One folding engraved plate. xxxii, 116 pp. 8vo, cont. red morocco-backed paste-paper boards, flat spine nicely gilt. Paris: Patris, 1810.

First edition. One of the great achievements of the 19th century in respect to food was the successful development of canning. The pioneer in this field was the Frenchman, Nicolas Appert (1750-1841).

In Appert’s process the foodstuff was placed in clean bottles, well corked, and subsequently the bottles were raised to the boiling-point of water. In this way the most perishable material could be kept unchanged for a long time. With this method Appert demonstrated practically the process of pasteurization, nearly fifty... More about L'Art de conserver, pendant plusieurs Années, toutes les Substances animales et végétales

Engraved frontis. & three engraved plates. 266 pp. 12mo, cont. pale brown calf (joints with tiny cracks), sides decorated with a frame of gilt flower stamps, spine gilt with stamps of fans, people, & other motifs, a.e.g. Paris: Giguet & Michaud, 1805.

“Quatrième Édition, corrigée et augmentée.” A very pretty copy of this celebrated poem on gastronomy which went through a number of editions. The charming frontispiece, drawn by Myris and engraved by Delignon, depicts a party of libertines at the table. The other three plates, drawn by Myris and Monsiau, depict the Roman Senate at the moment of the origin of turbot... More about La Gastronomie, Poëme...suivi des Poésies fugitives de l'Auteur

Numerous woodcuts in the text. 28 unnumbered leaves (incl. the first leaf, a blank). Small 4to, early 20th-cent. calf (final leaf with short tear in blank section, carefully repaired). London: W. Stansby for J. Grismand, 1626.

A very rare book that describes the English bread-pricing regulations established in 1266, which remained in force, with modifications, for more than six centuries. As Britain’s early modern economy developed and the price of wheat fluctuated, these regulations were periodically revised and reissued by authority of the Privy Council. ESTC locates only one copy of our edition in North America.

“Bread was one of the basic nutritional elements of the medieval diet and its supply and price were of the utmost concern to local authorities. Consequently, well-defined laws were laid down to control the manufacture and sale of bread: to judge the weight, quality, and price, and also to ensure an open and constant supply. The most significant and long-lasting commercial law in medieval England was the assize of bread, which was entered into statute law sometime [1266] in the thirteenth century… More about The Assize of Bread. Together with sundry good and needfull ordinances for Bakers, Brewers,...

One hand-colored engraved plate. xix, 51 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed marbled boards (some foxing), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. London: C. Dilly & J. Phillips, 1787.

“Second edition” (but see below) of this translation of Commerell’s work on the mangel wurzel, an uncommon beet developed in the 18th century as a fodder crop for livestock and, when harvested young, an excellent source of nutrition for humans. Commerell (d. 1799), chaplain to the Princess of Lowenstein in the German Lorraine and a member of the Société d’Agriculture de Paris, was interested in husbandry and wrote a monograph in French on... More about An Account of the Culture and Use of the Mangel Wurzel, or Root of Scarcity. Translated from the...

Seven engraved plates (one double-page). 1 p.l., xvii, [1], 448, 1 leaf, 6 leaves of explanatory text; 1 p.l., iv, [1], 498 pp. Two vols. 8vo, cont. tree calf (short crack at top of one joint, minor foxing), flat spines gilt with red & green morocco labels. London: T. Cadell & W. Davies, 1800.

First edition in English of Gren’s Grundriss der Chemie with additions and notes by the translator (Dr. Gruber...). Although the author had his own eclectic theory of chemistry he has followed the antiphlogistic system in this work.”–Cole 554. The text also describes glass- and ceramic-making techniques, dyeing, brewing, etc.

Gren (1760-98), founder of the Journal der Physik, Germany’s most exciting scientific journal, slowly adopted Lavoisier’s theories, which helped prepare the way for the ultimate acceptance of the Frenchman’s ideas in Germany. More about Principles of Modern Chemistry, Systematically Arranged...Translated from the German; with Notes...

Full-page woodcut armorial device on verso of title, one woodcut in the text, & woodcut initials & decorations. Largely printed in black letter. 11 p.l. (several preliminary leaves misbound at end), 193, [1] leaves. Small 4to, cont. limp vellum (wrinkled & somewhat soiled, minor & mostly marginal worming to misbound leaves, minor dampstaining), ties gone. London: Printed by R. Watkins, 1577.

First edition in English, translated by Barnabe Googe (1540-94). This work, first published in Latin in Cologne in 1570, was extremely popular. Written in the form of a dialogue, the book takes an imaginary visitor through the countryman’s house, and shows him his farm, stables, garden... More about Foure Bookes of Husbandry…Conteyning the whole Arte and Trade of Husbandry, with the...

12 p.l. (the first a blank), 159, [9] pp. (final leaf blank). 12mo, cont. sheep (spine faded, a bit rubbed). London: J.C. for W. Crook, 1672.

First edition of “the earliest work in English on the medicinal virtues of North American tropical plants. Based on first-hand observations made in the West Indies. Evidence suggests that Hughes began his career in 1651 with a privateering voyage to the West Indies, during which he traveled to Barbados, St. Kitts, Cuba, Jamaica and mainland Florida. He appears to have spent a good deal of time visiting British plantations on Jamaica and Barbados, where he observed... More about The American Physitian; or, a Treatise of the Roots, Plants, Trees, Shrubs, Fruit, Herbs &c....

23 silk-screened images of potatoes hand-tinted & tipped-in. 14 unnumbered leaves. Folio (430 x 310 mm.), orig. pink paper wrappers & yellow band with watercolored title, stitched. London: The Everyday Press, 2018.

A charming illustrated recipe book by the chef Jeremy Lee and British artist Simon Popper; produced in an edition of 75. Recipes include: pommes sarladaises, potato soup, Cullen skink, champ, and “Janson’s Temptation.” The silk-screened potato images were copied from 19th-century engravings of potatoes. Printed by Lesley Sharp.

As new. More about Potatoes, A Book by…

Japan: various sizes and various dates, mostly printed in black, some in red, ranging from 1818 to 1906.

A remarkable collection of pharmaceutical ephemera: these broadsides and envelopes were issued by pharmaceutical companies from all over Japan, for advertising and dispensing a wide variety of tablets, ointments, powders, plasters, herbal medicines, and pastes. These medicines were used for a wide variety of illnesses: indigestion, conjunctivitis, kidney disease, sea sickness, diarrhea, etc. Indeed, one of the medicines is advertised as efficacious in curing 10,000 diseases.

Some of these broadsides lists many kinds of medicines produced and marketed by a single manufacturer. Many have company... More about A collection of 31 broadside advertisements, 28 printed envelopes, which contained medicines, one...

One folding handcolored engraved plate & six folding printed tables on four sheets. xvi, 418 pp. 8vo, cont. tree calf (minor foxing), flat spine nicely gilt (minor defect at foot of spine), red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: Poulet, 1814.

First edition in French (1st ed.: Madrid, 1807), large paper copy, of this uncommon work on the grapes cultivated in Andalucia. Rojas (1777-1827), librarian of the royal botanical garden of Madrid, describes the grapes’ characteristics, tastes, and uses as a commercial crop for eating and for making wine. He describes more than 120 varieties, providing details on their various local names, qualities... More about Essai sur les Variétés de la Vigne qui végètent en Andalousie…traduit par L. M. C. [the...

x, 557, [1] pp. 8vo, cont. green sheep-backed green boards maroquiné, single gilt fillet round sides, flat spine gilt. Sion: A. Advocat, 1812.

First edition of this uncommon account of the mountainous canton of Valais (then known as the “département du Simplon”) in Switzerland. Schiner, a physician on the medical faculty at Montpellier, describes the geography, natural history, most notable buildings, costumes, cuisines and wines, commercial activities, roads, climate, structure of government, the mountains and glaciers, forests, etc., etc. The author also discusses the prevalence of goiter amongst the population, along with other diseases common to the canton.

Fine copy, signed by Prince Dietrichstein on the free front endpaper. More about Description du Département du Simplon, ou de la ci-devant République du Valais

Finely engraved architectural title-page by Mallery with Henri IV seated on his throne in a garden, eight fine woodcut vignettes, fine woodcut initials, and 13 large woodcuts in Chapters XIII & XIV. 9 p.l., 3-1004, [20] pp. Folio, 18th cent. mottled calf (minor scuffing to binding extremities), spine gilt, contrasting lettering piece on spine. Paris: J. Metayer, 1600.

First edition of the first great French work on agronomy — in its widest sense — to be published. In this book, Serres devotes substantial sections to hunting, cookery, practical medicine, irrigation, forestry, viticulture, vegetable gardening, medicinal plants, fruit trees, silk cultivation, the management of servants... More about Le Theatre d'Agriculture et Mesnage des Champs