Search Results: Gardening & Nature from Classic Books and Ephemera

Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Company, 1813. Hard Cover. Very Good. "Drawn up for the consideration of the Board of Agriculture, with a view of explaining how far those systems are applicable to the less cultivated parts in England, and Scotland." "Printed by James Ballantyne & Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, Edinburgh; Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London; and John Cuming, Dublin." Volume 1 only. xii, 439, [1] p.: frontispiece portrait of the author and [4] leaves of plates; 22 cm. Plain 20th-century red cloth with "Husbandry Scotland" written in black on spine. Second edition. Two unpaginated pages of publisher's advertisements precede half title. Former owner's name stamped on front fixed endpaper and on title page verso: Charles S. Cole, Jr., Bryn Athyn, Pa. In Very Good Condition: cover slightly rubbed; shadows on pages facing plates; occasional light foxing; otherwise pages and plates are clean and tight.

Pest [Hungary]: C.A. Hartleben, 1855. First Edition. Hardcover. Good -. xix, [1], 461, [3] p.: many in-text drawings and tables; 22 cm. Contemporary black sand-grain cloth with dark blue library mending cloth over spine. All page edges marbled. Reddish-brown endpapers. Bibliography, "Zur Geschichte der Anatomie und Physiologie der Pflanzen": p. [11]-48. Small bookseller's label on front fixed endpaper for Speyer & Peters, Berlin. Bookplate of the Academy of the New Church Library on front fixed endpaper, stamped "Discard." A book pocket on the back fixed endpaper is also stamped "Discard." The stamp of Charles S. Cole, Jr., Bryn Athyn, Pa., appears on the front fixed endpaper and the verso of the title page. The author, Franz Unger (1800-1870), was an Austrian doctor and botanist. His theories on plant heredity influenced the groundbreaking experiments on plant genetics performed by his student Gregor Johann Mendel. In Good- Condition: text block is… Read More

Paris: A. Le Vasseur, Editeur, 1880. Fine. 1 handcolored copperplate engraving (16 x 27 cm.) from a painting by Edouard Travies (1809-1868?); engraved by Nicolas Amable Fournier. Printed by R. Taneur. Undated; the publisher was active from 1878 to 1887 or later. In Fine Condition: clean and bright.

Edinburgh: Lizars, 1834. Fine. Hand-colored steel engraving 6.25 x 3.75 inches (16 x 9.5 cm.) in white mat 10 x 8 inches. Plate 4 from Sir William Jardine's The Naturalist's Library; engraved by William H. Lizars. In Fine Condition: clean and bright. Back of mat very lightly scraped.

London: James Ridgway, 1841. Fine. Hand-colored copperplate engraving of the Broad-Leaved Euthales; plate is 25 x 15 cm. With 2 pages (1 leaf) of text from The Botanical Register. This engraving is dated Jan. 1, 1841. It was drawn by Miss Drake and engraved by G. Barclay. In Fine Condition.

Philadelphia: Printed by James Kay, Jun. & Brother, 1837. Very Good +. [1], 140-203, [1] p.; 29 cm. Disbound from a larger volume. Read before the Society on April 4, 1834. Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859) was an English botanist who trained as a printer, but was encouraged to follow his interest in botany after coming to Philadelphia in the early 19th century. He spent much of the rest of his life studying the flora and fauna of the United States, publishing Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and of Canada, heading the botanical gardens at Harvard University, and working at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. This is one of several important papers of that were published in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. Scarce. In Very Good+ Condition: disbound from a larger volume; final leaf largely detached from text block; minimal foxing; otherwise, clean and bright.

New York: Selmar Hess, Publisher, 1885. Near Fine -. 1 chromolithograph 13 x 20 cm. (5 x 8 inches) on a captioned buff sheet 24 x 32 cm. (9.25 x 12.5 inches). This is one of a series of Prang chromolithographs used in Our Living World: An Artistic Edition of the Rev. J.G. Wood's Natural History of Animate Creation (New York: Selma Hess, 1885). As here, the publisher also issued the plates separately, tipped onto captioned sheets. In Near Fine- Condition: upper right-hand corner of mat is slightly creased; clean and bright.

Philadelphia: M. Carey and Son, 1818. Hardcover. Good +. 2 volumes: [8], 251, [1] p.; [3], 6-234 p.; 19 cm. Contemporary tree calf with six spine compartments between double gilt rules. Gilt-tooled volume numbers in 4th compartment. Remains of old hand-written paper labels at head of each spine. Each volume contains an index. On the front fixed endpaper of each volume is the printed bookplate of Friends' Library & Literary Association, cover most of a blue bookplate of the Association, printed by William Wooddy. Each title page has an oval stamp reading "Friends' Library, Park Avenue, Baltimore." On the front free endpaper verso of each volume is the engraved bookplate of Clyde F. Reed. Clyde Franklin Reed (1918-1999) was a botanist with the Agricultural Research Service and later was curator of botany at the Maryland Academy of Sciences. The author, William Paul Crillon Barton (1786-1856), received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1808. He… Read More

Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Ex Officina Langenhemiana, 1754. Pamphlet. Very Good. [6], 20 p.; 21 cm. Disbound from a collection of pamphlets owned by French homeopath Dr. Charles Ravel (1822-1887). Remains of original marbled wrapper along spine. Engraved title vignette, head-piece, initial letter, and tailpiece. "539" written on title page in an old hand. The author, Friedrich Börner (1723-1761), was a German physician who published a number of works on earlier doctors and naturalists. Here he discusses De Viribus (aut Virtutibus) Herbarum, often attributed to Aemilius Macer of Verona, a Roman poet. It has since been attributed to Odo Magdunensis, a medieval French physician. Scarce. In Very Good Condition: lacking original wrapper; paper is slightly browning; clean and solid.

Batavia [Jakarta, Indonesia]: Landsdrukkerij, 1905. Paperback. Very Good -. 125 p.; 27 cm. Plain wrappers printed in black on front wrapper. Small label (of importer?) inside front wrapper: G.C.T. van Dorp & Co. N.V. Djakarta. Small stamp and check mark on front wrapper. Scarce. In Very Good- Condition: wrapper is slightly soiled; wrapper over spine is chipped, with loss in upper and lower sections; clean and solid.

Paris: A. Le Vasseur, Editeur, 1880. Fine. 1 handcolored copperplate engraving (16 x 27 cm.) from a painting by Edouard Travies (1809-1868?); engraved by Fournier et Lalaisse. Printed by R. Taneur. Undated; the publisher was active from 1878 to 1887 or later. In Fine Condition: clean and bright.

London, Eng: Whittaker & Co, 1835. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. Good -. 2 volumes: xxiv, 379, [5] p.; 389, [5] p.: hand-colored frontispiece and hand-colored title vignette in each volume, 18 hand-colored plates, several in-text drawings in each volume; 21 cm. Original dark green cloth with gilt-stamped spine titles and decoration; all boards have blind-stamped decoration. Yellow endpapers. In Good- Condition: front hinge of vol. 1 completely separated, and front free endpaper and frontispiece of vol. 1 detached but present (text block is otherwise solid and binding is in one piece); spines are sunned; cloth lacking at ends of spines; corners are bumped; covers are slightly soiled; title pages are foxed; otherwise only occasional light foxing; pages and plates are otherwise clean and tight.

West Chester, Pa: printed for the author, by S. Siegfried, 1837. Hardcover. Very Good -. "For Sale by Kimber and Sharpless, Philadelphia." xxiii, [1], 640 p., frontispiece (engraved, hand-colored map of Chester County); 20 cm. Contemporary tree calf with five spine compartments between double gilt rules. Gilt-tooled title on leather label in second compartment. Includes index of the genera and species, and index of English and foreign names. First Edition. Former owner's name on blank page following front endpapers: Joseph J. Hopkins. The author, William Darlington (1782-1863), was the president of the Chester County Bank (or National Bank of Chester County), represented Pennsylvania in Congress, founded and was president of the Chester County Medical Society, and was a well-known botanist. In Very Good- Condition: edges are rubbed; front board is scraped; closed tear in frontispiece map, archivally repaired; old dampstain along lower edge of endpapers only; foxing throughout,… Read More

London: Grant Richards, 1903. Hardcover. Very Good +. Second edition. [8], 94, [2] p.: 24 full-page color illustrations; 13 cm. Publisher's light brown cloth with dark brown-stamped spine and cover titles on a background of dark brown vertical lines; bank cover is blank. Each leaf printed on one side only, with one page of text facing on full-page illustration, but paginated continuously. This is No. 7 in the series The Dumpy Books for Children. Inscription on front fixed endpaper by former owners' William F. and Margie M. Bodine. Text inspired by Flowers and Flower Lore by Hilderic Friend. Each color illustration contains a captioned flower and a child/fairy in circa 1900 dress. In Very Good+ Condition: front joint separated at tail for 1 cm.; otherwise a clean and bright copy of this charming book.

London: James Ridgway, 1841. Fine. Drake, Miss. Hand-colored botanical engraving of the Golden Cleome (Cleome lutea). 25 x 16 cm. With accompanying text describing the plant. This engraving is dated Dec. 1841 and signed: Miss Drake del.; G. Barclay sc. In Fine Condition. A very attractive hand-colored botanical engraving from the mid-19th century.

London: Smith, Elder and Co, 1863. Hardcover. Very Good -. Baring-Gould, Sabine. xlviii, 447 p.: color frontispiece, 15 additional leaves of plates (some color), and 1 folded map of Iceland with the author's route indicated in red; 26 cm. Half contemporary morocco with six spine compartments between raised bands; gilt-tooled spine title. Marbled paper over boards and marbled endpapers. Many in-text maps, music, and drawings. Appendices: A. "Notes on the Ornithology of Iceland" by A. Newton -- B. "Advice to Sportsmen" by J.W.R. -- C. "A List of Icelandic Plants" -- D. "A List of Icelandic Published Sagas" -- E. "Expenses of My Tour in Iceland." A scarce account of a mid-19th-century visit to Iceland. In Very Good- Condition: edges lightly rubbed; old repair to last leaf of text, without loss of text; dampstain in margin of seven plates, not touching images; occasional soiling in margins; old stains to a few pages; otherwise pages and plates… Read More

London: Simplin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co, 1896. Hardcover. Very Good +. Imprint includes: Wells, Somerset: Arthur Young. xvi, 207, [1] p., 13 leaves of plates (including 1 folded map; 19 cm. Dark blue rib-grain cloth with gilt-stamped spine title; bevelled edges. Top page edges gilt. Includes bibliographical references (p. [xv]-xvi) and index. Armorial bookplate on front fixed endpaper of Wm. A. MacFarlane-Grieve [William Alwyn MacFarlane Grieve]. First edition. This is one of a limited edition of 350 copies. Publisher's advertisement for Jefferies' The History of Malmesbury Abbey on p. [i] with the limitation note for this volume on the verso; additional publisher advertisements on final, unpaginated page. The illustrations are from drawings by Agnes Taylor, mostly from phohtographs taken by Charles Andrew, Swindon. This history of Swindon, England, was written by Richard Jefferies (1848-1887) as a young man while working for the North Wilts Herald in 1867. It contains… Read More

Paris: De l'Imprimerie Royale, 1755. Near Fine. 1 handcolored copperplate engraving (25 x 20 cm.) from art by Jacques de Sève (fl. 1742-1788); engraved by C. Baron. Plate 19 from Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, vol. 6. The plate is undated. The 11 volumes on Quadrupeds were originally published from 1753 to 1767. In Near Fine Condition: small discoloration in upper margin; otherwise, clean and bright.

Paris: Deterville Desray, 1798. Hardcover. Good. "Nouvelle Édition, entièrement refondue, considérablement augmentée et mise en ordre, d'après les expériences les plus sûres, les auteurs les plus estimés, les mémoires et les procédés de cultivateurs, amateurs et artistes, chacun dans les parties qui les concernent par J.-F. Bastien." Volumes 1 and 2 of 3: [4], xvi, 889, [1] p.; [4], iv, 899, [1] p.: 40 leaves of copperplate engravings (17 folded); 27 cm. Contemporary full speckled calf six spine compartments between raised bands; red morocco labels in second compartments with gilt-tooled title. Gilt-tooled decoration in other compartments. All page edges are speckled red. Marbled endpapers. Vol. 1 p. 237 has a small newspaper clipping in French attached to the lower margin about the increase in the weight of cattle in England from 1700 to 1801. In Good Condition: much of gilt on spine lacking; leather… Read More

Paris: De l'Imprimerie Royale, 1800. Very Good -. 1 handcolored copperplate engraving (25 x 19 cm.) from art by Jacques de Sève (fl. 1742-1788); engraved by Schmits. Plate 13 from Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, vol. 1. The plate is undated. Although the 11 volumes on Quadrupeds were originally published from 1753 to 1767, the paper used suggests that this may be a somewhat later reprint. Very scace. In Very Good- Condition: faint dampstain along one edge, not touching image; otherwise, clean and bright.