications is appended.

•  Publisher's green textured cloth, extremely neatly rebacked, back cover blind-stamped, front cover gilt-stamped with abstract plant-recalling border and central title amidst flowers; each cover pressure-stamped by now-defunct library, with slight discolorations to upper edges. All edges gilt. Title-page and four others lightly stamped (plates untouched); library pocket on back free endpaper. Small bookseller's ticket on back pastedown; endpaper edges chipped. Plates clean and very pleasing; in fact, it's a pleasing little volume overall.

Elegant Estate — Elegant Engravings — Elegant Production

Click the interior images for enlargements.

•  First edition of this verse description of the celebrated gardens, mansion, library, and other beauties of Grove Hill in Camberwell, then the home of Dr. John Lettsom. The poem is illustrated with an engraved title-page vignette and 13 wood-engraved plates done by John Anderson after drawings by G. Samuel; an additional engraved plate showing the Fountain Cottage at Camberwell Grove, done by G.F. Prosser, is present. Anderson was a pupil of Bewick, but not a prolific one: The present volume contains more than half of his known printed illustrations.

•  ESTC T85697; Brunet, III, 1544. Recent green marbled paper–covered boards, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label. Half-title (only) lacking. Title-page and four others institutionally rubber-stamped (this faded); title-page with early inked note giving author’s name, one spot of light waterstaining, and minor chipping to corners. One leaf with tear from upper margin, extending into text without loss. Some offsetting.

A Book for All Seasons — NOT “How-To” BUT in a Gardener's Spirit

•  The Limited Editions Club offers this edition of An Almanac for Moderns—Donald Peattie's daily records of the flora, fauna, and constellations of an unnamed geographical place. In his introduction to the book, he writes, "[The Almanac was] not written . . . as an ordinary diary, even a Nature record of some particular year. The Almanac was conceived rather as the common experience of any year, with its impact of seasonal sight and sound, and its glimpses of the birds' ways and the slow self-robing and disrobing of the woods. Still more it is intended to convey the overtones of these events as they ring upon a modern ear with a scientific training."

Asa Cheffetz illustrated the book with idyllic wood engravings of rural life. Lester Douglas designed the text using an intertype Egmont Medium; it was printed by Judd & Detweiler. The binding is full spring-green linen with the title stamped on the spine in gold; the tree design on the front cover is stamped in black and the signs of the zodiac, which circle around the tree, are stamped in gold.

Limited to 1500 copies, this edition is signed on the colophon page by Asa Cheffetz.

•  Limited Editions Club, Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by The Limited Editions Club, 1929–1985, 100. A very good copy with the slipcase. A bookplate may once have been present inside front cover; the small gilt label of bookseller Philip Duchnes appears inside the back cover.

Extra-Fancy Almanac — “Merlin” in aGorgeous “Robe”

•  An interesting almanac for the year 1820, in an equally interesting binding. Pearson notes that the popular, distinctively English “cottage-roof” binding style peaked between 1660 and 1720 but “continued to be interpreted throughout the eighteenth century, and towards the end of the century is often found on almanacs” (English Bookbinding Styles, p. 76). The title-page and calendar are printed in red and black. Click the images for enlargements.

The series started in 1656, “compiled for his country's benefit” by Cardanus Rider, pseudonym of doctor and astrologer Richard Saunders; an issue of the British Merlin was found in Isaac Newton's library at the time of his death. In addition to calendrical information, each month gives gardening advice and preventative measures for good health — in March one should “Purge and let Blood: Eat no gross Meats” (p. 7), after finishing pruning fruit trees and sowing peas, oats, and barley.

Binding:  The present copy is notable for having been inserted in an older “cottage roof”-style black morocco binding, covers and spine gilt extra with foliate and arabesque designs. This binding originated in the 17th or early 18th century, most likely the former; with the old text block gone, the almanac (interleaved with blank pages as issued, with additional blank leaves supplied at the back) was added in its place in the 19th century — so too the silver furniture now here: silver button-style bosses etched with a floral design, concealing clasps which hold the volume closed with a silver stylus clasp-pin.

•  NSTC EPH132.   17th-/early-18th-century morocco as above; edges and extremities rubbed, spine leather with minor cracks, clasps and pin slightly tarnished. Front fly-leaf with early inked annotation (“For to keep steel from ruse,” use “Tripoli” and sulphur), back fly-leaf with offsetting from a now-absent leaf also with inked annotation. Pages clean.  (23933)

Delicate & Delightful

•  Second edition of this uncommon and beautiful work featuring 29 color wood block floral prints and a color map, hand-printed on hand-made papers. Text is in English. Illustrations are in color and are of chrysanthemums, persimmons, plum, peach, orchids, azaleas, peonies, camellia, morning-glories, cherry, magnolia, iris, hydrangea, lilies, lotus, conifers, bamboo, palms, wistaria, and considerably more.

A wonderful example of early 20th-century Japanese book printing.

•  Publisher’s paper over light boards; paper of spine flaked off with covers dusty and little discolored. A delicate book, priced according to its faults and still a nice object.

ENGLISH GARDENS(Great Britain). Pearson, Robert, ed. The ordnance survey guide to gardens in Britain. New York/London: W. W. Norton & Company, 1986.
$15.00

•  First American edition. Color photos and maps. Paperback.

Faust, Joan Lee. The New York Times book of house plants. Illustrated by Allianora Rosse. New York: Quadrangle, 1973. 8vo. Illus.
$12.50

•  Undetermined edition. With black-and-white photographs and color drawings.

•  Publisher's cloth. Very good condition, in a very good dust jacket.

See also, perhaps, AGRICULTURE — click here.

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