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Bardi, P.M. The Tropical Gardens Of Burle Marx. Photographs by M. Gautherot. London: The Architectural Press , (1964). First edition. Signed and dated, London 1982, by Burle Marx on the title page. The Brazilian plantsman, artist and landscape architect, Robeto Burle Marx, “is unique, not only as a designer in his own right, but as the creator of a style of landscape design which is at once essentially Brazilian and wholly of the 20th century.” (OXFORD COMPANION TO GARDENS, p. 84) Although he was already well known in professional circles and publications, this book, with text in English, German and Italian, was among the earliest popular publications to introduce Burle Marx to the public at large. With illustrations from photographs by Marcel Gautherot, many in color. “This book confirms that Dr. Burle Marx is no gardener (as we understand the term in England), and probably the finest garden artist in the world today.” - Geoffrey Jellicoe. 4to (29 x 23.5 cm); 155 (+ 5 ) pp. profusely illustrated from black and white and color photographs. Original green cloth in lightly nicked pictorial dust jacket; some light discoloration to front endpapers. £100 ($160)
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(Children’s Botany) Cooper, Daniel. THE LITTLE BOOK OF BOTANY; Or, Familiar Exposition of Botanical Science, Simplified and Written Expressly for Young Botanists. London: Darton and Clark, , 1839 First (and apparently) only edition of an unusual early 19th century children’s botany printed entirely on blue tinted paper. Cooper, who had been the first curator of the Botanical Society of London, dedicated the work to “British youth of both sexes.” He further encourages his young readers not to rest satisfied with the text descriptions and plate and text illustrations, but to seek out examples of structures and organs for themselves. “ For Natural History is a never failing source of amusement.” Other works by Cooper on the flora of London and on fresh water shells are listed in the final advertisements. Cooper died in his mid-twenties. OCLC lists 7 copies of which 4 are in the U.S. Osborne Collection II, p.822; Freeman, BRITISH NATURAL HISTORY BOOKS, no. 813. 24mo (9.5 x 7 cm); xii , xvii, (19-) 148 pp. + (ii) pp. ads; with paging error - xiv as iv., including 7 full-page woodcut illustrations, principally of trees + six engraved plates of botanical parts. Original publisher’s cloth, blind ruled on upper and lower covers; gilt lettered title on upper cover and spine; gilt decoration on spine; a.e.g; spine ends and corners very gently bumped and worn; all text and illustrations printed on blue tinted paper. £225 ($360)
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(Children’s garden pastimes) (Smith, Jessie Willcox, illustrator?) PASTIME PUZZLE. “Les Enfants S’Amusent.” Salem (Mass.): Parker Brothers Inc. , ca.1909-14. Two little girls are planting seeds or making mud pies with garden tools in a garden in this very attractive cut wood Pastime Puzzle by Parker Brothers of Salem , Massachusetts. “ Parker Brothers marketed its first puzzle in 1887. The most highly sought of Parker puzzles are the wooden Parker Pastimes.” (www. puzzlehistory.com). There is no artist’s signature, but the style is unmistakably that of Jessie Willcox Smith, with its flat surfaces influenced by Japonism; we have located two Pastime puzzles by Smith in the online collection of Bob Armstrong ( see www. old puzzles.com/examples collection ) and it is well known that during her career her illustrations appeared in magazines, posters and other places than books.. The original box which contains the puzzle has the production label indicating that it was sawed by 7 - 78; polished and coutned (sic) by 11; and inspected by NB. According to the puzzlehistory site, the production labels ca. 1909 - 14 were set out in this specific format. The company had distribution branches in London and Paris. Interestingly, this example of the puzzle has an outside label giving the work a French title. A nicely preserved copy with corners of original box appropriately reinforced. Puzzle assembled : 20 x 17.6 cm with 78 pieces; box measures: 18.5 x 10.5 cm. This will, of course be shipped un - assembled. Two photocopies of the illustration accompany the set. The puzzle is in fine condition; the box still possesses the original pale blue ribbon ties and both production label (inside) and printed outside label; the box is covered in an attractive brown period paper and the corners of the box have been reinforced neatly with a compatible brown tape. £75 ($120)
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(City planning - Barcelona) (RUBIO Y TUDURI, Nicolas M.) EL PROBLEMA DE LOS ESPACIOS LIBRES. Divulgación de su teoría y notas para su solución prática. (Barcelona): Publicado con motivo del XI Congreso Nacional de Arquitectos, primero de Urbanisom , 1926 Rubió Tudurí was head of the Barcelona Department of Public Parks from its establishment in 1917 until his exile in France during the Spanish Civil War. He was a strong advocate for the acquisition and development of public open spaces and developed a rational system for carrying out those goals. His ideas on this subject were presented in a publication he prepared for the XI National Congress of Architects held in Madrid in 1926 entitled “El Problema De Los Espacios Libres” (The Problem of Open Spaces), offered here. Its text focuses specifically on the development of the urban park system in Barcelona and the theoretical basis for its expansion within the context of the Cerda plan, using this example to illustrate general principles that can also be applied to urban planning in other cities. A scarce and important work; OCLC locates only 2 copies (Harvard GSD and National Library of Spain). Small 4to (22.8 x 17.8 cm); 40 pp. with 12 text illustrations + 16 half-tone plates Original printed paper wrappers. Head of back strip nicked and lightly mended. £180 ($288)
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(Color plates) EDMOND (DE SÉRIGNY), M. PROMENADE SENTIMENTALE ET SCIENTIFIQUE AU JARDIN D'HIVER D'UN PAPILLON VOYAGEUR Ayant Pour Interprête M. Edmond De Sérigny. Notice Instructive et Amusante Sur Les Principales Plantes Exotiques Qui Croissent Au Jardin d’Hiver; Leur Mode de Culture et de Multiplication; Leurs Moeurs, Leurs Usages; etc. Précédée d’un Abrégé de Botanique et Illustrée par Bertall, Belaife et Bruno. Gravure de Leblanc. (Paris): Dépot principal chez l’Auteur, , 1848 First edition and a unique, extra-illustrated copy of this fanciful approach to the plants of the conservatory. At about this time in England and on the continent, winter houses or conservatories were becoming popular additions to modest households, and not just to grand estates as in the past. Here, Edmond de Sérigny makes the topic appealing by acting as an “interpreter” for a butterfly who enters such a conservatory just when he thinks he has seen the last of the seasonal flowers. The butterfly’s promenades are proceeded by an introduction to botany taken almost entirely from Audouit’s l’Herbier des Demoiselles. Next begins the butterfly’s raptures over his discovery of the greenhouse/ conservatory. He wonders if he is suddenly in Brazil. Short chapters are devoted to 19 individual plants such as azaleas and primroses. Poetry, horticultural and botanical information and some lore is included. The regular text is illustrated from engravings by Bertall, Belaife et Bruno. The extra plates, many hand-colored, of butterflies, flowers and fruits, are in differing sizes and , obviously, from different sources. Unusual and charming. CCfr locates 2 copies (without the extra-illustration) of which one is a second edition of 1849. OCLC finds an additional copy in the Netherlands. 12mo (16 X 10 cm); engraved frontispiece + 137 pp with text illustrations; extra illustrated with 29 colored engravings of flowers, fruit, butterflies and birds, on different papers of different sizes. Contemporary full calf with triple gilt filets on covers; spine with raised bands and gilt with decoratively gilt panels; marbled endpapers; some light wear at spine edges and extremities, but binding tight; binding signed “ A. Closs”; tissue guards on the additional colored plates; occasional light foxing to text. £750 ($1,200)
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(Color plates) JOHNS, Rev. C.A. (editor) THE MONTHLY FLOWER GARDEN. London: Society For Promoting Christian Knowledge, , n.d. (ca 1859) A charming illustrated handbook in the form of a monthly garden calendar. Each month is illustrated with a color-printed bouquet of several flowers which bloom in that month followed by a page of verse signed by “E.H.C.” and a page of comment and cultivation advice on the illustrated flowers. The colour plates were engraved and printed by William Dickes, who did much of the color printing for the SPCK. “Dickes was a modest and conscientious craftsman, pioneering in colour printing for the growing middle- and lower-middle class reading public, and all his work was clearly of the highest quality that he could make it for the price: often, perhaps, higher.” (see Ruari McLean, VICTORIAN BOOK DESIGN, pg. 197-200). OCLC finds 5 copies, 2 in the U.S. 16mo (13 x 10 cm); 28 pp. (unpaginated) + 12 color lithographed plates by W. Dickes. Original embossed blue cloth with decorative gilt cover title; very lightly rubbed at extremities, but generally a well-preserved copy. Binders ticket for F. Remnant & Sons on rear pastedown. £75 ($120)
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(Flower arrangement) Wax Brothers, Florists ENHANCING NATURES ART (cover title). Boston: Wax Brothers, , ca 1915 (copyright date) A promotional brochure with color plates illustrating fashionable flower arrangements available from this Boston florist shop. Illustrations for a dinner table and for a bride’s table are included. An embossed cover indicates an address at 143 Tremont Street, but an ink rubber stamp states “Removed to 44 Temple Place”. Stapled pamphlet (18 x 13 cm); 12 pp. with 11 full-page color plates. Original printed paper wraps, well preserved. £80 ($128)
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FORESTIER, J(ean). C(laude). N(icolas). JARDINS. Carnet de plans et de dessins. Paris: Emile-PAULE, , 1920. First edition, presentation copy to Gordon Knox, signed by Forestier. “(Forestier’s) friends noted his talents and asked him to design their grounds, and as a preparatory study for this he planned seventeen imaginary gardens, which later formed the central portion of his book ‘Jardins’”. (Fox, Helen Morgenthau. in “Jean C.N. Forestier”, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, 1930, pp. 93). Forestier was Conservateur of the Paris parks, city planner, designer of modern gardens, such as the rose and iris gardens at Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne, and authority on the design of Spanish and Arabic gardens. In JARDINS Forestier went beyond the imaginary gardens proposed for friends to cover details of his approach to terraces, lawns, stairs, fountains, bassins, benches and tilework. A long list of his recommendations for best roses is included. Additionally, he offers illustration and commentary on gardens that made his fame: that of Joseph Guy at Beziers; of Montjuich at the Barcelona exposition; and of La Casa Del Rey Moro in Andalousia. “In his designs, plants partially erase, rather than reinforce, the rigor of the plan. This play between the grace of the vine and the strict line of the post situated Forestier precisely at the juncture of the jardin à la française and the cubist/modernist garden.” (Imbert, THE MODERNIST GARDEN IN FRANCE, p. 25) Small folio (32.5 x 25.2 cm); 240 unnumbered pp., profusely illustrated from drawings and plans, full page and in text. Original paper wraps with title printed on upper cover, illustration or design on upper and lower covers; covers darkened and soiled; final few pages lightly soiled at margins. £375 ($600)
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(FORESTIER, J.C.N.) BULLETIN DE L'ASSOCIATION TECHNIQUE ESPACES LIBRES - JARDINS PUBLICS. No. 1 Paris: , 1911 First and only issue of the bulletin for this short-lived association formed essentially to keep its members up to date on all relevant activities connected with the influx of the population into cities. A four-page introduction by J.C.N. Forestier is followed by letters of encouragement from prominent landscape architects from around the world, including Jens Jensen and F.L. Olmsted. OCLC locates only three copies, just one of which is in the U.S. (Harvard, Loeb). 8vo (23 x 17.8 cm); 28 pp. with 7 text illustrations. Original printed paper wrappers. £35 ($60)
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(Garden Cities) SORBETS, Gaston, ed. L'ILLUSTRATION / LA MAISON. Paris: L’Illustration , 30 Mars, 1929. A striking and well preserved copy of the special LA MAISON issue of the French magazine, L’ILLUSTRATION for 1929 with a colorful cover illustration by M. Rapin. The contents of the magazine are rich in mostly contemporary photographs and drawings of garden cities and residential housing. Henri Sellier writes on “L’Effort Français pour l’Habitation Populaire” reviewing garden cities such as Suresne, Cachan, Drancy and others; Georges Benoit-Lévy writes on “La Cité-Jardin à L’Etranger”; Henri Sauvage writes about “ La Maison De Rapport”, principally in Paris; Louis Bourdelles describes a “Projet D’Une Grande Habitation Moderne Pour La Ville de Paris”; Louis Feine discusses “ Les Materiaux Nouveaux Utilisable Pour La Construction de Nos Habitations”; Léandre Villat writes about contemporary villas around France and beyond . Folio (40.5 x 30.5 cm); I-LXIV pp. ads + 70 unnumbered pp. profusely illustrated from photographs, plans, drawings, some in color + LXV -CXII pp. of commercial supplements. In original paper covers printed in colors; a bit of thumbing on a double page spread of a chart in the text and slight loss of margin only, text not affected, at that point; else a very fine copy. £80 ($128)
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(Garden Cities-Germany) Berlepsch-Valendàs (Hans Eduard) von, Hansen. DIE GARTEN-STADT MÜNCHEN-PERLACH. München: Verlag von Reinhardt, , 1910 Berlepsch-Valendas (1849-1921) was a Swiss-born architect, designer and artist who later established himself in Munich, where he was a key figure in the development of the Jugendstil movement there. He also had several British contacts and was strongly influenced by the English Garden City movement. A dedicated social reformer, his most ambitious project as an architect was his plan for a large garden city in Perlach just to the south of Munich. Although never executed, extensive details of this plan were published in the volume presented here. The first third discusses some of the major garden cities in England along with an analysis of the housing situation in Munich. The remainder of the volume describes in detail his proposal for Perlach, thoroughly illustrated with drawings and plans. In 1911 Berlepsch-Valendas followed with publication of an important study of the English garden city movement and he may be regarded as one of the major influences in the spread of garden cities to Germany. Uncommon in trade. 4to (24.6 x 17.8 cm); iv + 96 (+ 17 pp) + plates (9 folding) with 49 illustrations from photographs, drawings and plans. Original printed paper wraps; ownership inscription of the architect Erwin Brunner on cover and title page; generally well-preserved. £350 ($560)
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(Garden plan - Wanstead) ROCQUE, John. THE PLAN OF THE HOUSE GARDENS PARK & PLANTATIONS OF WANSTEAD IN THE COUNTY OF ESSEX, The Seat of the Rt. Hon.ble E.l Tylney. (London: John Rocque), , 1735 Large engraved plan of the gardens and park at Wanstead, northeast of London, engraved by John Rocque in 1735. With ambitious plans amply funded by inherited wealth from the East India trade, Sir Richard Child commissioned George London to create the extensive gardens there beginning in 1706. It was among London’s last commissions, with work starting almost a decade before preparation of plans for actual House, a fine Palladian mansion designed by Colen Campbell, at the very beginning of his career, and built between 1715 and 1722. London’s plans were large, formal and axial in a way that brought contemporary comparison with Versailles. They are clearly depicted in a view by Kip and Knyff from 1713, shortly before London’s death. Substantial work on the gardens continued for the next two decades and by the time of the Rocque plan the extent and character of the gardens had changed significantly. It is unclear who was responsible for the alterations made after London. Adam Holt was referred to as Sir Richard’s gardener in 1715. He is buried in Wanstead and the Holt family has other ties to Wanstead, so it seems likely that Adam Holt had at least some connection with the work that continued during that period. Whoever may be responsible for these changes, they alter significantly the character of the gardens, including extensive new waterworks, earthworks, serpentine walks, at least one amphitheatre, mock fortifications, an Island Mount and other similar features. The Bowling Green and parterres, no longer in fashion, were removed. In 1733 Child was made Earl Tynley and in the following year his wife received a substantial inheritance. These events evidently encouraged further expansion of the gardens and may account for commissioning the 1735 garden plan by Rocque. A few of the features it shows may, in fact, have been planned but never executed. There is, for example, an island in the shape of Great Britain whose actual existence cannot be proven. The plan is also embellished with eleven engraved views which show several of the important buildings and garden features on the estate. These include: Wanstead House; the Little Amphitheatre; the Fortifications; the Mount in the Great Lake; the Gardners House; the Mounts; the Water House; the Stove House; the Greenhouse; the Great Stove House; and an unlabeled view of the second amphitheatre. A numbered key identifies the location of 27 features and structures on the plan. A handsome and scarce plan. There is a copy in the British Museum. Copperplate impression: 65.5 x 103 cm; sheet: 72 x 109 cm., two sheets joined at the center. Slight browning of paper; a few clean tears neatly mended; fold lines mostly invisible on printed side of sheet; 3 cm. surface scratch and a few other minor scrapes. £2750 ($4,400)
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(Gardening-Argentina) MAUDIT, Fernando and Vincente PELUFFO. EL JARDINERO ILUSTRADO Contiene La Descripcion, Cultivo Y Multiplicacion De Las Principales Plantas Útiles Y De Adorno Y Su Mejor Empleo En Los Parques, Jardines Y Paseos Públicos - La Creacion De Parques, Jardines, Bosques Artificiales, Etc. Buenos Aires: Imp. del Departmento Nacional de Agricultura. , 1886 First edition of what is regarded as the first original Argentinian work on landscape design. Fernando Maudit was a French gardener who settled in Argentina around 1870 and was involved in the design of several major parks there, including La Plata Park in 1882 and the Park Tres de Febrero beginning in 1874. Peluffo was a nurseryman in Buenos Aires. The book work they collaborated on is a remarkably comprehensive manual and reference work on all aspects of horticulture and garden design. The largest section, over half the volume, is devoted to ornamental plants. The penultimate chapter, with 50 pages, is devoted to the various aspects of the design of parks and gardens, while the final chapter on “Bosques Artificiales” focuses on a subject of particular relevance to the climate and natural conditions of Argentina. A scarce work outside of Argentina. OCLC locates only 3 copies (Harvard, Mass. Horticultural Society, and the Staats & Universitatsbibliothek in Hamburg). 8vo (20.4 x 13.5 cm); viii + 1104 pp. with numerous wood-engraved text illustrations + 2 folding plans (+ 8 pp. catalogue). Contemporary marbled boards recently rebacked in cloth with leather spine label. Early owner’s rubber stamp at bottom of title page; occasional pencil notations and underlining; a few pages foxed. £300 ($480)
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(Gardens - Prague) WIRTH, Zdenek. PRAZSKÉ ZAHRADY. Praha: Václav Polácek, , 1943 A scarce wartime edition of this overview of gardens in the vicinity of Prague. It is heavily illustrated with reproductions of plans, engravings and photographs taken at different earlier dates. Both parts 1 and 2 are included in this edition. Text in Czech. Thin 8vo (21.3 x 15 cm); 20 + (iv) pp. + 64 illustrations, many full page, from photographs, reproductions of plans and engravings. Original linen-backed paper over boards with illustration on upper cover; in gently shelfworn dust jacket. £50 ($80)
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(Gardens, Venice) EDEN, F. A GARDEN IN VENICE. London: “Country Life” , 1903 The original edition of a first hand account of the creation, at the hands of English expatriates, of what would become a legendary Venetian garden, giardino eden, on La Guidecca in the Venetian lagoon. Located behind the Redentore, this one-time vegetable patch was transformed by Frederic (great uncle of the Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden) and Carolyn Eden ( the sister of Gertrude Jekyll) into a little English pleasure ground of pollarded willows, roses, Madonna lilies, irises, etc. beginning in 1884. While importing their own native tastes, the Edens took care to respect the local character of their grounds, “ Building on formal lines made by the canals, an abandoned orchard had been crossed with straight walks covered by 600-700 yards of square-topped vine-clad pergola.” (Festing, S. GERTRUDE JEKYLL p. 154). Traditional structures and ornaments were used. Eden includes an interesting account of well-making on the island and in the garden. The prominence of the Edens in the expatriate community brought notable guests to the garden, as did the caché of later residents such as Princess Aspasia of Greece and her daughter and son-in-law, the King and Queen of Yugoslavia. Henry James, Anna de Noailles, Maurice Barres and Jean Cocteau are also associated with the spot. D’Annunzio set a scene there in his IL FUOCO. In LES DELICES DE L’ITALIE, Jean Louis Vaudoyer calls the garden “the most alluring place in the world to abandon oneself to melancholy.” (as quoted in Weal, M.T., POSTFACE; A GARDEN IN VENICE ). The garden was locked up after the death of its last occupant, but garden historian John Hall obtained entrance and wrote a description for HORTUS, Autumn 2003. For an evocative account of the garden and its history, listen to Todd, Janet. REQUIEM FOR A GARDEN OF EDEN at TWENTY MINUTES, BBC RADIO 3, 27 November, 2009. Finally, Marie-Therese Weal has written an informative postface to the reprint edition of 2003. Small 4to (23 x 18 cm); (vi) +135 + (1) pp. with decorative head and tail pieces, initial letters and text figures, from older engravings, including some from the Dream of Polyphilis, + frontispiece and 16 full page illustrations from photographs, with tissue guards, hors texte. Original publisher’s decoratively embossed leather”Venetian” style, some scuffing to extremities, pictorial endpapers; apart from scuffing, a very good copy. £300 ($480)
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(Parks, Aberdeen) (McKelvie, William R.) THE DUTHIE PARK: A Descriptive And Historical Sketch. Aberdeen: (City Council) printed at the Free Press Office, , 1883 From the library of Sir Thomas Gladstone, Bart., with his bookplate and with a gilt highlighted dedication leaf to him from Miss (Elizabeth) Duthie of Ruthrieston who gifted the 44 acre park to the people of Aberdeen in memory of family members.The park was designed by William R. McKelvie ( M’Kelvie) of Dundee whose career focused on park and cemetery design. The volume both describes the park and commemorates the great opening event attended by the Princess Beatrice (filling in for an injured Queen Victoria). Situated on the former designed landscape of Arthurseat and, also, of Sycamore Place, Duthie Park is bounded by railway and river. Allenvale Cemetery is to its west. McKelvie’s plan was executed by surveyor Alex Murray and numerous local contractors. This memorial volume with its Woodbury type photographic illustrations illustrates a feature of the plan which no longer exists, McKelvie’s rockery above the Lower Lake with pointed rocks chosen for their variety. Also illustrated are a partial view of the greenhouses; jets of water in the lake, a path with rustic seating. Other features of the park, not illustrated, but described in text include McKelvie’s rootery made from stumps left over during construction and a grand swan fountain constructed by Messrs. A. MacDonald & Co. One photographic plate is devoted to illustrating the procession of the Princess over the decorated Union Bridge. For more information about the park, see www. historic-scotland.gov.uk/gardens. The park today is undergoing a major refurbishment with the Duthie Park Restoration site noting that it “represents a model of late 19th century philanthropic arts.” (www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/duthie park) The appreciation of this point was more than evident at the opening ceremony for which this book provides testimony. Here we have accounts of street decorations for the occasion, illuminations and fireworks, the order of carriages and a description of parade participants, including The Practical Gardeners who constructed a floral lorry for T. & R. Annan. COPAC lists copies at BL; Aberdeen and the National Library of Scotland. Of a total of 7, OCLC lists 3 copies in the U.S. Large 8vo (24.5 x 18 cm); presentation leaf + (viii) + 104 pp. + 5 photographic plates. Original red leather with gilt rule framed upper cover, gilt title and floral design, heavily scuffed; with binder’s ticket on rear paste-down reading Jackson’s Work/ Aberdeen; bookplate on front pastedown; browning and foxing, sometimes heavy, mostly to margins, occasionally affecting text or photographic plates. £380 ($608)
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(Pressed Flower Album) (Anonymous) COLO. BEAUTIES (cover title). (Colorado) , n.d. ( ca. 1900 ) A very well preserved souvenir herbal of collected Colorado wild flowers bound in a hand-painted, ribbon-tied binding. Below each of the twelve preserved specimens the plant’s popular name, botanical name and a reference (Torrey, Gray, etc) are hand-written in pen. We have seen similar, though not identical bindings for botanical collecting in Colorado, suggesting that these (blank) notebooks were available to tourists hiking the fields, meadows, etc. 19.2 x 10.7 cm; 12 leaves of heavy stock with mounted natural specimens and hand-written identifications on rectos only. Original hand-painted dark boards with ribbon ties, ties gently frayed, but intact; all edges gauffered and gilt; leaves with specimens fresh and clean, with only the occasional small segment of a specimen lacking. £250 ($400)
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ROBINSON, W(illiam). GARDEN DESIGN AND ARCHITECT'S GARDENS. Two reviews, Illustrated, To Show, By Actual Examples From British Gardens, That Clipping And Aligning Trees To Make Them 'Harmonise' With Architecture Is Barbarous, Needless, And Inartistic. London: John Murray , 1892 First Edition, presentation copy, with a three-page hand-written and signed presentation letter (dated August 28,1892) from Robinson inserted before the half-title. In the letter Robinson complains about the printing of the woodcuts and states that the book will have to be printed again. He observes that the recipient was travelling to Yorkshire and asks her to let him know of any “beautiful old houses” she may find there, “as I wish to know all I can of these with a view to future editions of the book I send you. Begun as a sort of controversy I think I see my way to make it a vital thing! - as far as a book may be.” The volume is, indeed, a polemic, openly directed at Blomfield's FORMAL GARDEN IN ENGLAND and Sedding's GARDEN CRAFT OLD AND NEW. Its unrestrained attack against formal gardens, topiary and the meddling of architects in the design of gardens is illustrated with serene and, Robinson’s complaint notwithstanding, very finely executed wood-engravings of exemplary English gardens. 8vo (23.8 x 14.7 cm); xviii + 74 pp. with 7 text illustrations + 20 wood-engraved plates. Original cloth, with minor spotting on front cover. With signed 3-page letter from Robinson inserted in front of half-title. £380 ($608)
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(Roses) (ANONYMOUS) PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE FORMATION AND CULTURE OF THE TREE ROSE. London: J. Hatchard and Son, , 1828 First edition. The unidentified author of this little instruction manual acknowledges his indebtedness to a French pamphlet ( see Stock reference to Tarade, Alfred de, CULTURE DES ROSIERS ECUSSONES SUR EGLANTIERS ). This is a very detailed horticultural instruction manual which, in reprinting its 1830 second edition in 1844, the GARDENER’S CHRONICLE identified as “the best work on the cultivation of the tree rose...” (see Stock 2280 and 2281). Stock 2279 12mo (17.5 x 10 cm); xv + (i) + (1)-91 +(3) pp. with 24 text figures, decorative vignette on title page. Original two-toned paper over boards, soiled and edgeworn; original printed title label on spine partially preserved; some browning to text (from dampness?) and foxing commencing; boards ever so slightly warped; traces of pencil marks here and there, especially at back. Child's pencil drawing on the blank verso of one leaf. £180 ($288)
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(Schwetzingen) Zeyher (Johann Michael). NOUVEAU GUIDE DANS LE JARDIN DE SCHWETZINGEN. Avec huit vues, dessinées par Kunz et Zeyher, gravées par Jury, Schnell et Veith, et un plan conducteur pour le jardin. Mannheim: chez Schwan et Götz, , n.d. (ca. 1830) An illustrated guide book to the gardens of Schwetzingen, in Baden-Würtemberg, which served as the summer palace of Elector Karl Theodor during the 18th century. The earliest major gardens were the work of Johann Ludwig Petri and followed conventional French Baroque models, in particular those of Dezallier D’Argenville. He was followed by the French architect Nicolas de Pigage, who extended the gardens further, continuing in the French style. Gardens in the English style were added beginning in the 1770s after Frederick Ludwig von Sckell returned from a tour of England and began work on the gardens under the continued direction of Pigage. Von Sckell, the son of a gardener at Schwetzingen, was among the earliest important German garden designers to embrace the English style, and Schwetzingen was his first major work. After von Sckell left for Munich in 1804 he was replaced by Johann Michael Zeyher, another important German landscape gardener responsible for numerous English gardens in both Germany and Switzerland. Schwetzingen was among the most celebrated and widely visited German gardens of the early 19th century and Zeyher wrote a visitor’s guide book for it that went through several editions, including this French translation, which serves as evidence of the international reputation of the gardens. The guide is illustrated with picturesque engraved plates from drawings by a variety of artists as well as a large (40 x 47 cm) folding plan of the garden drawn by Zeyher. The greatest emphasis is placed on the English garden features introduced by Sckell and Zeyher. A reference to the railway in Zeyher’s plan allows the guide to be dated in the 1840s, and the folding plan reflects the state of the gardens at about that time. Although the title indicates that there are only eight plates, this copy includes eleven, in addition to the folding plan. We can locate no other copies of this French translation issued with 11 plates, although we locate 2 issued with 9 plates. OCLC lists 7 locations, 2 of which are in the U.S. Small 8vo (18 x 11.5 cm); 28 pp. + 11 engraved plates and large, folding lithograph plan of the gardens. Original embossed coated paper over boards with cloth spine; scattered foxing of text; plates generally clean, with only occasional light foxing in margins. £275 ($440)
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(Sutton & Sons) MY GARDEN DIARY FOR 1898. Reading: Sutton & Sons, , (1898). A well-preserved, crisp copy of a handsomely printed diary for the customers of the seed merchants, Sutton & Sons. Its color lithographed upper cover shows a flowering path leading to a grand country home. The diary is organized with planting instructions for the particular month printed on the verso. Opposite, on the recto, is a printed table of solar and lunar rising and setting times for each day of the month. Also on the rectos are large empty spaces for Memoranda. In the planting instructions, Sutton recommends appropriate seeds for vegetables and flowers with detailed cultivation notes. Additionally, monthly notes are added as to estimated barometric readings, temperature and rainfall, as well as when pheasant shooting begins, fox-hunting ends, game licences expire, etc. An interesting profile of the domestic planting year for 1898. This copy is almost as new, with no personal memoranda added. 14 by 19cm.; 28 pp. Sewn pamphlet with color lithographed covers. Title gilt. In very good condition. £60 ($100)
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(Trade catalogue - Iris) YOKOHAMA NURSERY CO., LTD. (YOKOHAMA UEKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA, corp. title). IRIS KAEMPFERI. 25 Choice Var. Yokohama: The Yokohama Nursery Co., Ltd., , n.d., ca. 1890-1900. A tall and beautifully preserved color lithographed horticultural catalogue from the Yokohama Nursery Company, justly famous for the attractiveness of its publications. “ The Yokohama Nursey Company catalogues from the mid-1890s through the mid-1920s are impressive documents, written in English and beautifully illustrated with colored plates, line drawings, and photographs of classic Japanese plants.” (ARNOLDIA 64/2-3, Del Tredici. “From Temple To Terrace”p. 4) The 25 varieties offered here are different from those offered in the 18 variety collection. In this offering of iris kaempferi there are only full page illustrations, with examples identified in small type. There are 25 varieties of iris illustrated, two to a page on 12 large plates, 1 large specimen alone on one plate, all in full flower with some foliage. The flower colors range from white, shades of blue, pink and purple with touches of yellow and are printed against a pale green printed background. Specimens include: Zama-no-mori; Yedo-jiman and Kumo-no-obi; Wase-banri and Kyodaisan; Shokko-nishiki and Toru-odori; Koki-no-iro and Sano-watashi;Chosei-den and Aoigata; Nishiki-no-shitone and Bondai-no-nami; Hana-aoi and Uji-no-sato; Okubonri and TaiKeirobu; Hatsushimo and Gosetsu-no-mai; Shirataki and Kuma-funjin; Datedogu and Sofu-no-koi; Kurokumo and Idznmigawa. The only trace of previous ownership is an occasional small pencilled “x” next to the printed name of a variety. Folio (17.5 x 29 cm); 13 color lithographed plates, 17.5 x 29 cm, printed on rectos only. Bound in iris paper with purple yarn ties; in about fine condition, with only slight fading to ties and very minimal shelfwear at extremities. £2000 ($3,200)
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(Trade catalogue - Iris) YOKOHAMA NURSERY CO., LTD. (YOKOHAMA UEKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA, corp. title). IRIS KAEMPFERI. 18 best Var. (cover title). Yokohama: (The Yokohama Nursery Co., Ltd.), , ca. 1890-1900 A beautifully preserved color lithographed horticultural catalogue from the Yokohama Nursery Company, justly famous for the attractiveness of its publications. “The Yokohama Nursery Company catalogues from the mid-1890s through the mid-1920s are impressive documents , written in English and beautifully illustrated with colored plates, line drawings, and photographs of classic Japanese plants.” (ARNOLDIA 64/2 -3, Del Tredici. “From Temple To Terrace” p. 4) In this offering of iris kaempferi there are only large full page illustrations, with examples identified in small type. There were apparently at least three different collections of the iris kaempferi presented in this format: one with 25 varieties, another with 100, and this one, with 18. The 18 flowers exhibited here are illustrated 2 to a page on 9 plates. The flower colors are in delicate shades of purple, pink and white, all printed against a delicate green printed background. The varieties in this particular collection include: Kumo-isho; Gekka-no-nami;Senjo-no-hora; Oyodo; Shippo; Momiji-no-taki; O-torige; Manadzuru; Tsuru-no kegoromo; Warei-hotei; Gei-sho-ui; Yezo-nishiki; Shiga-no-uranami; Shimoyo-no-tsuki; Kakujakuro; Shishi-ikari; Osho-kun;and Iso-no-nami. Very scarce, especially in this fine condition. OCLC lists 3 copies of this 18 variety issue. Folio (38 x 29 cm); 9 color lithographed plates measuring 83 x 29 cm., with 2 varieties per plate. Original iris paper covers, title printed in gold on upper cover; stabbed and tied with gently fading purple yarns; all plates are vibrant and in fine condition; the only trace of previous ownership is an occasional small pencilled “x” next to the printed name of a variety. £1450 ($2,320)
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(Trade catalogue - Lilies) YOKOHAMA NURSERY CO., LTD. LILIES OF JAPAN. Yokohama: (Yokohama Nursery Co.) , August 1922. The Yokohama Nursery Company was one of the largest suppliers of Japanese lilies and other Japanese plants and bulbs to the Western nursery trade. Accompanying this color catalogue from the company is a color decorated price list giving the export company’s British address at “Craven House Kingsway,/ London. W.C. 2”. The catalogue itself is a handsome survival. “ The Yokohama Nursery Company catalogues from the mid-1890s through the mid-1920s are impressive documents, written in English and beautifully illustrated with colored plates...” (ARNOLDIA 64/23, Del Tredici. “ From Temple To Terrace” p. 4). Of the lilies themselves, there are 44 illustrated examples distributed at 3 or 4 to an oblong page over 12 plates. The list begins with Lilium auratum, then Lilium Henry1, Lilium tigrinum Fortunei Giganteum, etc., including Fritillaria kamchatensis and Thunbergii. The price list indicates size, case lots and costs per 100 bulbs. “ Free London Wharf. Guaranteed Sound.” The 12 plates of color lithographs in the text are in vibrant colors with brief captions identifying each variety.The separate price list features an attractive color illustration of lilies along the lower left half of the sheet. OCLC lists 7 copies in the U.S.; 1 in the U.K. Oblong folio (26.5 x 39 cm); (iv, including title and plate list) pp.+ 12 color lithographed plates illustrating 44 flowers; illustrated price list laid in. Original plain paper covers with cover title within color block design on upper cover; stabbed and tied; some minor soiling to covers; previous owner’s name, “ Cuningham”? with date of 1928 in ink on upper cover; a faint trace of faded old damping at upper corner of upper cover and, faintly, on top edge and corner of title page, not affecting text; some wrinkling to paper and a bit of thumb-soiling, but plates are rich in color and in very good condition; the mimeographed price list on thin Japanese stock has been folded in half and marked in color pencil on two lines. £800 ($1,280)
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Treloar, W(illiam).P(urdie) . THE PRINCE OF PALMS. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, , (1884). First edition thus. A very readable text on the nature, location, and rise of Cocos Nucifera - the Prince of Palms- as the foundation of the author’s family’s highly successful cocoanut fibre works, Messrs. Treloar & Sons. A “From Tree To Factory” story. With a handsome chromolithographed frontispiece reproducing a painting of the inflorescence of the cocoa nut palm and ripe nuts by the artist, Miss Fenn. OCLC lists 5 copies in the U.K.; 2 in Australia; 4 in the U.S. Tall 8vo (24.5 x 15.5 cm); color lithograph frontispiece by W.H. & L Collingridge City Press + 50 pp. with text illustrations and some full page plates. Original red cloth with gilt ruled frame on upper covers, gilt title and gilt stamped vignette on upper cover; cloth darkened at extremities and spine, slight wear and bumping to extremities; tissue guard to color frontispiece is lightly foxed, gently affecting title page but leaving the color frontispiece fresh and bright. £125 ($200)
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(City Plans - Finland) SAARINEN, Eliel.
MUNKSNÄS OCH STOR-HELSINGFORS Stadsplansstudier Och Förslag. (Helsingfors: Aktiebolaget Lilius & Hertzberg, 1915).
This monumental and influential urban plan was prepared by Saarinen for the commercial development of a large new suburb to be built on a privately owned 860 hectare tract of countryside west of Helsinki, Finland. It was the first modern, comprehensive city plan in Finland. In preparing it, Saarinen drew heavily on the ideas of Howard, Unwin and the English garden city movement as well as the theories of Sitte and the more monumental and urban examples of Haussmannian Paris. The twenty-three page introductory chapter on the "Art of City Planning" discusses all of these, while the remainder covers in remarkable detail a long-term project for building from scratch a city accommodating up to 170,000 people. Only a small part of the plan was completed as designed, but Saarinen's ideas remained a dominant influence on Finnish town planning until after the Second World War. 4to (31.5 x 24.5cm); (6) + 163 pp., heavily illustrated + 10 folding color plates. Original stiff paper covers with title printed on upper cover and with colored pictorial inset on upper cover. About fine. £270 [ $420]
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(City plans - Marseille) GRÉBER, Jacques.
VILLE DE MARSEILLE/ PLAN D'AMÉNAGEMENT ET D'EXTENSION. Mémoire Descriptif. Paris: Vincent, Freal & Cie, 1933.
With a signed presentation inscription from Gréber to M. Rames, chief of staff to the Ministre de l'Éducation Nationale and an additional signed presentation, also to Rames, from Dr. Ribot, mayor of Marseilles. This large and classic city extension plan, as Henri Prost observes in his preface, lays out and summarizes the doctrines of French urbanisme at that time. The Beaux-Arts trained architect Gréber actually first made his name in the United States, gathering commissions for gardens and city beautification there, among which was the much acclaimed Fairmount Parkway in Philadelpia (1916). After returning to France he taught at the Institut de l'urbanisme de Paris, and involved himself in several domestic projects: chief architect for the 1937 International Exposition; urban planner at Lille, Salins-les-Bains, Abbeville, Rouen and here, at Marseilles. Development in that city had, up to that point, been in disorder and carried out with little regard to the 1919-1924 laws requiring the creation of a plan prior to urban expansion. Greber's plan consists of an analysis of the state of the city (history and evolution of the site, population, commercial activity at the port); a description of the proposed plan itself (including circulation, renewal of unsanitary neighborhoods, gardens and open space, civic beauty, and monuments). The whole is profusely illustrated with plans, some in color, perspective views, photographs, charts and tables. Andre Lortie summarizes Gréber's contribution to urbanism in CRÉATEURS DE JARDINS ET DE PAYSAGES EN FRANCE DU XIXe SIECLE AI XXIE SIECLE pp. 184-185: "...attention à la topographie et à la géographie, mais aussi à l'historie, est-ce qui caractérise son approche anthropo-géographique de la ville.." 4to (26.2 x 21 cm); xiv + 118 pp. + 106 illustrations from photographs, plans (some in color), tables, elevations and charts, most hors-texte. Handsomely bound in paper over boards with printed title label on spine, original wrappers not bound in, but preserved separately; text imperceptibly trimmed; fine in new binding. £330 [ $514]
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CROWE, Sylvia.
GARDEN DESIGN. Line Drawings By Carol Moller. London: Country Life Limited, (1958).
Presentation copy, signed by Crowe, of the first edition of this standard study by one of the world's most prominent female landscape architects. Part One is an eight chapter history of garden design; Part Two discusses the principles of design; Part Three, the materials of design; Part Four examines specialized gardens such as private and communal gardens, parks and wild gardens. Sylvia Crowe figures among the talented woman designers influencing landscape architecture and planning in the early and mid twentieth century. She was very active for her profession, having worked for the foundation of the International Federation of Landscape Architects and serving as president of the Landscape Institute. In recognition of her work she was made a Dame of the British Empire. Very scarce in dust jacket. 8vo (23.5 x 15.6 cm); 229 pp. with 35 diagrams in the text + 61 black and white plates, largely from photographs. Original cloth, gentle shelfwear, in pictorial dust jacket by Phillip Gough; jacket shows some wear at extremities and some soiling on the back. £130 [ $200]
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FLANDERS, Annette Hoyt.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE. New York: Annette Hoyt Flanders (1932).
A scarce exhibition and promotional catalogue of the work of this important American woman landscape architect, a graduate of the University of Illinois landscape architecture program. Flanders worked with Ferruccio Vitale before opening her own New York office in 1922. The catalogue lists her work under the categories of naturalistic and informal work, flower gardens, landscape work on large estates, formal French landscape design (the McCann estate at Oyster Bay) and roof gardens. Property owners' names and locations are given. A list of pastel portraits of identified gardens is included and, most interestingly, Flanders lists Staffordshire models of English houses in their settings, offering to have clients' houses or gardens similarly reproduced. Thin 8vo (25.3 x 16.5 cm); 30 unnumbered pages with 9 tipped on illustrations from photographs and a plan. Original paper over boards, cream-colored paper spine, spine partly perished, as has been the case with the only two other copies we have had; tipped in frontispiece slightly folded at gutter. £225 [ $348]
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(Florist's advertisment) AUGUSTIN, Artiste-Fleuriste.
L'ART DE LA FLEUR NATURELLE. Paris, 1897.
This clever and lovely Belle Epoque advertising piece for the florist, Augustin, at 108-110 Boulevard St.-Germain in Paris encloses a small oval mirror for the lady who needs to know at a glance where to order table decorations, garlands and bouquets for balls and "soirees." The piece consists of three decoratively shaped cards with color printed designs and advertising copy, front and back, tied together by a ribbon at the bottom - one fans open the cards to find the mirror at the back surrounded by color printed floral decoration. The front card is graced with a spring/summer colored illustration of a cherub sitting on fruited tree limb: here is advertised the company's greenhouses located at Petit Chateau de Champignolles, La Varenne. Also advertised are wreaths, both natural and artificial (some executed in pearls, porcelaine or dried flowers), some for the gravesite, available at a dedicated location at 77 Blvd. St.-Germain. The company announces that it maintains a permanent display of bouquets for engagements and weddings. There is also a half year calendar, January through June giving saints names with the dates and a notice of the number of increasing minutes of daylight each month through June. Three decoratively shaped cards (approx. 6 x 9 cm), color printed on recto and verso, with mirror on the last and thickest card; tied with ribbon. Original color printed cards tied with original or contemporary ribbon. Fine. £80 [ $125]
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MASON, George.
AN ESSAY ON DESIGN IN GARDENING. First Published In MDCCLXVIII. Now Greatly Augmented. London: C. Roworth for Benjamin and John White, 1795.
The revised and enlarged edition of a work first published anonymously in 1768. It presents an important and early history of gardening written during a significant period in the development of "natural" and picturesque styles of landscape gardening. "In an enlarged edition of this work, published in 1795, Mason added 'a revisal of some later publications'... including Thomas Whately's OBSERVATIONS ON MODERN GARDENING, William Mason's ENGLISH GARDEN, and Sir Uvedale Price's ESSAY ON THE PICTURESQUE... In the 1795 edition Mason made interesting comments regarding some estates in which the new style was first employed." (see Henrey p. 507). Mason also makes the case that Southcote, Hamilton, Lyttelton, Pitt, Shenstone and Morris, as designers, studied the work of William Kent. As noted in the Oxford Companion To Gardens (p. 358), Mason was "one of the first published writers to state that 'the species of design should generally conform to the nature of the place.'" 8vo (22.2 x 14 cm); xi + (1) including half title, + 215 + (1) pp. Henrey 1034. Handsomely rebound in quarter calf, calf corners, marbled paper over boards, gilt lettered red leather spine label; sympathetic endpapers; a wide-margined copy with only occasional faint foxing. A very good copy. £500 [ $775]
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PAQUET, Victor.
TRAITÉ DE LA CULTURE DES PLANTES DE TERRE DE BRUYERE Et Généralement De Tous Les Végétaux De La Nature Des Genres ERICA, EPACRIS, AZALEA, RHODODENDRUM, CAMELLIA, KALMIA, ANDROMEDA, etc. Paris: Librairie Horticole de H. Cousin, 1844.
First edition. An uncommon handbook on the propagation of heath plants by seed, layering and cutting, for cultivation in temperate climates, in the orangerie and in the open heath. Pacquet, was a gardener, secretary of the Cercle général d'horticulture and editor of the JOURNAL D'HORTICULTURE PRATIQUE. Acknowledging Great Britain as the prolific source for heathers, Paquet proceeds to a descriptive list of over six hundred varieties, followed by chapters on cultivating varieties of azalea and rhododendrum. Chapters on older and newer varieties of camellias follow, with over 125 in a descriptive listing. The text concludes with kalmias and epicris. 12mo (17.6 x 10.6 cm); xx + 339 + (1) pp. + 4 pp. ads. with a small engraved text illustrations. Contemporary quarter art vellum back, marbled paper over boards, art vellum corners, some paper scraped away on lower cover; printed title label on spine, darkened with old ink stains, also on vellum; internally very good. £110 [ $170]
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GRAVEREAUX, Jules. "LA MALMAISON" LES ROSES DE L' IMPERATRICE JOSEPHINE.
Paris: Editions D'Art Et De Litterature, (1912) First edition. An annotated catalogue of the famous collection of roses assembled by the Empress Josephine at Malmaison. Gravereaux has also provided a valuable introductory essay on the roses of the Empire and the importance of Josephine's collection. An index is provided for this. There is also a separate list of the roses growing in the rosary at Malmaison in 1912. With a preface by Frederic Masson.Small 8vo (19 x 13 cm); 106 pp. with text figures and decorations throughout, 1 plan, 3 views by M.E. Touret, + 6 color plates reproducing paintings by Redoute. Stock 1071.
Original printed paper wraps; clean and well preserved. £110 [ $170]
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ROUSSEAU, Mme. Louise.
L'ART DE CULTIVER LES FLEURS ET PLANTES D'APPARTEMENTS. Et De Les Faire Servir A La Décoration De L'Intérieur. Paris: Librairie Renouard, n.d. (ca. 1900).
A turn-of-the-century manual on floral decoration and floral arrangement for the private home. Various types of flowers and plants suitable to interior decoration and cultivation are discussed, along with appropriate vases, baskets, corsages, bouquets, etc. The decoration of windows and balconies is treated, as is the decoration of the table with seasonal fruits. Additionally, the choice of flowers and plants for different months of the year is noted, along with a choice of flowers to be used decoratively at religious feasts. A list of Parisian flower markets with their locations and days of operation is also included. We locate no copies in OCLC. 8vo (17.2 x 11 cm); 123 + (1) pp. with wood engraved text illustrations. Original printed paper covers, soiled, older paper label covered lower spine and interior corners of covers, scattered foxing to text. £32 [ $50]
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(Trade Catalogue - Garden Furniture) Gallot Frères.
MEUBLES DE JARDIN. Année 1932. (cover title) Paris: (1932).
A smart and stylish little garden furniture catalogue with illustrations enhanced by white, red, orange and black pochoir color. The offerings, with their non-fading fabrics, include folding chairs, chaise longues, tables, rolling armchairs, and serving tables, rockers, a bench and a parasol table. Many of these were probably destined for the coasts as mention is made of the stablity of the furniture on sand. A handsome Art Deco piece with illustrations printed on grey-green paper. Stapled pamphlet (15.5 x 22 cm); 2-11 pp. illustrated in color. Original printed covers in about fine condition. £200 [ $310]
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ESTIENNE, Charles.
ARBUSTUM / FONTICULUS / SPINETUM.
Parisiis: Apud Franciscum Stephanum, 1542. "Charles Estienne's manual of shrubs, waterplants and thornhedges, designed for the amateur gardener and landscapist." (see SCHREIBER, F. The Estiennes p.107). First published in 1538, this horticultural work by a member of the great Parisian printing family was eventually incorporated into the Estienne's PRAEDIUM RUSTICUM, 1554, a "collection which represents the most complete account of agriculture and horticulture in the 16th century." (Schreiber p. 122); later, in 1564, this larger work was translated by Liebault and Estienne as LA MAISON RUSTIQUE. Our copy of the ARBUSTUM is the second edition printed with a title page device that Schreiber identifies as device 13, a vine in a vase on a pedestal, which, in this copy, includes an additional border, on three sides, of Greek inscription. 8vo (16.5 x 10.5 cm); 42 + (vi) pp. index. Renouard p. 99; Schreiber 119; Hunt 42 (the first edition); SARGENT/TUCKER, Catalogue of the Arnold Arboretum p. 235. Bound in early gold-highlighted damask paper covers; very minor old stain at bottom right corner of margins measuring 2 cm., text unaffected. £732 [ $1,150]
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(Games,
Flower)
(Anonymous) JEU INSTRUCTIF DES FLEURS.
(Paris: chez Basset, rue St. Jacques, no. 64, ca. 1815). "Les Jeux d'Oie" have long been a venerable form of family entertainment, education and even propaganda. This particular version, the jeu instructif des fleurs, is pretty enough to be viewed as a game for young ladies (which it probably was), but John Grand-Carteret's LES JEUX D'OIE(http://www.giochidelloca.it/dettaglio_storia.php?id=41) lists it with the "Jeu d'actualites politiques." He notes that the winning position is the crowned Lis blanc, the symbol of virtue and, of course, "Gloire Aux Lis", a sentiment in favor during the French Restoration. But there is also botanical instruction here. Along the promenade or route of the game are 63 numbered "cases" or squares, each with a handsomely engraved flower portrait, many accompanied by captions citing the flower's emblematic meaning, or one of its physical properties. Thus: marigold, "emblème de la douleur"; jasmine, "originaire de la Province"; myrtle, "dédié a Venus par les anciens"; and finally, embowered and marked with sun's rays, the lily. The rules for traversing the promenade and reaching the lily are printed in the center of the text. For example, whoever arrives at no. 42, the violet, "a flower lost in the woods," must return to no. 30, lily of the valley, and pay a sum agreed on at the outset of the game. The shape of the course or promenade is oval, thus leaving space at the corners of the sheet for charming little views of the Jardin des Tuileries seen from the terraces of the chateau, the Jardin du Luxembourg seen from the water bassins, the Jardin du Roi seen from the river bank, and a view of the labyrinth of the Jardin du Roi. Though not found in the usual library catalogues, we do find reference to a copy in the Collection of Baron de Vinck at the Bibliothèque Nationale. Single sheet, 45.5 x 61 cm., engraved overall, with text in center. Engraved sheet unevenly folded with a few minor tears along folds; one corner torn and mended, with some rust spots, not affecting image. £968 [ $1,500]
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(Parks
- New York, Central Park)
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE CENTRAL PARK. SEVENTH
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE CENTRAL PARK, FOR
THE YEAR ENDING WITH DECEMBER 31, 1863.
New York: Wm. C. Bryant, 1864. This seventh annual report of the Central Park Commissioners is a part of an ensemble of reports, all issued separately over the years, which constitute the one essential documentary resource for the study of America's first and most important major urban park. As reported here, in April, 1863, the Commissioners finally gained the right through the courts to acquire land between 106th and 110th streets between Fifth and Eighth avenues for extension of the park. The Board reaffirms its aim to preserve the site's natural ruggedness and views of distant landscapes. Additional work which occupied the Board this year, in addition to extending drives and walks through newly acquired land, was constructing portions of the enclosing wall, completing most of the unfinished surface of the ground below One Hundred and Second street and the stone-work of the terrace and masonry of the ravine's rustic bridge. A large colored fold-out map the Central Park shows progress of work up to January 1st, 1864. Other plates illustrate the archway under the foot-path for the bridle road south of the meadows, another archway east of the lake and another northwest of the Ramble. There are views of the casino or ladies refreshment saloon and the boat landing, north east of the lake. The whole concludes with a 33 page catalogue of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants in the park as of Dec. 31, 1863 " with the months of Flowering and Fruiting of such as have conspicuous blossoms or fruits." 8vo (23.5 x 14.5 cm); (ii) + 123 + (i) pp. + large fold-out color map measuring 23 x 87 cm. + 5 tinted lithographed views + 3 untinted lithographs. Older rebinding in cloth, gilt lettered spine, with original wrappers bound in along with blanks for notes at end; light shelf-wear, small chip at corner of front wrapper; torn map folds neatly repaired. £516 [ $800]
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(Topiary
nursery) KEESSEN Jr., W.
& ZONEN. KONINKLIJKE KWEEKERIJ "TERRA
NOVA." (cover title) Aalsmeer,
Holland, 1912. A fascinating trade catalogue of topiary shrubs available from this Dutch royal nursery. It includes photographs of 120 individual shrubs, each neatly clipped into a different shape and identified by number. The stock numbers are irregular. Included are numerous geometric forms, animals, urns, chairs, boats, etc. There are also several photographs showing the nursery grounds, including fields filled with orderly rows of topiary in a variety of forms. Oblong pamphlet, (20.5 x 29 cm.); 78 pp. with illustrations from photographs and one from an engraving. Original printed heavy stock covers with tipped- on illustration from black and white photograph and tipped on color printed coat of arms on upper cover, map printed on lower covers, heavy soiling, old damping and vertical crease in middle; internally, evidence of heavy use, with pen and pencil markings, marginal damp stains becoming heavier towards the back of the text, but not affecting images; first plate and final plate chipped along edges only; the binding had been sewn and then stapled; ties for binding now lacking. £325 [ $500]
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(Trade
catalogue - Garden Furniture)
(WESSBECHER, Emile, Ingénieur
Constructeur.) MANUFACTURE de MEUBLES EN
FER. Ferronerie d'Art/ Mobilier Théâtral, etc.
Paris: 1904 (cover title) . A large format and appealing color lithographed trade catalogue of iron and wood garden furniture, also including some miscellaneous cafe and domestic items. There are approximately 50 illustrations of garden or park chairs shown both open and folded, along with similarly constructed decorative chairs and benches. There are several suites (benches, chairs and seats) in various styles such as Louis XIV, Lous XV, Trianon, American, etc. Some groups are also shown with tables, jardinières, lawn edgings, bird cages, plant stands, as well as some attractive tented tables and benches. With a four page price list for 1921 laid in. Oblong 8vo (27.5 x 37.5 cm.); 56 plates with irregular pagination (there is an inserted note stating that pages 42-45 from the 1902 catalogue have been suppressed). There are 4 to 12 color lithographed illustrations per plate, mostly printed in yellow, green and some red. Original printed heavy paper covers with an art nouveau design on the upper cover. Original cloth backstrip reinforced, but with some tears at head and heel; old stains and soiling on edges and inside covers, but text largely unaffected; short tear and smudging in margin of first few pages, not affecting text or illustration. £420 [ $650]
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DOWNING, A(ndrew) J(ackson),
(Charles DOWNING). THE FRUITS AND FRUIT-TREES OF
AMERICA; Or, The Culture, Propagation, And Management, In
The Garden And Orchard, Of Fruit-Trees Generally; With Descriptions Of
All The Finest Varieties Of Fruit, Native And Foreign, Cultivated In
This Country. New York: John Wiley &
Son, 1882. "Second Revision And Correction, With Large Additions, including the Appendices of 1872 to 1881, and containing many New Varieties." With an autographed letter, signed by Charles Downing, dated Newburgh, N.Y., Nov. 30, 1883 to Z(iba). A(lden) Gilbert, a prominent horticulturist and agriculturist from Green, Maine. Gilbert, who was eager to make Maine apples a viable export to Europe (see: http://nbarnett2.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/robert-and-ziba-apple-men/) had sought Downing's opinion on the RED RUSSET variety. Although Downing replied that it was not cultivated in Newburgh, he acknowledged using it at home and praised its longevity. He further suggested it could do well shipped to Europe. The letter concludes with Downing asking for any information on new fruits and explaining his house confinement due to a rail accident in New York City the previous year. Andrew Jackson Downing's FRUITS AND FRUIT-TREES OF AMERICA first appeared in 1845. "(It) is the monumental American work on varieties of fruits. The book was projected by Andrew [Jackson Downing] but the great bulk of the work was done by Charles in continuing and revising it." (-Wilhelm Miller in Bailey's STANDARD CYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE, pg. 1573). Charles maintained a large experimental nursery at Newburgh from 1850 to 1870 and was the leading American authority on fruit varieties until his death in 1885. The present edition reprints the last complete revision made to the text, but with the further appendices noted. Thick 8vo (23.3 x 14.8 cm); xxiv + 1098 pp. + xii+ ii+189 pp with line illustrations. HEDRICK/WOODBURN p. 486 Original green cloth with decorative gilt-stamped spine, extremities very gently worn, more so at heel of spine; original endpapers, paper separated along inner joint, but hinges firm; with the bookplates of D.H. Knowlton (of Farmington Maine publishing?). The letter is on lined stationery, written on both sides; it has been folded three times and nicked at edges; with some pencil numbers and a pencilled 'X' over the last two paragraphs. £290 [ $450]
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(NORTH, Marianne).
AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED "MARIANNE NORTH."
Mount House, Alderley, Wotton Under Edge, 6th August, 1889.
A signed autographed letter from the Victorian botanical artist in the last year of her life showing her continuing interest in sharing plant knowledge and in copying from nature. North's life ambition, to paint plants in the natural environments, was carried out in travels across South America, Japan, India, West Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and further, much of which is recounted in her autobiography, RECOLLECTIONS OF A HAPPY LIFE, 1892-3. She donated her paintings (832 of them depicting over 900 species) and a building designed for them by James Fergusson to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (see Desmond, KEW pp. 260-262) before her death. Here in this letter to her cousin, John, she thanks him for sending seed of R. Lyalli, which she has shared with Miss Jekyll ("from whom I also heard this morning") and describes both her inability to manage her garden or her gardeners anymore and, yet, her remaining ability to sit outside in the sun and copy (from nature). The communication ends with an invitation to visit and relevant gardening remarks, such as success or failure in growing different plants (the Giganteum Lily, the latter). Folded stationery sheet, 18 x 11.5 cm., engraved address at top of 1st page, autograph penned letter on three pages, signed Marianne North. Fine. £325 [ $500]
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PINDEMONTE,
D'Ippolito. LE PROSE E POESIE CAMPESTRI...
Con L'Aggiunta D'Una Dissertazione su I Giardini Inglesi E Sul Merito
In Cio Dell'Italia/ Editione Accresciuta Del GIARDINO INGLESE Descritto
Dall' Autore Ne' SEPOLCRI E Di Due Appendici Verona:
Dalla Societa Tipografica, 1823. An early collected edition of Pindemonte's works on nature, including his influential dissertation on the English Garden. In Italy,"the first really focused discussion of the new style (the English garden) only came in 1792, when after a visit to England Ippolito Pindemonte (1753-1828) first addressed the Academy of Science, Letters and Arts in Padua, followed four years later by Luigi Mabil (1752-1836)." (Hunt, John Dixon. THE PICTURESQUE GARDEN IN EUROPE p. 187). This address by Pindemonte was first published in 1792 in Volume IV of the proceedings of the Accademia. and then reprinted in Verona in 1817. The later editions, including the one offered here, combine the prose and poetry that was so greatly influenced by Pindemonte's travels in England and in France, together with his dissertation, which carefully distinguished the aspects of the English garden style suitable to Italy and greatly influenced its establishment there. There are, in addition, two appendices and the poem, Il Giardino lnglese. OCLC lists 8 items with this or a variant version of this title, all with different dates and places of publication. 8vo (21 x 14 cm.); (iv) + 183 + (1) pp. Original paper covers with title printed within typographic border on upper covers, on spine with notice of other works printed on lower cover, spine ends chipped, spine and rear cover a bit wrinkled and scuffed; scattered light foxing to text, mostly in gutters. £130 [ $200]
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SIEGFRIED, WALTER H.
VIEWS OF MY HOME AND GARDEN/WINTER-SPRING-SUMMER-FALL/
Christmas Greetings And Best Wishes For The New Year
Shidzuoka, Japan: Walter H. Siegfried, 1936. A very lovely photo album of a garden and domestic pleasures at a Westerner's residence at Sidzuoka, Japan, before the war, printed as a Christmas and New Year's greeting to friends. The gardens, obviously a work of great love for Siegfried and his companion, J.S., who appears in two of the photographs, are an unusual mix of Japanese and American stylistic elements. In the color reproductions of these hand-colored photographs measuring, 20.6 x 29 cm, we see the garden in all seasons against a backdrop of traditional Japanese architecture. In winter, which featured "the heaviest snow in history," traditional Japanese garden ornaments and structures mix with a variety of snow laden trees and shrubs, many clearly characteristic of Japanese gardens. Come spring, cherry blossoms, staging of plants (azaleas and roses) under bamboo shading and a large display of white and purple wisteria across the home's facade and across a pergola let us know where we are, but a very Western looking cutting garden of roses, daisies and orchids also appears. In June, an equally Western looking border planting of iris and amaryllis shows up. There are pond and waterfall scenes in June and a view of lily of the valley, orchids, roses and azaleas in the hot house. The hot house itself is most interesting, arranged with alternating shelves of tropical fish and tiger lily pots. Siegfried's obviously well-loved dogs start appearing among gardenia and hydrangea plantings, and there is a shot of W.H.S. and J.S. seated with their dogs on a Japanese style bridge over a pond with their dogs. In the aviary are golden pheasants, doves, parakeets and love birds, as well as mandarin ducks in the duck house. Toward the end of the album the dogs, especially the miniature schnauzers, fill several pages. Final shots include views of a water lily pond, a monkey slipper tree and maples in color, along with a view of the large water fountain in front of the residence bordered by full masted Japanese and American flags flying on Labor Day. Despite continuing search efforts, Walter H. Siegfried's identity remains elusive. The dual national flags may or may not suggest a diplomatic function. No copies are listed in OCLC. Oblong album bound Japanese style, 26 x 36.5 cm., title page printed in green, red, and gold + 44 full page plates of hand colored photographs printed on rectos only. Original maroon silk cloth, just rubbed at corners, cream silk ties; very well preserved. £485 [ $750]
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(Sun-Dials)
(F. Barker &
Son) ADVERTISING FLYER for a Horizontal
Sun-Dial With Equation Table (and) Universal Sunshine Recorder.
London: F. Barker & Son, n.d. ca. 1880. With an attractive illustration of the company's brass sun-dial showing the space between the columns of equation table, divided into minutes, engraved with the most appropriate flowers for each month. The dial was available in 15, 18 or 20 inches in diameter with corresponding prices noted. Also illustrated just below the dial is the universal sunshine recorder originally designed by J.P. Campbell in 1853 and updated in 1879 by Professor George Gabriel Stokes of Cambridge. For this recorder, cards could be purchased that could be placed in the grooves of a zodiacal belt and, "when set to accord with the noon-mark on the belt constitute the instrument an accurate Sun-Dial." This Campbell-Stokes recorder is still in use today. With prices. On the verso of the sheet are selected mottoes for sun-dials printed in two columns. F. Barker & Son of 12, Clerkenwell Road, London, describe themselves as makers of Sun-Dials for Gardens, Lawns, Buildings, Etc. Single sheet, 32.8 x 20.7 cm., printed on both sides, with illustrations on recto. Single sheet folded four times; some light wrinkling. £58 [ $90]
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(BETZ)
CÉRUTTI, Joseph
Antoine. LES JARDINS DE BETZ, POÈME,
Accompagné de Notes instructives sur les travaux
champêtres, sur les arts, les lois, les révolutions, la
noblesse, le clergé, etc.; Fait En 1785 Par M. Cérutti,
Et Publié en 1792 Par M. ****, Paris: chez
Desenne, Janvier 1792. The gardens at Betz were built by Marie-Catherine Brignolé, princess of Monaco, between 1780 and 1789. They formed an important parc à fabriques, created at least partly by a collaboration of Hubert Robert and the duc d'Harcourt. Cérutti visited the gardens in 1785 and composed this poem while there to recite as an entertainment for his host and fellow guests. It narrates a promenade through the park in the course of which each of its many picturesque fabriques and features is carefully described. It is easily the most detailed and complete contemporary account of this important jardin anglais, which was abandoned during the Revolution and later lost to neglect. Though not originally written for publication, the poem was eventually published shortly before the author's death together with the extensive footnotes on the gardens which more than double the text. The present copy is marked as "Seconde Édition," although its imprint gives a date of January 1792, the same date as the first. 8vo (19.4 x 12.5 cm); 72 pp. including three pages listing Cerutti's other publications. Ganay 538. Recently bound in marbled paper over boards with gilt leather titling piece on spine; recent end papers; rubber stamp at bottom of final page of ads; some browning to text. £355 [ $550]
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