Abercrombie, John. The Complete Kitchen Gardener, And, Hot-Bed Forcer; With the thorough practical management of Hot-Houses, Fire-Walls, and Forcing Houses, and the improved modern culture of the Pinery-Stoves, and Pine-Apples, etc.
1st. Ed. Pub. John Stockdale, London. 1789 pp.[xii], 509, [1], 6 page publisher’s adverts. 12mo. Contents in fine condition. More recently rebound in full-calf, with raised bands and gilt lettering to spine in fine condition. Sewn headbands. Rare.
John Abercrombie’s contribution to Horticulture is held in high regard. His intention for this work to provide a comprehensive treatment of the Kitchen Garden. He felt that there was a significant gap in the then extant literature, which comprised just a piecemeal approach to the subject.
£825.00 [ref: 51906]

Abercrombie, John. The Hot-House Gardener on the General Culture of the Pine-Apple. And methods of forcing early Grapes, Peaches, Nectarines, and other choice fruits in Hot-Houses, Vineries, Fruit-Houses, Hot-Walls, &c. with directions for raising melons and early Strawberries.
1st. Ed. Pub. John Stockdale, London. 1789 pp.xvi, 238 with 4 [of 5] plates plus 2 page publisher’s catalogue. Large 8vo. Contents in thor. vg. condition. More recently bound in oat-coloured cloth, with lettering in gilt to spine; in fine condition. Scarce.
‘Among 18th century British nurserymen who became writers on practical gardening, one of the most successful was John Abercrombie. At an early age, Abercrombie started the habit of writing down all the observations he made in the pursuit of his profession, a practice that must have provided him with much useful material when he became an author’ (Henrey).
£465.00 [ref: 51892]

Agricola, Georg Andreas (and Bradley, Prof. Richard). The Experimental Husbandman and Gardener. Containing a new method of Improving Estates and Gardens, by cultivating and increasing of forest-trees, coppice-woods, fruit-trees, shrubs, flowers and greenhouses, and exotick plants, after several manners; viz by Layers, Cuttings, Roots, Leaves &c.
2nd. Ed. Pub. for W. Mears & F. Clay, London. 1726 pp.[xxiv], 314, [iv] with 33 superb early Georgian, copper engraved plates (on 22 sheets, 13 of which fold-out). 4to. Hardback. Small hole to first ffep, a few minor ink marks, o/w. contents in fine condition. Bound in contemporary sprinkled full-calf leather with gilt decoration and lettering. Leather at front hinge showing some wear (joint still very firm), some rubbing at extremities, o/w. in vg. condition. Prov: Armorial bookplate to front pastedown; Neat private library stamp to pastedown (Rothamsted, Lawes Trust, acquired by them in 1922). Scarce.
An important work, indeed the ‘first treatise on cuttings and graftings’ (Hunt). The copy offered for sale here is the preferred 2nd edition with the ‘Appendix of experiments made upon Dr. Agricola’s general treatise of husbandry, by R. Bradley’. Henrey 412.
£1,650.00 [ref: 55037]

view all images for this item

Alpheraky, Sergius. The Geese of Europe and Asia. Being the description of most of the Old World species.
1st. Ed. Pub. Rowland Ward. 1905 pp.viii, 198 with 24 colour chromolithograph plates of geese and their bills by F.W. Frohawk and coloured frontispiece by Dr. P.P. Sushkin. Royal 4to. In original green cloth boards, lightly rubbed, o/w. thor. vg. Minor, scattered foxing to contents, which are o/w. in fine condition. TEG. Bookplate of Arthur B. Duncan to front paste-down. A very pleasing copy.
Dedication copy from Rowland Ward which reads ‘Captain Stanley Flower, with Rowland Ward[s] Kind Regards 1906’ to ffep. Captain Flower (1871-1946) was Director of the Cairo Zoological Gardens, Egypt between 1898 - 1924.
£495.00 [ref: 50785]

view all images for this item

Badham, Charles David. A Treatise on the Esculent Funguses of England.
2nd. Ed. Pub. Lovell Reeve. 1863 pp.xvi, 152 with 12 fine hand coloured plates to rear. 8vo. Hardback. A near fine copy in original cloth binding with gilt design.
£200.00 [ref: 38481]

view all images for this item

Baker, E.C. Stuart. The Indian Ducks and their Allies.
1st. Ed. Pub. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 1908 pp.xii, 292 plus 30 hand-finished chromolithograph plates and additional illustrated title page. Imperial 8vo. Hardback. A minor amount of spotting, largely confined to text o/w. contents in fine condition. In original publishers binding of half morocco leather with green boards; spine gently and evenly faded o/w. in fine condition. Limited to 1,200 copies. A nice example.
Edward Charles Stuart Baker worked as a police officer in Assam. In his spare time, he studied and collected Indian birds. Through these pursuits he amassed nearly 50,000 birds eggs, some of which he donated to the Natural History Museum. The text is a mixture of anecdotes, references to the key people and works of the period and in-depth insight into the birds. The highly talented artists Gronvold, Lodge and Keulemans contributed the plates for this work.
£250.00 [ref: 34471]

view all images for this item

Barrett, Charles G. The Lepidoptera of the British Islands. A Descriptive Account of the Families, Genera and Species Indigenous to Great Britain and Ireland, their preparatory states, habits and localities.
1st. Ed. Pub. L. Reeve, London. [1892]-1907 Eleven volumes set. With 504 hand-coloured plates. Royal 8vo. Hardbacks. Some scattered foxing to fore-edges of text blocks, prelims., last plate of each volume and very occasionally elsewhere. O/w., contents in fine condition. Handsomely bound in original decorated, gilt lettered brown cloth, all in thor. vg. to fine condition. Bookplates of Sir Norman Lamont, 2nd Baronet of Knockdow; Scottish Liberal Party politician and one time Personal Private Sec. to Sir Winston Churchill.
The preferred royal octavo, illustrated, edition. A “Standard work on British butterflies and moths. Barrett (1836-1904) was among the first to illustrate the larvae of every species, as well as a significant number of aberrations.” (Salmon). Barrett’s collection of specimens was auctioned in 1906 and 1907. Many of the most important specimens were purchased by Lord Rothschild and they are now housed at the Natural History Museum in London.
£2,375.00 [ref: 56751]

Bewick, Thomas. A General History of Quadrupeds.
4th. Ed. Pub. Hodgson, Beilby and Bewick, Newcastle upon Tyne. 1800 pp.x, 525 and errata, with 325 fine wood engravings by Thomas Bewick. Imperial 8vo. Hardback. All edges marbled. Contemporary ink doodles to two pages. Contents exceptionally clean and fine. Very handsomely bound in half-calf, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, all in excellent, nr. fine condition. A very pleasing copy.
‘Apart from textual revisions and new cuts, the present edition is notable for the introduction of ‘Scientific names’, also as being the first edition of the Quadrupeds to appear in imperial 8vo form....’ Roscoe. Only 230 copies of this issue were taken.
£495.00 [ref: 56704]

Bewick, Thomas. A General History of Quadrupeds.
4th. Ed. Pub. Newcastle upon Tyne. 1800 pp.[v], vi-x, 525, [i] page errata with woodcut engravings throughout. 8vo. Hardback. Contents very clean indeed and in very near fine condition. More recently rebound in full morocco leather with blind decoration to boards, lettered in gilt to spine, all in fine condition. Marbled end-papers with early bookplate to front pastedown. All edges marbled.
£275.00 [ref: 54210]

view all images for this item

Bewick, Thomas. A Memoir of Thomas Bewick. Written by himself. Embellished by numerous wood engravings designed and engraved by the Author for a work on British Fishes, and never before published.
Pub. Newcastle and London. 1862 pp.xix, [i], 344 with wood engravings. 8vo. Hardback. TEG. Bookplate and signature of Constance Herbert (1909). Contents in very crisp, fine condition. Original half-morocco, gilt spine, over green cloth in thor. vg. condition. A very pleasing copy.
£120.00 [ref: 56705]