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. to nr. fine condition. More recently bound in oat-coloured cloth with gilt lettered label, light marking to spine and extremities o/w. in fine condition.
‘Among 18th century British nurserymen who became writers on practical gardening, one of the most successful was John Abercrombie.’ (Henrey). Over half of this work comprises a detailed, practical, advice on the culture of the Pineapple. The remainder focusses on grapes, peaches, nectarines, melons and strawberries. Abercrombie was an ‘outstanding pomologist’ (Jansen).
£300.00 [ref: 51892]

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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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Brookshaw, George. The Horticultural Repository. Containing delineations of the best varieties of the different species of English Fruits.
1st. Ed. Pub. London. [1820] -1823 Two volumes bound as one. Ex Stoke-on-Trent City Library copy, bound in ochre coloured boards - near fine condition. Spine indicates ‘Vol. I’, but it is in fact both volumes, complete with the 104 hand-coloured plates as called for (7 fold-out). Neat blind-stamp on title page through to p.2 and first plate, no further lib. markings. Measures 9 1/4 in by 5 3/4 in., with some plates trimmed when rebound. Volume 1 has full-title (not half title); whilst in volume 2 both full and half-titles removed. Overall contents very clean and in near fine condition. Two of the fold-out plates show some superficial wear to image at folds. Overall a very good, ex-library copy of this scarce and sought after work.
‘The best English fruit varieties were featured......in Brookshaw’s ‘Horticultural Repository’, which laid out verbally and visually the essential observations for a successful fruit plantation.’ (from ‘Pomona Britannica’, (2002) pub. Taschen).
£1,500.00 [ref: 53221]

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Darwin, Erasmus. Phytologia: Or the Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening. With the theory of draining Morasses and with an improved construction of the Drill Plough.
1st. Ed. Printed for J. Johnson, by T. Bensley, Bolt Court, Fleet Street. 1800 pp.viii, 612, [xii] with 12 engraved plates (two being fold-out). 4to. Hardback. Neat signature dated 1818 to title page. A very minor amount of spotting, o/w. contents exceptional and in fine condition. Marbled end-papers. Original half leather over marbled boards showing minor shelf-rubbing, with a more recent, period style, spine in fine condition. A very pleasing copy.
King-Hele said that ‘Phytologia’ is the best of Darwin’s prose works....has many new ideas and some major discoveries, notably the specification of photosynthesis and of plant nutrients’.
£1,500.00 [ref: 58198]

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Elgood, George S. & Jekyll, Gertrude. Some English Gardens.
1st. Ed. Pub. Longmans, Green & Co. 1904 pp.xii, 130 with 50 fine colour reproductions from plates by Elgood. Small folio. Hardback. TEG. Minor spotting and marking, o/w. contents fine. Original blue cloth binding, lettered in gilt, in vg. plus condition, small marks to front cover, very gently rubbed on extremities.
£250.00 [ref: 63009]

Forsyth, William. A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees; In which a new method of Pruning and Training is fully described.
4th. Ed. Pub. Longman et al. 1806 pp.xxviii, 523 with 13 fine copper engraved plates, 11 of which are fold-out. 8vo. Hardback. Minor spotting, o/w. contents fine. Contemporary full speckled calf boards professionally restored on corners and re-backed to style, overall all in thor. vg. condition. A wonderful work.
Twelve plates finely illustrate trained trees and are supported by explanatory text. The last plate depicts twelve tools used in the culture and management of fruit trees.
£200.00 [ref: 60853]

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Gerarde, John, [Gerard, John]. The Herball [Herbal] or Generall [General] Historie of Plants.
2nd. Rev. Ed. Printed by Adam Islip, Joice Norton and Richard Whitakers. 1636 pp.[xxxviii], 1632 with engraved title, over 2,500 wood-block engravings plus Indexes and Table of Virtues. Collated and complete. Folio. Hardback. Seven wood-block engravings hand coloured (not dated but in keeping with the practice of the period). Last leaf professionally remargined with loss to a couple of letters only. Other than marking to some margins, as is common with herbals, and some occ. minor spotting the contents are very clean and nr. fine. More recently handsomely rebound in full calf with raised bands and blind ruling decoration, a trifle marked o/w. fine.
A very pleasing copy of Thomas Johnson’s expanded version of John Gerarde’s Herball (first published 1597). It is ‘noteworthy for its many corrections, improvements, additions’ (Henrey). Johnson indicated where he had made amendments with obelisk and double obelisk symbols.
£4,500.00 [ref: 63843]

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Grey-Wilson, C., Matthews, V. and Mathew, B. (Eds.). The Kew Magazine incorporating Curtis’s Botanical Magazine. Vol. 1 Part 1 to Vol. 39 Part 2.
1st. Ed. Pub. Bentham Moxon Trust / Blackwell. 1984-2002 Complete run of 152 parts with colour illus. and photos., plus b/w. illus. 8vo. Fine softbacks housed in cardboard magazine files. This run contains the 200th Anniversary Edition 1787-1987 (Vol. 4 Part 1) and the Special Part Erratum for Vol. 24. A wonderful run.
‘The Botanical Magazine’, later called ‘Curtis’s Botanical Magazine’ was founded in 1787. In 1970, after a long illustrious history, copyright was taken over by the Bentham Moxon Trust and in April 1984, the magazine was renamed ‘The Kew Magazine’, with Christopher Grey-Wilson as editor. Under Blackwell Publishing Ltd., and the editorship of Brian Mathew, from 1984 to 2002, the magazine reverted to its former title.
£750.00 [ref: 66729]

Harrison, Charles. A Treatise On The Culture And Management Of Fruit Trees.
2nd. Ed. Pub. for the Author. 1825 pp.xii, 356 with figs. in text. 8vo. Hardback. Marbled fore-edges. With period signature and personal roundel to title-page. Occ. minor spotting, title-page slightly trimmed, o/w. contents fine. Occ. period marginal annotation plus recipes for waterproof cement, a dressing for fruit-trees, paint for woodwork or walls, the Gilchrist Compound and zinc labels to rfep. Also loosely inserted are an advert for Gilchrist Compound ((c. 1859) featuring reviews of its effectiveness by Sir J.W. Hooker and Mr. Rivers) and a period article, with illus., for Grape Vine Mildew. More recently rebound in red-cloth, retaining original spine label, lightly spotted on rear, o/w. fine. A charming, unique copy.
A detailed, well illustrated treatise considering Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherry, Apricot, Peach and Nectarine trees. Also discusses Vines, Figs and the Gooseberry, Raspberry and Strawberry.
£175.00 [ref: 34581]

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Haworth, Adrian Hardy. Observations on the Genus Mesembryanthemum. In two parts containing scientific descriptions of above one hundred and thirty species, about fifty of which are new; directions for their management; new arrangements for the species; references to authors; and a great variety of critical, philosophical, and explanatory remarks.
1st. Ed. Pub. London by the Author. 1794 pp.[8], 480. 8vo. Hardback. From the library of Prof. Leonard E. Newton with his stamp to bottom margin of title. Contents fine. More recent half morocco binding in very pleasing, nr. fine condition. Charming handwritten letter bound in at front dated 20 Nov. 1876 from North Wales Central Botanic Gardens to a member of the public searching for a copy of this title.
Adrian Hardy Howarth (1768-1833) was a British botanist and entomologist being President of The Entomological Society of London from 1806 to 1822. During his lifetime he was the author of 60 publications, primarily concerned with succulent plants and lepidoptera. The facsimile of ‘Observations on the Genus Mesembryanthemum’ published in 1965 by Gregg Press was taken from this copy.
£1,750.00 [ref: 58668]

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