Paris: Chez L'Auteur, 1800. First edition. Though not highly esteemed as a scientific botanist, Buc'hoz was an energetic naturalist and an indefatigable compiler of botanical fact who stands as one of the most prolific French writers on this subject during his day. The primary objectives in his most important works were comprehensiveness and utility. In the present volume he provides an annotated catalogue of all plants useful in ornamental gardening or for display in orangeries and greenhouses. Over a thousand different varieties are listed, nearly all of which are accompanied by commentary on their special qualities and use in gardens. The work is divided into two main parts: the first is a general listing of both domestic and exotic plants; the second confines itself to hardy plants native to the region around Paris. A final chapter is devoted specifically to plants useful in the creation of hedges and enclosures. 8vo (19.8 x 12 cm); 16 + 288 pp.

Paris: Chez Charles de Sercy, 1689. An early manual on carnations and pinks addressed specifically to the amateur jardinier fleuriste at a period when the carnation was particularly in vogue. The first hundred pages deal with various aspects of cultivation - in pots, in greenhouses, and in the ground - while the remainder is devoted to an extensive listing of varieties. These entries describe each variety carefully and are full of observations on their particular qualities and special requirements, opinions as to their value and beauty, and occasional reference to the novelty or age of a particular variety. This work has been erroneously attributed to Goube, who wrote an eighteenth century work with a similar title. Its true author is unknown. Musset-Pathay 1379. 8vo (15.2 x 9 cm); (iv) + 164 pp.

LONDON: B.T. Batsford, 1909. First edition of this important reproduction of a selection of Du Cerceau's original drawings, now in the British Museum, for his 1517 and 1579 volumes published as LES PLUS EXCELLENTS BASTIMENTS DE FRANCE. According to Ward," The illustrations of the present volume present a fairly complete picture of architectural evolution in France during the sixteenth century, and comprise some of the finest specimens of each phase." Ward says that the drawings are richer in detail and larger in scale than the old engravings, and "some of these also vary considerably from the published version..." The reproductions are supplemented by Ward's account of Du Cerceau's life and work, descriptions of the chateaux and gardens designed by various architects, and an index of persons. Scarce in this condition. Folio (39.5 x 28 cm); xi + (iii) + 36 pp. with text illustrations mostly from plans and with 27 plates from drawings.

Bar Harbor, Maine: Max Farrand Memorial Fund, 1946 - 1959, (1963). First collected edition. Reef Point on Mt. Desert Island, Maine, was built for Farrand's family in 1883. The gardens and library were eventually opened to the public, and when her husband died in 1945 Beatrix established the Max Farrand Memorial Fund to expand the activities of the gardens and library. For this organization she wrote and published 16 issues of the Reef Point Gardens Bulletin and included in it a variety of articles on horticulture and natural history, in general, and the gardens and grounds of Reef Point in particular. The Reef Point Garden horticulturist, Amy Magdalene Garland, also contributed articles to the bulletins. The bulletins were collected (together with the unpublished 17th bulletin in which Farrand writes her own memorial) and issued in 1963 as a tribute. 8vo (22.6 x 15 cm); 116 pp. (unpaginated) with numerous text illustrations from photographs and with plans.

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.

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. “ the most alluring place...” 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.

(Paris): Journal des Demoiselles, n.d. (ca, 1880s). Issued as a special publication of the JOURNAL DES DEMOISELLES, this portfolio contains 25 lithographed sheets for mounting of specific dried herbarium samples. A printed outline of the plant, for coloring, is printed on the sheet next to the area where the flower or plant was to be placed. Also incorporated into each of these sheets is a letterpress text which instructs the user in the pertinent language of flowers, botanical nomenclature, and plant lore. Separate instructions for preparing plants collected for the herbarium are included along with instructions for coloring the outline drawings. Additionally, there are five hand-colored plates provided as a model for coloring. Each of these depicts a grouping or bouquet of five different flowers from among those illustrated by the uncolored plates. A wonderful example of the type of botanical pastimes thought to be instructive and engaging for women in the late nineteenth century. Loose, as issued, in original printed portfolio; 2 pp. text on lightweight paper + 3 plates (title and preface) on card stock + 5 hand-colored + 25 black and white lithographed plates.