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]

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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]

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Avis, Richard. Bird-preserving, Bird-mounting and the preservation of Birds’ Eggs. With a Chapter on Bird-Catching.
1st. Ed. Pub. Frederick Warne. [1870] pp.48 with illustrations plus 12-page Catalogue of ‘Frederick Warne & Co.’s Practical Handbooks’. Small 8vo. Hardback. Contents nr. fine. With Watkins & Doncaster label to ffep. Original decorated cloth boards in thor. vg. condition. Freeman 129, not in Mullens and Swann. Very scarce.
£295.00 [ref: 60430]

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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]

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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]

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Bannerman, David A. Birds of the Atlantic Islands. Vols. I to IV.
1st. Ed. Pub. Oliver & Boyd. 1963-1968 Four volume set illus. in colour by D.M. Reid-Henry, George E. Lodge, C.F. Tunnicliffe and others. 4to. Nr. fine hardbacks with minor spotting, largely confined to ends and fore-edges of text-block, all in thor. vg. to nr. fine dws. Vol. III with dedication (dated 1966) from David Bannerman to James D. Macdonald reading ‘To J.D. Macdonald. With every good wish to you for a happy new life far away across the seas. From David Bannerman. A very pleasing set.
J.D. Macdonald (1908-2002) was a highly respected Scottish-Australian ornithologist and ornithological writer. In 1968 he moved to Brisbane, Australia. Amongst his publications were ‘Birds of the Sudan’ (1955) and ‘Birds of Australia’ (1973). Bannerman also acknowledges his help in the production of ‘Birds of the Atlantic Islands’.
£400.00 [ref: 60224]

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Barla, J.-B. Flore Mycologique Illustree. Les Champignons des Alpes-Maritimes. Avec l’indication de leurs proprietes utiles ou nuisibles.
New Ed. Pub. Libreria Basso, Alassio. 1996 pp.80, 81-110 plus 64 full-colour plates. Hardback. Folio. Bound in quarter leather over marbled boards. Fine condition. Scarce.
This is both a very pleasing reproduction of the original work published in 1888, with the addition of a 28-page section which makes the text more accessible to current readers. Contributors to the new section include Marcel Bon and Massimo Candusso.
£150.00 [ref: 58847]

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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]