Books

2 works in two volumes. 4to., (11 7/8 x 9 inches). Engraved frontispiece of Evelyn by Bartolozzi, 41 fine engraved plates including one double-page by J. Miller, and one etched plate in sepia, two folding letter-press tables. Contemporary tree calf, gilt (rebacked preserving the original spines, extremities a bit scuffed). Provenance: with the contemporary engraved armorial bookplates of Thomas Brooke on each front paste-down. First Hunter edition of the "Silva", second Hunter edition of the "Terra". Evelyn's pioneering work on tree cultivation, first published in 1664, and on soils, first published in 1676 ".were both outgrowths of the [unpublished] "Elysium Britannicum". Although primarily intended to encourage tree planting after the devastation of the civil war, "Sylva" was a learned work addressed more to gentlemen than to foresters. In it he introduced the word 'avenues' into the English language of landscaping. By its fourth edition it contained 'an Historical Account of the Sacredness and Use of Standing Groves' that demonstrates its relation to the Elysium project. Sylva's handsome reissue with additional plates by Alexander Hunter in 1776 gave it a renewed popularity" (Douglas D. C. Chambers for DNB). Keynes Evelyn 47 (calling for 39 plates); Henrey 137 (calls for 40 plates); Nissen BBI 615 (calling for 41 plates though almost all copies have 40). Keynes Evelyn 98. Catalogued by Kate Hunter.