Title within architectural woodcut border & many woodcuts in the text (many highlighted in red). Printed in black letter. [208] pp. Small 4to, modern calf (title with a few minor stains). London: “Prynted in Southwarke in Saynt Thomas Hospitall, by me James Nicolson,” [1537].

First edition of the first English work on surveying in the modern sense: the measuring and plotting of land. In the 16th century, “surveying” could also mean giving instructions to land stewards and overseers of the manor; John Fitzherbert wrote the first book on that subject in 1523. Our book is very rare and is a.... More

17 folding engraved plates & engraved vignettes. 2 p.l., lxxx, 383, 27, 10 pp. Large 4to, cont. mottled calf, spine nicely gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: H.L. Guerin & L.F. Delatour, 1760.

First edition and an attractive copy, complete with the two Additions. Duhamel (1700-82), French polymath, made notable contributions in agronomy, chemistry, botany, and naval technology. His major interest and contribution to technology and society was in agriculture. Duhamel “adapted Tull’s system to France based on his own wide reading in French agronomy and on original experiments.”–D.S.B., IV, p. 224.

One of Duhamel’s main interests was... More

Lithographed frontis. port. of the author in Vol. I. About 1200 very fine woodcuts, some double-page, of plants, many with sections delicately hand-colored. 20 vols. Large 8vo, orig. yellow patterned wrappers, orig. block-printed title-labels on upper covers, new stitching. Ogaki, Mino Province: Hirabayashi so 平林荘, 1874-75.

Second edition, revised and enlarged, of this magnificent Japanese botanical work; it is considered “the first comprehensive scientific monograph that appeared in Japan.”–Masuzo Ueno, “The Western Influence on Natural History in Japan” in Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 19, No. 3/4 (1964), p. 330.

Iinuma (1783-1865) was educated in Kyoto as a physician. He... More

19th-cent. russia, sides panelled in gilt & blind, gilt arms in center of the Pelham-Clinton family. Italy, perhaps Tuscany: early 15th century.

A fine manuscript, from the celebrated library of the dukes of Newcastle in Clumber, of this important fourth-century Roman treatise on agriculture. It enjoyed wide popularity in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, owing to its clear arrangement, with the farming and gardening tasks subdivided according to the twelve months of the year. It “was clearly more useful than that of any of Palladius’ predecessors. This fact alone may explain the preservation of his text and its popularity... More