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Published by H. Hills, for Richard Wodenothe, London, 1651
Seller: Arader Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Very good. First. First edition. London: Printed by H. Hills, for Richard Wodenothe, 1651. Quarto (7 1/16" x 5 1/4", 181mm x 134mm). [Full collation available.] Collated complete against the ESTC and the University of Michigan copies. Bound in later calf (re-backed, with the original back-strip laid down). On the spine, five raised bands. Panels gilt. Title gilt to black calf in the second panel. Gilt roll to the edges of the boards. Marbled end-papers. Green silk marking-ribbon. Re-backed (with the original back-strip laid down). With some craquelure and darkening to the edges of the boards. Lower spine-corner dampstain B2-I4, mostly quite mild. A little foxing and tanning to the initials and end-matter, but overall quite a clean copy. Good margins, with several lower deckles preserved. Samuel Hartlib (ca. 1600-1662) was born to an English mother and Polish father, educated in Germany, who moved to England in 1628. He befriended Robert Boyle and John Milton (who dedicated his 1644 On Education to Hartlib), and entered the whirlwind of XVIIc prewar scientific and political advancement in Britain. He eventually came to be a prolific correspondent with many great minds in England and abroad. Once the Civil War came, Hartlib sensibly focused on country pursuits. The year after the present item was published, Hartlib would bring out a second edition of Sir Richard Weston's Discourse on the modes of husbandry (specifically crop rotation) that he had seen in Flanders; this is advertised in the prefatory pages. The Legacie is a series of correspondence; some addressed to Hartlib, some between Hartlib and others and one a public letter. The first has been attributed to Robert Child, one (published) was written by King James VI/I on the cultivation of silkworms, and others to Cressy Dymock. The epistolary collection is a familiar device of the period, and fitting given Hartlib's place as the center of many spokes of curiosity. ESTC R202377, Lowndes 1007, Sabin 30702.
4 p.l., 27, [3] pp. Small 4to, attractive antique calf (title soiled & a little waterstained), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. London: W. du Gard for F. Coles, 1654. "Third Edition Corrected and Enlarged." Weston (1591-1652), canal builder and agriculturalist, while already having had considerable successful experience in farming in Surrey, made a series of observations on the agricultural methods of the Low Countries during his exile in Belgium in 1644-45, which changed English agriculture. "Sir Richard's account of Flemish husbandry was written about 1645, and addressed to his sons from abroad. This was circulated in manuscript, and there is no evidence that it was printed before 1650, when an imperfect copy was published by Samuel Hartlib, with a dedication to the council of state. Hartlib did not at this time know who the author was. The account is the first English description of the use of a farming rotation including turnips and clover to obtain maximum output from heathlands formerly considered of little agricultural value. Although it is not known to what extent Sir Richard emulated on his own estates what he saw in Flanders, he described a farming system that was to become the cornerstone of the English 'agricultural revolution' a century later."-ODNB. As mentioned above, the first edition appeared in 1650, published by Samuel Hartlib, and a second edition appeared two years later with the addition of Hartlib's dedication and his two letters addressed to Weston, stating he is the author. Very good copy.
Seller: Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller Inc., New York, NY, U.S.A.
First Edition
1 p.l., 35 pages, numbered in upper outer corners, and 17 blank leaves. Small 4to (200 x 150 mm.), modern cloth, upper cover stamped in gilt "Rothamsted Laboratory Lawes Trust." United Kingdom: 9 February 1649. A manuscript copy by Archdale Palmor, with variations from the first printed edition, of Weston's highly important work, which describes farming rotation for the first time in England. Our manuscript precedes the first printed edition by one year. Weston (1591-1652), canal builder and agriculturalist, while already having had considerable successful experience in farming in Surrey, made a series of observations on the agricultural methods of the Low Countries during his exile in Belgium in 1644-45, which changed English agriculture. "Sir Richard's account of Flemish husbandry was written about 1645, and addressed to his sons from abroad. This was circulated in manuscript, and there is no evidence that it was printed before 1650, when an imperfect copy was published by Samuel Hartlib, with a dedication to the council of state. Hartlib did not at this time know who the author was. The account is the first English description of the use of a farming rotation including turnips and clover to obtain maximum output from heathlands formerly considered of little agricultural value. Although it is not known to what extent Sir Richard emulated on his own estates what he saw in Flanders, he described a farming system that was to become the cornerstone of the English 'agricultural revolution' a century later."-ODNB. The first edition appeared in 1650, published by Samuel Hartlib, and a second edition appeared two years later with the addition of Hartlib's dedication and his two letters addressed to Weston, stating he is the author. "Archdale Palmor" was probably Archdale Palmer, High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1641. Very good condition. The first and second leaves have been carefully strengthened on the fore edge (the first leaf) and the upper outer corner (second leaf).