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KALENDARIUM HORTENSE. THE GARD'NERS ALMANAC DIRECTING WHAT HE IS TO DO MONETHLY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND WHAT FRUITS & FLOWERS ARE IN PRIME.
(Hackney: The Stourton Press, 1983). 275 x 198 mm. (10 3/4 x 7 3/4"). 77, [3] pp.Edited and with a Foreword by Rosemary Verey. No. 250 OF 350 COPIES.
INNOVATIVE GREEN AND BROWN MOROCCO in a wraparound design WITH FIVE THREE-DIMENSIONAL FLOWERS blossoming on raised stems, the flowers with large crinkled centers in green, brown or tan, and curling petals in the other color, the irregular edges where the green and brown morocco meet outlined in black, smooth spine, suede doublures in brown and cream ombré, hand-painted free endpapers and flyleaves. With a reproduction of the engraved title page of the 1666 edition. Boards a little cambered, front cover with sprinkling of (presumably unintentional) tiny white spots, otherwise very fine.
Containing a pleasing privately printed edition of John Evelyn's guide to monthly gardening tasks, this is a wonderfully thematic three-dimensional binding that blossoms playfully in your hands. The author's most popular work, the "Almanac" was compiled around 1650, first printed in 1664 as an addendum to the folio edition of "Pomona," and then issued in a separate octavo edition in 1666. The present work takes the amateur gardener through the months of the year, pointing out garden tasks, planting times, and the fruits and flowers in season. Well-known as a diarist, a book collector, and a founder of the Royal Society, John Evelyn (1620-1706) published a number of important books (either original works or translations from the French) on architecture, navigation, gardening, and arboriculture. DNB notes that perhaps his most lasting contribution was through his beloved hobby: "His enthusiasm for horticulture in particular, both in his own garden at Sayes Court and in his correspondence and publications, translated continental ideas into England and laid the groundwork for the English landscape garden of the eighteenth century." Our private press edition includes a foreword by noted British garden designer and writer Rosemary Verey (1918-2001), who is best known for the gardens at Barnsley House; she received the OBE in 1996 and the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal of Honour, the group's highest accolade, in 1999. The Stourton Press was founded in 1930 by Benjamin Fairfax Hall (1904-82). He was known for his appealing productions, many of which used the Aries font designed specially for him by Eric Gill. The extremely charming binding here, featuring whimsical floral ascension, not only signals what the book contains, but also constitutes a bibliopegic sculpture that evokes considerable delight. (ST20610)
Price: $1,400.00