One folding engraved plate. 12 p.l., 577, [27] pp. 8vo, cont. half-vellum & paste-paper boards. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck, 1787.

Third edition, greatly enlarged and improved (1st ed.: 1777) of the first textbook of technology, a term created by its author. Beckmann (1739-1811), taught at the University of Göttingen, where an ordinary professorship of economic sciences was established for him in 1770. He lectured on mineralogy, agriculture, technology, materials science, commerce, and general public administration.

The present book “is noteworthy for its systematic approach to the various vocations and for its descriptions of a number of trades.”–D.S.B., I, p. 554. Beckmann describes in great detail the... More about Anleitung zur Technologie, oder zur Kentniss der Handwerke, Fabriken und Manufacturen,...

[Klein-Schwechat: 1881].

An elaborate album of photographs of drawings of the celebrated brewery at Klein-Schwechat, founded in 1632, and today one of the leading breweries of Austria, producing a lager, a light smooth premium beer called Hopfenperle, and a super-premium called Steffl. The album was prepared for the renowned Viennese brewer August Deiglmayer (1827-83), who was at that time, managing director of the brewery and one of the great innovators of 19th century brewing. Deiglmayer spent much of his professional career at the Klein-Schwechat brewery.

The drawings were executed at the request of Georg Wieninger (1832-87), scion of the Schärding family of... More about A unique album of photographs reproducing drawings of different views of the famous brewery at...

59 leaves, enumerating the names of grapes, cereal crops, and oils and their prices for nearly two centuries. Small folio (273 x 178 mm.), 18th-cent. vellum over boards (tail of spine defective), two (of four) ties lacking. Burgundy: 1622-1792.

A fascinating and rare survival, which details the precipitous rise in the prices of Burgundian wine and the emergence of a hierarchy among regions and vintages over a 170-year period. This document, consisting of three gatherings (28; 28; 3 leaves), bound together and written in several legible hands, provides a wealth of information on grain harvests in the region, which varied greatly from year... More about Manuscript on paper entitled on upper cover: “Taux des fruits du Baillage [sic] de Nuits depuis...

About 60 bound notebooks and about a dozen unbound sheets, many finely illustrated with brush and ink, with colors. [Japan: ca. 1839-ca. 1912].

A fascinating and important manuscript archive of notebooks and sheets, many with illustrations, describing the rules of gastronomic etiquette as prescribed by the Ogasawara School of etiquette, developed in the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and still practiced today. The instructions mostly pertain to the ritualistic preparation and serving of the food on a series of trays known as honzen ryori (“main tray cuisine”) which was the dominant style of banqueting for the elite from the Muromachi period through the Edo... More about A collection of instructional notebooks containing secrets of gastronomy, etiquette,...

Engraved vignette on title & three folding engraved plates. 252 pp. 8vo, cont. half-vellum & boards (boards slightly soiled, two very small wormholes to title touching three letters), spine gilt, green leather lettering piece on spine, uncut. Vicenza: nella Stamperia Turra, 1784.

First edition of this uncommon book on wheat, corn, and other cereals. Harasti, a member of the Hungarian noble Haraszthy family of Buda, was a Franciscan friar who wrote many books on agriculture. He belonged to several scientific and agricultural societies in Italy, and this work was awarded a prize by the Accademia Agraria di Vicenza in 1783.

In this work, Harasti provides a complete account of wheat, corn, and other cereals suitable for growing in Italy, methods of planting and cultivation, techniques to prevent diseases from affecting the crops, when and how to harvest, and methods of preventing the harvested grains from being contaminated by fungi and rodents while in storage. There are extensive discussions of the different species of the cereals and which are the most appropriate for different regions of Italy. More about Della più utile Coltivazione del Frumento Memoria…

Title printed in red & black. 11 p.l., 400, [37] pp. 8vo, cont. vellum over boards (light browning & foxing). Ulm: D. Bartholomai, 1722.

First edition. Hoffmann (1660-1742), whom Hirsch calls “one of the heroes of German medicine in the 18th century,” was “a leading medical systematist of the first half of the eighteenth century...he became a highly influential teacher and practicing physician in Germany, systematizing coherently the Galenic, iatromechanical, and iatrochemical aspects of the phenomena of health and disease.”–D.S.B., VI, p. 458.

In the present work, Hoffmann offers a collection of medical and dietetic instructions developed to improve health. He provides... More about Gründlicher Unterricht, Wie ein Mensch nach den Gesundheits-Regeln der Heil. Schrifft und durch...

2 p.l., 46 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed marbled boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Warrington: Printed by W. Eyres, 1796.

First edition of this scarce provincial imprint. During the final four decades of the 18th century Britain experienced a number of corn harvest failures with a resulting rise in the price of wheat. The Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, the Board of Agriculture, and various private individuals advocated the adoption of the potato as a substitute for wheat, and great efforts were made to popularize the cultivation of this crop.

The writer of the present tract was no doubt inspired by a Board of Agriculture report on the culture and use of potatoes, which was published in 1795. Kirkpatrick, who lived near Wigan in Lancashire, a well-established center for potato cultivation, was not a professional nurseryman, but he grew certain plants in his garden that he offered for sale. More about An Account of the Manner in which Potatoes are Cultivated and Preserved, and the Uses to which...

Three vols. Thick 8vo, orig. marbled wrappers (wrappers with a few pale ink stains), manuscript labels pasted on spines, uncut. Paris: P.D. Pierres, 1782.

First edition of “one of the finest works upon the social life of the French people…”–Bitting, p. 280. Legrand d’Aussy (1737-1800), was appointed keeper of French manuscripts at the Bibliothèque nationale in 1795.

While Legrand originally envisioned a more comprehensive work on domestic life, he only managed to publish the sections on food. This work is filled with valuable information on food preparation, the concept and organization of a “correct” meal, dishes to be served... More about Histoire de la Vie privée des Français, depuis l’Origine de la Nation jusqu’à nos jours.

Folding engraved frontis. (short tear to image carefully repaired without loss). 3 p.l., 39 pp. Small 8vo, cont. half-calf & marbled boards, flat spine gilt. London: R. Roberts, 1699.

First edition of what is apparently the first English book solely devoted to tea. Ovington (1653-1731), chaplain to James II, upon the kings’ removal, was engaged by the East India Company and sailed for India, where he lived in Surat for two and a half years. While there, he became interested in the tea culture of the subcontinent.

“During the second half of the seventeenth century three drinks, coffee, chocolate, and tea, gradually became... More about An Essay upon the Nature and Qualities of Tea. Wherein are shown, I. The Soil and Climate...

Engraved frontis. 20 p.l.(incl. frontis.), 234 pp. 8vo, cont. blue boards, flat spine gilt, red leather lettering piece on spine. Berlin & Stettin: F. Nicolai, 1788.

First edition in German, a translation of Theoretic Hints on an Improved Practice of Brewing Malt-Liquors (1st ed.: 1777) by Richardson (fl. 1778-98). The text by Richardson has been greatly augmented with important additions by Lorenz Crell (1744-1816), professor of chemistry and mineralogy at Brunswick and later at Göttingen and an early proponent of Lavoisier. Crell was an active correspondent of all the leading chemists in Germany and other countries and his journals diffused a knowledge... More about Johann Richardsons Vorschläge zu neuen Vortheilen beym Bierbrauen. Nebst Beschreibung seines...

[Minamata: late Edo].

All salt in Japan has traditionally come from sea water. For many centuries, salt production has been an important activity throughout Japan, and salt has always been of great cultural and gastronomical importance. This most attractive map depicts the salt evaporation fields at Minamata in Kumamoto Prefecture. At the time this map was prepared, the traditional, and extremely labor-intensive, “agehama” method of extracting salt from sea water was still being used.

In this map, the salt fields are located next to the ocean, separated by man-made embankments. An inlet has been built to allow a controlled amount... More about Manuscript map (875 x 1210 mm.), on eight joined sheets of paper, depicting the salt evaporation...

Numerous woodcut illus. in the text. Largely printed in black letter. 7 p.l. (first leaf blank except for signature mark), 63, [1] pp. Small 4to, early 20th cent. polished mottled calf by Riviere, triple gilt fillet round sides, spine richly gilt, red morocco lettering pieces on spine, dentelles gilt, a.e.g. London: H. Denham, 1576.

Second edition, “nowe newly corrected and augmented,” of the first English book on hops. The first edition appeared two years earlier; both editions are very rare. This is “an eminently practical treatise, illustrating the various methods of setting the roots, making the hills and ramming the poles... More about A Perfite platforme of a Hoppe Garden, and necessarie Instructions for the making and...