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

[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

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 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

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

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

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

One large folding printed chart (533 x 368 mm.). Title within typographical border. 1 p.l., 62 pp. Small folio (290 x 180 mm.), modern boards, label on spine. [Mexico City]: from the folding chart: “Viuda de D. Joseph Bernardo de Hogal,” 1755.

First and only edition printed in Mexico of these important ordinances governing manufacturing, trade, and the production and commerce of food within Mexico City. This copy is complete with the extremely uncommon folding chart detailing bread costs and prices. These 117 statutes touch upon many aspects of daily life, including the large-scale production of bread; quality controls on bread; animal husbandry and the production... More

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

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

50; 37 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. patterned wrappers (covers discolored), orig. block-printed title labels no longer present, new stitching. Edo: Suharaya Ichibei, 1771.

First edition of this classic and important book; the earliest edition in WorldCat is dated 1833. This is the first book on famine relief to be published in Japan.

Takebe (1721-82), came from a prominent family of physicians that had for generations been in service to the domain of Ichinoseki. Following his medical studies with Jutetsu Matsui, physician to the domain of Ichinoseki, he went to Edo, where he studied Western-style medicine with Jui Tominaga. Takebe soon thereafter became... More