No. 7: Mascall. A Booke of the Arte… London: J. Wight, 1575.

325 West End Avenue, New York City, New York, 10023-8145Tel: 646 827-0724 Fax: 212 994-9603

E-mail: jonathan@jonathanahill.com and yoshi@jonathanahill.com

Books of the 16th Century

“Of Great Importance”Printed on “Schreibpappir”

1. ALBINUS, Peter. Meisznische Land und Berg-Chronica, In welcher…Bergwercken, samptzugehoerigen Metall und Metallar beschreibungen… Each title within an elaborate woodcutpictorial border, two full-page engravings, & numerous woodcuts & maps in the text,woodcut initials and head- & tailpieces. First title printed in red & black. 6 p.l., 449, [15] pp.;4 p.l., 205, [6] pp. Two vols. in one. Folio, cont. vellum over boards (binding a little soiled,

light browning throughout as is always the case). Dresden: “durchaus auff Schreibpappirgedruckt,” 1589-90. $7500.00

First edition, and a fine copy, of this early mining book, splendidly printed on specialpaper (“Schreibpappir”). “This work is of great importance in connexion with the earlyhistory of mining in Saxony.”–Zeitlinger, 2nd Supp., 13976. Albinus’s book also containsvaluable information on the output of gold and silver along with details on the magnet-stone,wolfram, and many other metals.

The present book contains much original information on the life and works of Agricolaand is also of great significance for the early history of European porcelain manufacturing. For more on this see W. Prandtl, “Zur Vorgeschichte des Meissner Porzellans” in Chymia, Vol.IV (1953).

Albinus (1534-98), was professor of poetry and mathematics at the University ofWittenberg and historiographer to the Electorate of Saxony.

Very nice copy. Foot of spine a little defective. Bookplate of Hans Joachim Höupler. Attractive copies of this book are scarce.

É Ferchl, p. 6–“die sehr viel hütten-chemische Nachrichten enthält. Quelle über dasLeben Georg Agricolas.” Hoover 43.

The First English Book on Land Surveying

2. BENESE, Richard. This boke sheweth the maner of measurynge of all maner of lande, as wellof woodlande, as of lande in the felde, and comptynge the true nombre of acres of the same. Newlyeinvented and compyled by… Title within architectural woodcut border & many woodcuts inthe text (many highlighted in red). Printed in black letter. [208] pp. Small 4to, modern calf(title with a few minor stains). London: “Prynted in Southwarke in Saynt Thomas Hospitall,by me James Nicolson,” [1537]. $45,000.00

First edition of the first English work on surveying in the modern sense: the measuringand plotting of land. In the 16th century, “surveying” could also mean giving instructionsto land stewards and overseers of the manor; John Fitzherbert wrote the first book on thatsubject in 1523. Our book is very rare and is a fine copy.

Benese (d. 1547), Augustinian canon and surveyor to Henry VIII, noted that sellerstended to overestimate the size of the land they were selling and buyers underestimated. Heset out to devise geometric rules for the accurate measuring of land to be sold.

This book “represents the first real attempt to put into the hands of the surveyor or landmeasurer, as distinguished from the sixteenth-century manager of a manor, a simple practicaltreatise on land surveying. The style is simple, and the explanations are clear and direct; thebook gives every evidence of having been written by a person familiar with the practical artof land measuring…

“The book is not divided into chapters, but each unnumbered section is headed with anappropriate title. The text as a whole is illustrated with forty-eight well-drawn andappropriate figures. In the first three folios, the author defines the units of line measures,stating that the standard foot should be the London standard of 12 inches…

“After the units of length and land measures have been defined and discussed, theauthor gives methods of finding the areas of certain simple geometrical figures, principallytriangles, rectangles, trapeziums, and circles. Benese does not give a general method offinding the area of any of these but discusses each type of figure as a special case…Beneserealized the lack of computational skill on the part of most of his readers; to meet thisdifficulty he prepared four sets of tables…to aid in the determination of the areas of figuresand also in laying out parcels of land of different sizes and shapes.”–Richeson, English Land

Measuring to 1800: Instruments and Practices, pp. 36-37–(& see pp. 35-40 for a full account of theimportance and contents of this work).

The preface to this work was written by Thomas Paynell, the prodigious translator andhumanist. He places this work in the noble and learned scientific tradition of geometry thathad enabled Archimedes to measure altitudes and the motions of the planets.

Fine copy. A few ink annotations in two early hands.É ODNB. NSTC 1873.

Cardano’s Second Great Encyclopedia of Natural Science

3. CARDANO, Girolamo. De Rerum Varietate Libri XVII. Adiectus est captim, rerum &sententiarum notatu dignissimarum Index. Fine medallion woodcut port. of the author on versoof title, numerous woodcut illus. in the text, one folding woodcut plate (pp. 769-70) with thewoodcut volvelle unassembled on a separate slip bound-in, & one folding printed table (pp.790-91). 16 p.l. (the last a blank), 1194 (i.e. 1204), [64] pp. Thick 8vo, cont. blind-stampedpanelled pigskin over wooden boards (some light dampstaining) by Hans Bopp ofNuremberg, orig. clasps & catches. Basel: [H. Petri], 1557. $8500.00

Second edition (the first edition was published earlier in the same year) of Cardano’ssecond great encyclopedia of natural science; it is a continuation of and supplement to hisDe Rerum Subtilitate (1st ed.: 1550). These two works contain his important ideas on physicsand metaphysics. In this book, Cardano made notable contributions to mechanics,hydrodynamics, and geology and there are interesting chapters on astronomy, botany,zoology, chemistry, metallurgy, etc.

“Of special chemical interest is Book X, comprising one chapter on fire…a chapter ondistillation with woodcuts of apparatus, and a chapter on chemistry. It finishes by a chapteron glass.”–Duveen, p. 117.

A very good copy. Somewhat later ownership inscription of Paulus Memminger (1599-1663), Bürgermeister of Regensburg on front paste-down endpaper. This edition is the firstto contain the invaluable index.

É D.S.B., III, pp. 64-67. Partington, II, pp. 9-15. Thorndike, V, pp. 563-79. For thebinding, see Haebler, I, 43, 3.

Overseeing the Manor

4. [FITZHERBERT, John or Anthony]. Surveyinge. Anno Domini, 1567. Title withinarchitectural woodcut border incorporating the date “1534.” Largely printed in black letter. 67 leaves, [8] pp. Small 8vo, antique calf by Sangorski & Sutcliffe, spine gilt, red leatherlettering pieces on spine. [London: Printed by H. Wykes?], 1567. $7500.00

An early edition of the first text on surveying printed in English. The first edition wasprinted by Richard Pynson in 1523; all early editions are rare, as copies were used to death. Our copy is most unusual as it is fine and large with a number of lower edges uncut.

Fitzherbert’s book is concerned primarily with giving instruction to land stewards andoverseers of the manor. The authorship of this work has long been disputed: was it AnthonyFitzherbert (ca. 1470-1538), judge and legal writer, or his older brother John (d. 1531)? Thecurrent scholarship supports John Fitzherbert as the more likely author.

The book is “addressed to the landed interest and is an explanation of the laws relatingto manors. Fitzherbert sets forth the relation between the landlord and the tenant withobservations on their respective moral rights and mutual obligations to each other. The

author is also concerned with the best means of developing and improving an estate to theadvantage of both the lord and the tenant…

“As defined by Fitzherbert, the duties and functions of the surveyor were many andvaried. In the preface he states that the surveyor should prepare his findings in a small bookor put them on a large piece of parchment. This parchment or book should show the ‘buttes’and ‘bounds’ of all the holdings as well as the leases, grants, and tenures. Along with thisinformation he should state the number of buildings and their location and give a descriptionof the lands, specifying whether they are meadow, grainland, or woodland, and by whomheld. He should also record the value of all properties along with their rents and fines. Theauthor then goes into considerable detail in giving the form for the preparation of thisinformation…

“The author states that the word ‘surveyor’ is from the French, signifying an overseer,and that the surveyor must appraise and make recommendations to the lord of themanor.”–Richeson, English Land Measuring to 1800: Instruments and Practices, pp. 33-34.

Fine copy.É Fussell, I, p. 6–“contains a great deal of matter of service to farmers in particular as well

as to the agricultural community in general.” ODNB.

The First Alphabetically Arranged Catalogueof Plant Names

5. GESNER (or GESSNER), Conrad. Catalogus Plantarum Latinè, Graecè, Germanicè, &Gallicè…Namenbüch aller Erdegewächsen, Latinisch, Griechisch, Teütsch, und frantzösisch. Regestrede toutes Plantes en quattre langues, Latin, Grec, Aleman, & Francoys. Unà cum vulgaribusPharmacopolarum nominibus…Adjectae sunt etiam Herbarum Nomenclaturae variarum gentium,Dioscoridi ascriptae, secundum literarum ordinem expositae. 4 p.l., 162 leaves. Small 4to, cont.blindstamped panelled pigskin, remains of two deerskin ties. Zurich: C. Froschauer, 1542.

$32,500.00

First edition of a very rare book on the market; this is a lovely fresh copy in contemporaryblind-stamped pigskin. This, Gesner’s second botanical work, is “an alphabetically arrangedcatalog of plant names in four languages, the first of its kind, and an indication of thegrowing interest in botany beyond purely philological investigations into the writings of theclassics. The Greek names are based on the works of Dioscorides. This early work is alreadycharacteristic of Gessner’s life-long endeavour to arrange scientific topics in alphabetical orsystematic order; it also show his proficiency in languages, and his interest in theircomparative treatment.”–Wellisch 8.1.

A fine copy, preserved in a box. Signature at foot of title of “Lucas Schröck, M.D.” Schröck (1646-1730), was a professor of medicine at Jena and president of the DeutschenAkademie der Naturforscher (see Hirsch, V, pp. 139-40). Early inscription on front freeendpaper stating this is a duplicate from the Royal Library of Munich. Engraved armorialbookplate, dated 1744, of Franziskus Topsl (1711-96), prior of the Polling Abbey in UpperBavaria. Modern booklabel of D. Henry. Some minor worming to upper inner corner of firstseven leaves, touching a few letters of the first two leaves.

É Pritzel 3298.

Life on the Farm

6. HERESBACH, Conrad. Foure Bookes of Husbandry…Conteyning the whole Arte andTrade of Husbandry, with the antiquitie, and commendations thereof. Newely English, and

increased, by Barnabe Googe, Esquire. Full-page woodcut armorial device on verso of title,one woodcut in the text, & woodcut initials & decorations. Largely printed in black letter. 11 p.l. (several preliminary leaves misbound at end), 193, [1] leaves. Small 4to, cont. limpvellum (wrinkled & somewhat soiled, minor & mostly marginal worming to misbound leaves,minor dampstaining), ties gone. London: Printed by R. Watkins, 1577. $15,000.00

First edition in English, translated by Barnabe Googe (1540-94). This work, first publishedin Latin in Cologne in 1570, was extremely popular. Written in the form of a dialogue, thebook takes an imaginary visitor through the countryman’s house, and shows him his farm,stables, garden, apiary, fishpond, dovecote, etc. The four books cover: 1. arable ground,tillage, and pasture; 2. gardens, orchards, and woods; 3. breeding and care of cattle; and 4.poultry, fowl, fish, and bees. Heresbach (1496-1576), a friend and long-time correspondentof Erasmus, served as tutor to the future William V, duke of Cleves, and was engaged inmany important diplomatic missions.

The present book, “written in the form of a discussion between four persons, aims atcollecting all the available information from classical and Biblical sources, and adding to thatthe information that more modern writers had gleaned, together with the experience ofvarious friends of the author.”–Fussell, I, p. 12.

Viticulture and the art of making wine are dealt with in book two, veterinary medicinein books three and four.

Very good and fresh copy. Short natural paper tear to I6 just touching catchword. Signature of “Eliza: Lucy:” on free front endpaper and “E.R. August ye 16 1695“ on rear freeendpaper. Stamp of Rothamsted Experimental Station at foot of title.

É Bietenholz & Deutscher, Contemporaries of Erasmus, Vol. II, pp. 183-84.

The First English Gardening Manual

7. MASCALL, Leonard. A Booke of the Arte and maner how to Plant and Graffe all sorts ofTrees, how to set Stones & sow Pepins, to make wyld trees to graffe on, as also remedies and medicines. With divers other newe practises, by one of the Abbey of Saint Vincent in Fraunce...wyth an additionin the ende of this book, of certayne Dutch practices, set forth and Englished by… Woodcut vignetteon title, one full-page woodcut, & several smaller woodcuts in the text. Black letter. 11 p.l.,88, [10] pp. Small 4to, late 18th cent. calf (upper joint cracked but strong, small paper flawon blank outer margin of title, fore-edges faintly dampstained), spine lettered in gilt. London: J. Wight, 1575. $15,000.00

The third edition of the first English gardening manual; the first edition appeared in 1569and all 16th-century printings are rather rare on the market. Mascall took most of his textfrom David Brossard’s Art et Manière de Semer et Faire Pépinières de Sauvageaux (Paris: 1552)with certain Dutch practices added. “Brossard, a Benedictine monk at the abbey ofSaint-Vincent near Le Mans, who lived during the second half of the sixteenth century, wasa skilful horticulturist…The English translation proved extremely popular and it appearedin many editions. Comparatively little is known of the translator, Leonard Mascall (d. 1589),who was the owner of a mansion called Plumpton Place, a few miles northwest of Lewes, inSussex. He became clerk of the kitchen in the household of Matthew Park, Archbishop ofCanterbury. It is said that in 1525 Mascall introduced pippin apples into England andestablished an orchard at his home in Sussex.”–Henrey, I, pp. 63-64 & no. 17 in thebibliography.

A very good copy, preserved in a box. Head of spine a bit chipped and a few headlinesjust shaved.

One of Plat’s Rarest Books

8. [PLAT (or PLATT or PLATTE), Hugh, Sir]. The new and admirable Arte of setting ofCorne: with all the necessaries Tooles and other Circumstances belonging to the same: the particulartitles whereof, are set down in the Page following. Fine woodcut vignette on title (see below). [32]pp. Small 4to, early 20th-cent. calf, double gilt fillet round sides, a.e.g. London: P. Short,1600. $18,500.00

First edition and of the greatest rarity, this is the first of three issues as described by ESTC(which locates only two copies of all the issues in North America). “Sir Hugh Platt (1552-1608), held by Richard Weston to be ‘the most ingenious husbandman of the age he livedin’…was admitted at Lincoln’s Inn. Much of his life was devoted to literary work and to thestudy of husbandry and gardening. He was also interested in all kinds of inventions andexperiments…In 1600 appeared Platt’s New and admirable arte of setting of corne, a treatise inwhich this author advocates growing corn by setting the seed at regular distances apart, theusual method of sowing corn at that time being by broadcast. On the title-page of this smallquarto volume is a woodcut of a growing plant of corn, over which is a spade lying in a scrollbearing the words ‘Adam’s toole revived’.”–Henrey, I, p. 155 & no. 301.

The book is divided into eight chapters and is signed by Plat at end.Fine copy. Natural marginal paper flaw to D2 carefully repaired.É ESTC S122434. Fussell, I, p. 15–“Deals with the then new idea of setting corn seed at

equal distances apart, both in the row and between the rows, so that seed might be conservedand the crop enhanced.” McDonald, Agricultural Writers, from Sir Walter of Henley to ArthurYoung, 1200-1800, p. 58.

The First Book in English Devoted Entirelyto Poultry Husbandry

9. PRUDENT LE CHOYSELAST, —, M. A Discourse of Housebandrie. No lesse profitablethen delectable: declaryng how by Housebandrie, or, rather Housewiferie of Hennes, for five hundredFrankes or Frenche poundes…once emploied one maie gaine in the yere fower thousande and fivehundreth Frankes (which in Englishe money, maketh five hundreth poundes) of honest profite: all costesand charges deducted. Written in the Frenche tongue by Maister Prudens Choiselat. And latelytranslated into Englishe by R.E. Woodcut device on title. Largely printed in black letter. [32]pp. Small 4to, early 20th-cent. calf (stains to the first six leaves, upper edge trimmed touchingthe first two words of title & headlines of several other leaves), triple gilt fillet round sides,a.e.g. London: J. Kyngston for M. Hennynges, 1580. $25,000.00

Second edition in English (first edition, in French: 1569; first edition in English: 1577), ofthis notable work: it presents the first business plan published in France. The work was veryinfluential, with many French editions, two English editions, and a German edition of 1615.

The author, Prudent le Choyselast (1530-ca. 1577), a former soldier and royal prosecutorof Sézanne in Champagne, was familiar with the devastation of the French rural economycaused by the religious wars. In this book, Prudent proposes to an impoverished friend thathe create a poultry-farming company to regain his lost fortune. The friend could raise hensand roosters and sell the eggs and excess chickens in Paris. Prudent presents the concept ofmanagement and a way of calculating the profitability of the planned company in a modernstyle. While not the first to include “profit” in the title, Prudent goes further than any otherwriter of the time in emphasizing the importance of the return on investment. He considersthe necessary initial cash outlay, costs of feeding the chickens and the transport of the eggs

to market, managing labor and logistics, price fluctuations, etc.There is much on the care of poultry and veterinary medicine. Prudent describes the

breeds of chickens, the importance of controlling and treating diseases so that the companywill remain profitable, sanitary control, etc.

Fine copy and an extremely rare book; ESTC locates only the BL and Harvard copies inaddition to this example. A note written in ca. 1906 on the free front endpaper by Williamsonof Quaritch, who was instrumental in providing many of the early printed rarities to theLawes Library, states, “Very scarce, the only copy I have known for sale, a very valuablebook. HW.” Signature of “Will: Forsyth 1810“ on verso of title. Signature on second freefront endpaper of Harrison Weir, Iddesleigh, Sevenoaks, Kent, June, 1890, an animal painterand author. Stamp on verso of title of the Rothamsted Experimental Station.

É Fussell, “The Classical Tradition in West European Farming: the Sixteenth Century”in The Economic History Review, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Dec. 1969), pp. 547 & 550). Huzard, Noticeanalytique et bibliographique de l’ouvrage de Prudent Le Choyselat sur les avantages que l’on peutretirer des poules (Paris: 1830). Marco & Noumen, The First Business Plan in France of Prudentle Choyselat 1569-1612 (Saint-Denis: 2015).

Second Edition of the First English Book on Hops

10. SCOT (or SCOTT), Reginald. A Perfite platforme of a Hoppe Garden, and necessarieInstructions for the making and mayntenaunce thereof, with notes and rules for reformation of allabuses, commonly practised therein, very necessarie and expedient for all men to have, which in anywise have to doe with Hops. Numerous woodcut illus. in the text. Largely printed in blackletter. 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 moroccolettering pieces on spine, dentelles gilt, a.e.g. London: H. Denham, 1576. $16,500.00

Second edition, “nowe newly corrected and augmented,” of the first English book onhops. The first edition appeared two years earlier; both editions are very rare. This is “aneminently practical treatise, illustrating the various methods of setting the roots, making thehills and ramming the poles, tying the bine, and its pulling up and preservation, with anumber of curious cuts. It was the work of a practical man, written for practical men, and inthis respect is far in advance of most of Scot’s contemporaries, who were still much interestedin the superstitions of the time, and the traditional pseudo-science of the MiddleAges.”–Fussell, I, p. 12.

Clinch, in his English Hops, a History of Cultivation and Preparation for the Market from theEarliest Times (1919), states that in many respects “the information is as useful today as it wasnearly three-and-a-half centuries ago when it was published.”

Scot (d. 1599), is most famous for his The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), in which heattacked the general belief in witchcraft and other forms of credulity and superstition,including astrology, alchemy, and Catholicism. For more on Scot and his fascinating life, seeODNB.

Fine copy. Signature of T. Barling on first leaf.É Henrey, I, p. 64 & no. 338. McDonald, Agricultural Writers, from Sir Walter of Henley to

Arthur Young, 1200-1800, pp. 34-36.

A Rare Elizabethan Book of Secrets;How to Illuminate MSS.

11. A VERY PROPER TREATISE, wherein is breefely set foorth the art of Limming, which

teacheth the order in drawing and tracing of leters, Vinets, Flowers, Armes, and Imagerye, and themaner how to make sundry syses or groundes to lay Silver or Gold upon, and how silver or Golde shallbe layed or limmed upon the syse, and the waye to temper Gold and Silver and other mettals and diversekindes of colours to write or to limme withall uppon Velym, Parchment or Paper, and how to lay themuppon the worke which thou intendest to make, and how to vernish it when thou hast done, with diversother thinges verye meete and necessary to be knowne to all such Gentlemen, and other persons as doedelight in Limming, painting or in tricking of Armes in their colours, and therefore a woorke very meeteto be adjoyning to the bookes of Armes. Typographical device on title. Printed throughout inblack letter. 11, [1] leaves. Small 4to, fine modern blue morocco, dentelles gilt, a.e.g. London:T. Purfoote, the assigne of R. Tottill, 1588. $22,500.00

Fourth edition of one of the earliest English books of “secrets,” or manual of practical arts;this text appears to be entirely of English origins. It was first published in 1573 and reprintedin 1581 and 1583; there were also editions of 1596 and 1605. All editions are very scarce; ofthis printing the NSTC (24255) records five copies: L18, O; F, PN, NY Metropolitan Museum.

This is a very early English manual of instructions for painting and illuminating(“limming,” or “limning”), particularly books and manuscripts. The following recipes arecharacteristic: “to temper golde or silver wherewith you may write with a pen or paint witha pencil”; “to temper Brasill wherewith to write, florish, or rule bookes”; “to make a kind ofcolouring called vernix, wherewith you may vernish gold, silver, and other colour orpaintings, be it upon velim, paper, timber, stone, leade, copper, glasse, &c.” The last leafcontains on the recto “the names of all such colours and other thinges as are mentioned andcontayned in this present booke of limming, and are for the moste parte to bee solde at theapothecaries,” and on the verso is an index to the various recipes.

A fine copy. Books of this sort are perishable by nature and copies seldom appear on themarket; many of those which do survive in institutional libraries are in less than perfectcondition.

The First Anatomical Engravings

12. VESALIUS, Andreas. Les Portraicts Anatomiques de Toutes les Parties du Corps Humain,gravez en taille douce, par le commandement de feu Henry huictiesme, Roy d’Angleterre. Ensemblel’Abregé d’André Vesal, & l’explication d’iceux, accompagnee d’une declaration Anatomique. ParJaques Grevin… Forty engraved anatomical plates (one folding). Title & text ruled in redthroughout. 4 p.l., 106 pp., one leaf with printer’s woodcut device on verso (otherwiseblank). Folio, early 18th-cent. vellum over boards (two very neat restorations in margins ofthe title & faint traces of two inscriptions erased, folding “Adam & Eve” plate backed & withtwo tears neatly repaired without loss, a few small marks and slight browning of the paper),leather lettering piece on spine. Paris: A. Wechel, 1569. $37,500.00

First edition in French of Vesalius’s Fabrica, illustrated with the first anatomical copperengravings. This is a fine copy of this beautiful edition and is particularly rare whencomplete with the final leaf (lacking in the NLM, Cushing, and Waller copies).

The translation was made by Jacques Grevin (?1538-70), a poet and one of the mostdistinguished medical humanists of France. He has added a chapter of his own, “BrefeDeclaration des Parties du Corps Humain.” In 1560, because of religious reasons, he wasforced to leave France for England where he was befriended by Queen Elizabeth. Here heprobably met Thomas Geminus, who had published a plagiarized edition of Vesalius in 1545illustrated with his own copper engravings, the first time that the medium had been used inan anatomical book (this is a famously rare book). It was probably Grevin who enabled theParisian printer Christian Wechel to acquire Geminus’s copperplates, as Wechel publishedan edition of Geminus’s Compendiosa in 1564, using Geminus’s original engravings. Five years

later Grevin published the present translation of the Vesalian text, illustrated with the sameengravings. Vesalius complained about Geminus’s plagiarism and regarded his engravingsas inept, but “in fact Gemini’s copies, though omitting the background to Vesalius’s figures,are very competent technically. Perhaps the best tribute to this competence is the speed withwhich his copperplates were in turn themselves plagiarized by continental publishers.”-ODNB.

Not only were these plates made from the best anatomical illustrations that had everbeen published, but Grevin gave prominence to the new technique in the title to this book;it was published not merely with illustrations, but because of them.

A really nice copy.É Cushing VI.C.–7–(omitting the last leaf from his collation). Roberts & Tomlinson, The

Fabric of the Body. European Traditions of Anatomical Illustration, p. 140–Geminus’s engravingsare “remarkably fine copies of those of Vesalius. The background landscapes have beensimplified into a few rocks and tufts of grass, and a few figures have been reversed; but theseanatomical figures have been engraved with accuracy and clarity, the lettering particularlystanding out well in this finer medium.”

The Waters of Wildbad

13. WIDMANN (called MECHINGER), Johannes. Ain nützlichs Büchlin von dem Wildpad,gelegen imm fürstenthumb Wirtenberg, gemacht von dem Berümpten Doctor Johann Mechinger. [8]leaves (the last is blank). Small 4to, modern limp vellum (light dampstaining at foot). [Tübingen: T. Anshelm, 1513]. $5000.00

First edition of this early and rare balneological work which describes the mineral bathsat Wildbad and their benefits. Wildbad is a watering place in Württemberg, situated in theEnz gorge in the Black Forest. Its thermal alkaline springs have a temperature of 90-100degrees Fahrenheit.

Widmann (1440-1524), took his master of arts degree at Heidelberg and then went to Italywhere he studied medicine at Pavia, Padua, and Ferrara. He received his medical degree atUlm. Later, Widmann held a series of posts, including physician to Margrave Christoph vonBaden and Duke Eberhard von Württemberg, city physician at Basel, Strasbourg, and Ulm,and professor of medicine at Tübingen. His tract on syphilis, published in 1497, is consideredto be one of the best written in the 15th century.

In this work, Widmann describes the medical uses the waters of Wildbad provide intreating gout, rheumatism, and neuralgia.

Fine copy.É Durling 4728. Hirsch, V, pp. 925-26.

Xenophon’s Work on Farming in Homeric Times, &the Father of English Husbandry

14. XENOPHON. Xenophons treatise of householde. Title within woodcut architecturalborder. Printed throughout in black letter save for the “To the reader” on verso of title. 64leaves. Small 8vo, 17th-cent. panelled calf (rubbed & a little worn, natural paper flaw to titlewith no loss of text, blank lower half of colophon leaf cut away without loss). Colophon:“Imprinted at London in Fletestrete, by Thomas Berthelet printer to the kynges most noblegrace. An. M.D.xxxii.”

[bound with]:

[FITZHERBERT, John]. The Boke of Husbandry. Title within same woodcut architecturalborder. Printed in black letter. 6 p.l., 90 leaves. Small 8vo (E4 with a natural paper tear withslight loss of text, faint dampstaining). Colophon: “Imprinted at London in fletestrete in thehouse of Thomas Berthelet,” [1533?]. $37,500.00

A most appealing sammelband of two quite early and rare English agricultural works. I. First edition of Gentian Hervet’s translation into English of Xenophon’s Oeconomicus,

one of the earliest works on economics. Also concerned with household management andagriculture, it remains one of our chief sources for what we know of Greek farming inHomeric times. “Xenophon, who lived in the fifth century BC, was a small farmer. Heowned a little estate near Scilla. It was isolated but fertile, and Xenophon lived there twentyyears, satisfied with farming and hunting. He was perhaps the first writer to stress theimportance of the master’s eye. The tenants ought to be watched whether setting trees,tilling, renewing the ground, sowing, or carrying out the fruit. The master should know thenature of his soil and consider the best methods of work it.”–Fussell, The Classical Traditionin West European Farming, pp. 15-16–(& see pp. 15-19 for a full discussion of the work).

The book is written in the form of a Socratic dialogue. It treats other topics such as thequalities and relationships of men and women, rural versus urban life, Greek slavery, popularreligion, and the role of education.

II. Fitzherbert (d. 1531), is considered the father of English husbandry. “The book dealsexhaustively with the best principles of arable farming of the time, describes the tools anddiscusses the capital required, and is moreover a conspectus of the life of a contemporaryfarmer and his family and servants, many of the methods are fundamentally those which alllater generations of farmers must perforce follow.”–Fussell, I, p. 6.

The first edition of Fitzherbert’s The Book of Husbandry was printed by Richard Pynson in1523. It is an extremely rare book and ESTC locates only the BL copy. There were twoequally rare editions published in 1530 by Wynkyn de Worde (just a fragment) and 1530? byPeter Treuerys. Our edition is the first to be published by Berthelet and is very rare.

Several leaves towards end with passages neatly lined through and some earlyannotations and corrections.

Fine crisp copies. Stubs of a medieval manuscript on vellum at rear. Early, partiallyerased signatures on free front-endpaper of Henry Hills and John Martin of Harbrough. Bookplate of Colonel & Mrs. Forbes Leith of Whitehaugh.

É I. NSTC 26069. II. McDonald, Agricultural Writers, from Sir Walter of Henley to ArthurYoung, 1200-1800, pp. 13-23–(offering a full account of the contents of the book). NSTC10995.5.

Website https://www.jonathanahill.com/Our Catalogues: https://www.jonathanahill.com/catalogues.php

Our Other Lists: https://www.jonathanahill.com/lists.php

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JAHBooksellerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jahillbooks/