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Gardening

Rare books including first editions and copies in fine bindings related to gardening and domestic horticulture from around the world.

30 Item(s)

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  1. 129001

    A Survey of the Ancient Husbandry and Gardening,

    London: 1725

    First edition of this survey of the gardening and farming of the ancients, derived from the classical writers. Richard Bradley (1688-1732), professor of botany at Cambridge, was one of the more eccentric characters in agricultural writing; "an indefatigable worker, venturing hazardous predictions, writing some fifteen or... Learn More
    £750

    Stock Code: 129001

    Reserve

  2. 125417

    Catalogus plantarum Angliæ,

    London: 1670

    First edition. "It is now a fairly uncommon book, though this may be partly explained by one of its main purposes, that is, to be used by botanists in the field, so that many copies would probably have been used up and destroyed" (Keynes). John Ray (1627-1705), "the son of a blacksmith, became one of England's greatest naturalists.... Learn More
    £2,250

    Stock Code: 125417

    Reserve

  3. 95227

    Roses for English Gardens.

    London: 1902

    First edition, first impression. Learn More
    £1,250

    Stock Code: 95227

    Reserve

  4. 129600comp

    The Garden.

    London: 1946

    First edition, signed limited issue, number 132 of 750 copies signed by the author, published the same month as the trade issue (May 1946). A long poetical sequence on the author's favourite subject, "which tries to sum up her own horticultural aesthetic and is in some respects superior to its predecessor The Land" (ODNB).... Learn More
    £600

    Stock Code: 129600

    signed

    Reserve

  5. 128878

    Souvenir de Flore ou le Langage des Fleurs.

    Paris: [c.1820]

    First edition of this attractive flower book, with twelve illustrations of bouquets, each with an imagined dialogue between the flowers. Rather incongruously, the latter section of the book is an account of the people and government of Turkey. No doubt produced as a ready-bound cheap gift book, the work is now a great rarity,... Learn More
    £950

    Stock Code: 128878

    Reserve

  6. 125386comp

    Country Matters.

    New York: 1937

    First US edition, first printing, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Harriet Reynolds, Clare Leighton". This collection of short stories is "a nostalgic celebration of English rural life on the eve of the Second World War" (ODNB). "Convinced that wood-engraving was an art for the masses rather than... Learn More
    £325

    Stock Code: 125386

    signed

    Reserve

  7. 124630

    The American Farmer's Instructor,

    Philadelphia: 1840

    First edition of this guide to farming by Francis S. Wiggins (d.1840), the editor of the Farmer's Cabinet, an American agricultural periodical. Learn More
    £425

    Stock Code: 124630

    Reserve

  8. 114828

    A History of Garden Art.

    London: 1928

    First edition in English, originally published in German in 1913. With a superb provenance: from the library of the artist Walter Beck (1864-1954), with his delightful "Singing Trees" bookplates (designed by him and wood-engraved by T. Cole) and captioned "Innisfree" after his celebrated gardens at Millbrook, New York; both... Learn More
    £3,500

    Stock Code: 114828

    Reserve

  9. 113541

    Huishoudelyk Woordboek,

    Leiden & Amsterdam: 1743

    First Dutch edition, first published in France in 1709 as the Dictionnaire Oeconomique. Chomel's celebrated work was arguably the most popular household almanac of the 18th century. Ambitious in scope, the encyclopedia covers a broad variety of topics ranging from domestic chores to botany, distilling techiques, fishing,... Learn More
    £4,250

    Stock Code: 113541

    Reserve

  10. 106258

    Wall and Water Gardens.

    London: [1901]

    First edition, first impression. Learn More
    £1,250

    Stock Code: 106258

    Reserve

  11. 120482

    Curtis's Botanical Magazine;

    London: 1826

    Volume 53 of Curtis's Botanical Magazine. William Curtis (1746-1799), the botanist and entomologist, published the first volume of The Botanical Magazine in 1787. The periodical intended to provide practical information on the ornamental and exotic plants rapidly becoming popular in Britain. It followed Curtis's well-received,... Learn More
    £750

    Stock Code: 120482

    Reserve

  12. 120487

    Curtis's Botanical Magazine;

    London: 1827

    Volume 54 of Curtis's Botanical Magazine. William Curtis (1746-1799), the botanist and entomologist, published the first volume of The Botanical Magazine in 1787. The periodical intended to provide practical information on the ornamental and exotic plants rapidly becoming popular in Britain. It followed Curtis's well-received,... Learn More
    £700

    Stock Code: 120487

    Reserve

  13. 120229

    A Treatise on the Culture of the Vine.

    York: 1790

    First edition. William Speechly (c.1740-1821) was gardener to the third Duke of Portland at his Welbeck Abbey estate in Nottinghamshire. Encouraged by the duke Speechly started writing down and publishing his knowledge and experience in gardening; in 1776 he had contributed to Alexander Hunter's edition of Evelyn's Silva,... Learn More
    £2,500

    Stock Code: 120229

    Reserve

  14. 120099

    Phytologia;

    London: 1800

    First edition of Darwin's major treatise on agriculture. Darwin's "intention was to systematise agricultural knowledge, informed by his conviction that plants were inferior animals, providing a theoretical framework that could sustain better agricultural and horticultural practices" (ODNB). In this work he provides "a confident... Learn More
    £1,250

    Stock Code: 120099

    Reserve

  15. 116898

    A Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Vines, and Plants.

    Boston: 1867

    First edition thus. A 24-page descriptive catalogue was printed in 1863. By 1867 William Chamberlain Strong was a well-established nurseryman and an authoritative author on these topics. His Culture of the Grape had been published the previous year, and was considered "a valuable manual" written by the "prophet"... Learn More
    £250

    Stock Code: 116898

    Reserve

  16. 116530comp

    The Plant-Magic Man.

    Santa Barbara: 1973

    First edition in book form, signed limited issue. Number 197 of 200 copies signed and numbered by the author on the colophon, and handbound by Earle Grey for the publisher. This is the fifth book in the Yes! Capra Chapbook Series, edited by Robert Durand and Noel Young. Durrell's essay first appeared in the Paris Edition... Learn More
    £225

    Stock Code: 116530

    Reserve

  17. .

    Ottawa Star Nurseries. No. 3280.

    Ottawa, KS: 1895

    First edition, thus, of this specimen book, or salesman's sample catalogue for the Ottawa Star Nurseries in the 1890s. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, and into the twentieth, Rochester, NY was the centre of the American in the nursery business, and colour printing firms like Rochester Litho., Dewey, Stecher,... Learn More
    £895

    Stock Code: 113820

    Reserve

  18. Homes Beautiful. Art Stone Decorations for the Home and the Garden.

    Homes Beautiful. Art Stone Decorations for the Home and the Garden.

    Seattle, WA: 1927

    First edition of this wonderfully illustrated, and inevitably uncommon, photographic catalogue of extravagant stone and composition fountains, planters, benches and other garden features for opulent homes, public spaces, and gardens. The objects are superbly shot against period backdrops, and in ornamental niches at the... Learn More
    £450

    Stock Code: 113814

    Reserve

  19. .

    The Passing Show.

    London: 1937

    First edition, first impression, signed by the author on the front free endpaper: a collection of Johns's articles for the My Garden periodical, with a number of unpublished pieces and original illustrations by Leigh. Johns is best remembered as the author of the Biggles books, and this is his only book on gardening. Learn More
    £575

    Stock Code: 109523

    signed

    Reserve

  20. Miscellaneous Dissertations on Rural Subjects.

    Miscellaneous Dissertations on Rural Subjects.

    London: 1775

    First edition. Forbes was a disciple of Jethro Tull and a keen proponent of the "new husbandry". The book contains four dissertations: on fences; manures; drill-sowing; and hydraulics and water-management. The plates include one of a drill plough. Learn More
    £750

    Stock Code: 104265

    Reserve

  21. "Farmer George".

    "Farmer George".

    [c.1960s]

    A lively caricature of King George III planting a tree, dubbed "Farmer George" for his passionate interest in agriculture. The cartoons and illustrations of Nicolas Bentley (1907-1978) were part of the warp and weft of English popular culture in the 1950s and 60s. Never savage, though often waspishly accurate and exuding... Learn More
    £250

    Stock Code: 100796

    Reserve

  22. A Garden Book for Malaya.

    A Garden Book for Malaya.

    London: 1928

    First edition, first impression. Publisher's file copy with their bookplate to front pastedown. Not to be confused with the anthropologist of the same name, Kathleen Gough was a British expatriate and fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society who lived a few miles away from Kuala Lumpur in the town of Kajang. Highly uncommon... Learn More
    £350

    Stock Code: 96724

    Reserve

  23. Annuals & Biennials.

    Annuals & Biennials.

    London: 1916

    First edition, first impression. Learn More
    £1,250

    Stock Code: 95232

    Reserve

  24. 95230

    Lilies for English Gardens.

    London: 1901

    First edition, first impression. Learn More
    £1,250

    Stock Code: 95230

    Reserve

  25. Children and Gardens.

    Children and Gardens.

    London: 1908

    First edition, first impression. Learn More
    £1,250

    Stock Code: 95223

    Reserve

  26. Sylva,

    Sylva,

    London: 1664

    First edition of Evelyn's most celebrated book and famously the first book to be printed by order of the Royal Society, which had been founded four years previously. During the 1640s and 1650s production of glass and iron increased rapidly and the wood used to fire the furnaces and factories was not being replaced by fresh... Learn More
    £3,750

    Stock Code: 87758

    Reserve

  27. Flora Italiana.

    Flora Italiana.

    Pisa: 1818-22-24

    First edition. This richly illustrated work by the director of Pisa's Botanical Garden was conceived along the lines of the most important English contributions to botanical literature, in particular, The Botanist's Repository by Henry Andrews and The Botanical Magazine by William Curtis. The book presents a "collection"... Learn More
    £20,000

    Stock Code: 81896

    Reserve

  28. 68793

    The Art and Practice of Landscape Gardening.

    London: 1890

    First edition, first impression. Learn More
    £600

    Stock Code: 68793

    Reserve

  29. 62653

    Home and Garden.

    London: 1900

    First edition, first impression. Learn More
    £1,250

    Stock Code: 62653

    Reserve

  30. 46678

    An Olde Thrift newly revived.

    London: 1612

    First and only edition, by Rooke Churche, King's Surveyor, though often erroneously attributed to R. Chambers or Robert Churton. A classic early work of early 17th-century husbandry, with similar aims and views to, but long predating, Evelyn's Sylva (1664). In his preface Churche praises Henry Howard, earl of Northampton,... Learn More
    £3,500

    Stock Code: 46678

    Reserve

30 Item(s)

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