Columella, Lucius Junius Moderatus. Of Husbandry. In Twelve Books: And His book Concerning Trees.
1st. Eng. Ed. Pub. A. Millar 1745 pp.xiv, 600 plus index. Intermittent foxing. Hinges neatly repaired. Red sprinkle decoration to fore-edges of text block. More recent quarter calf spine added to contemporary boards showing some rubbing. With contemporary armorial bookplate of Thomas Boswall Esq. of Blackadder and with ‘W. Phorson’s Circulating Library’ label (c.1800) to front paste-down. Contents very clean, with a little scattered foxing. Overall a vg. copy. (Harding 98).
Columella is considered the most important writer on agriculture of the Roman Empire. ‘Of Husbandry’ is a fascinating work with chapters dedicated to beekeeping, the husbandry of land, vines, livestock, poultry and fruit growing. ‘Columella, a Spaniard [believed of Roman parentage], wrote about a century after Virgil. He saw service in the East and then settled on an estate near Rome. Probably a commercial beekeeper, he gave very detailed and well conceived advice on many aspects of apiary management, including requeening, uniting and migratory beekeeping’ (Fraser).
£800.00 [ref: 46415]

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Keys, John. The Antient [Ancient] Bee-Master’s Farewell. Or, full and plain directions for the management of bees to the greatest advantage; disclosing further improvements of the hives, boxes, and other instruments, to facilitate the operations; especially that of separating double and treble hives or boxes, with certainty and safety, without injuring the bees.....interspersed with new but important observations.
1st. Ed. Pub. Robinson, London. 1796 pp.xvi, 273 with plate two [of two] present. Contents very clean with the exception of an old stain mark to the bottom right corner of the half-title and the plate, which also has some foxing to the margins. Pages rough-cut as published. More recently rebound in full calf leather binding with raised bands and gilt lettering on spine. With neat signature of a previous owner to ffep. Overall a very good copy.
John Keys was a Welsh Bee-keeper and indeed wrote this work from Bee-Hall near Pembroke.
£400.00 [ref: 46829]

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Keys, John. The Antient [Ancient] Bee-Master’s Farewell. Or, full and plain directions for the management of bees to the greatest advantage; disclosing further improvements of the hives, boxes, and other instruments, to facilitate the operations; especially that of separating double and treble hives or boxes, with certainty and safety, without injuring the bees.....interspersed with new but important observations.
1st. Ed. Pub. Robinson, London. 1796 pp.xvi, 273 with two plates. Contents very clean. More recently a quarter-calf leather binding with marbled boards has replaced an older binding. Leather spine has raised bands and gilt lettering. Binding in fine condition also. A lovely copy. Scarce. (Harding 154).
John Keys was a Welsh Bee-keeper and indeed wrote this work from Bee-Hall near Pembroke.
£700.00 [ref: 45360]

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Keys, John. The Practical Bee-Master. In which will be shewn how to manage bees either in straw hives or in boxes, without destroying them, and with more ease, safety and profit, than by any method hitherto made public.
1st. Ed. Pub. for the author, London. [1780] pp.xii, 390, with one fold-out plate plus 1 leaf errata and advertisements. 8vo. Hardback. Contents leaf bound after title page. Some light off-setting on the fold-out plate and some minor spotting. Old stitch marks evident. Otherwise contents very clean, bright and in near fine condition. Several informed, pencil notes in early hand. More recently, handsomely rebound in full-calf leather binding (marbled end-papers) with gilt lettering and decoration, all in fine condition. (Harding 135).
£625.00 [ref: 53994]

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Levett, John. The Ordering of Bees: Or, the True History of managing them from time to time, with their hony and waxe, shewing their nature and breed.
Fac. Ed. Pub. Theatrum Orbis Terrarum Ltd., and Da Capo Press. 1971 pp.12 leaves, 71 with illustrated frontis. 8vo. Hardback. Red cloth with gilt lettering. Near fine condition. With the bookplate of David Smith (long term IBRA Secretary and author) to front paste-down. Scarce.
A faithful facsimile of the first (and only) edition, published in London in 1634, from the copy held at the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
£125.00 [ref: 53988]

Thorley, Rev. John. An Enquiry into the Nature, Order and Government of Bees. Those instructive and useful insects. With a new, easy and effectual method to preserve them, not only in Colonies, but common Hives.
4th. Ed. Pub. Johnson, London. 1774 pp. illus frontis., x, 158 with one further engraved plate. 8vo. Hardback. Contents near fine condition. Two neat, early ownership inscriptions (one dated 1787) and bookplate of David Smith (long-term IBRA Secretary and author) loosely inserted. The plates in this edition are especially charming. Bound in handsome original full-calf leather (tree-calf style), showing some wear along spine and to fore-edges, o/w. vg and still very firm internally. Marbled end-papers. (Harding 97).
Thorley’s secret was the puffball narcotic, which he used when uniting colonies; its use was mentioned in 1597 by John Gerard and had long been practised in the Netherlands. Of English writers, Thorley was the first to mention having found wax scales in the pockets of worker bees.
£495.00 [ref: 54001]

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Warder, Joseph. The True Amazons. or, The Monarchy of Bees.
9th. Ed. Pub. London, Baldwin. 1765 pp. portrait illustrated frontis., 164 plus 4 pages of publisher’s adverts. Crown 8vo. Hardback. Two early signatures to title page. Contents in vg. to thor. vg. condition. Bound in lightly rubbed, original marbled boards, with more recent leather spine in fine condition. (Harding 74).
‘An important and successful book’ (Harding) which went to nine English editions plus others in German and Italian.
£275.00 [ref: 54004]

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Warder, Joseph. The True Amazons: Or, the Monarchy of Bees. Being a new Discovery and Improvement of those wonderful creatures.
8th. Ed. Pub. Longman & Astley. 1749 pp. portrait frontis, 164 plus 4 pages of adverts. Crown 8vo. Inscription to front paste-down. Feint, neat name stamp to verso of frontis, then again to foot of title page. Contents in vg. condition for their age. Original brown leather boards (leather worn in places) with more recent plain leather replacement spine in very good condition. Raised bands on spine.
‘An important and successful book, which went through many editions and was translated into German and Italian’ (Harding 74).
£275.00 [ref: 53325]

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White, Stephen. Collateral Bee-Boxes: Or, a New, Easy and Advantageous method of managing Bees.
Fac. Pub. Unknown. c.1980 pp.[ii], ix, [i], 47 with one plate. 8vo. Softback. Fine condition. Scarce.
Rev. Stephen White was Rector of Holton, Suffolk. He was keen not to destroy or disturb bees wherever possible and he first wrote ‘Collateral bee-boxes’ in 1756. Interestingly in 1781, W. Dyer and then Thomas Nutt in 1832 each described a similar system, each claiming complete originality for it. (Harding 109). This is a faithful facsimile of the Rev. White’s ‘3rd, Improved’ edition of 1764.
£40.00 [ref: 53982]

Wildman, Thomas. A Treatise on the Culture of Peach Trees, to which is added, a Treatise on the Management of Bees; and the improved treatment of them.
1st. English Ed. Pub. London, for the Author, also Dublin by Exshaw. 1768 pp.[ii], 5, [viii], 125, [i], 78, vi with one fold-out plate. Two-title pages. Crown 8vo. Contents fine. Contemporary full-calf , neatly rebacked with most of original spine label, all in thor. vg. condition. With armorial bookplate of William Gilstrap to front pastedown. Very scarce.
‘Treatise on the Culture of Peach Trees’ is an english translation of the highly respected ‘Traite de la culture des pechers’, first published in Paris in 1745 (Henrey 1438). Thomas Wildman’s writings on beekeeping ‘shows culture and an unusual knowledge of continental beekeeping’ (Harding 119). Maltster and philanthropist William Gilstrap (1816-1896) was given his Baronetcy in Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Hounours on 28th July 1887.
£1,850.00 [ref: 50959]

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