The Flower Garden
Rare première édition de The Flower Garden, London, 1732 ornée de 12 superbes planches coloriées à l’époque.
Des bibliothèques J. D. Haracles et H. R. Broughton (ex-libris armorié).
In-4 de (6) ff., 108 pp. et (8) ff., veau brun, filets dorés autour des plats, dos à nerfs, coupes décorées à froid. Reliure londonienne de l’époque usagée.
257 x 195 mm.
Furber, Robert (1674-1756). The Flower Garden display'd in above 400 curious representations of the most beautiful flowers, regularly dispos’d in the respective months of their blossom, curiously engraved on copper-plates from the designs of Mr. Furber and others, and coloured to the life… with the description and history of each plant, and the method of their culture.
Londres : J. Hazard, R. Montagu, W. Bickerton, R. Chandler et Caesar Ward, 1732.
Rare première édition.
Ornamental title-page and 12 hand-colored engraved plates reduced from those of Furber’s Twelve Months of Flowers and thus based on paintings by P. Casteels, engraved by J. Smith.
Very useful not only for the curious in gardening, but the prints likewise for painters, carvers, Japaners etc., also for the ladies, as patterns for working and painting in watercolors, or furniture in the closet.
Robert Furber (1674-1756) was a British horticulturist and author, best known for writing the first seed catalogue produced in England.
Furber’s most notable work was Twelve Months of Flowers, published in 1730. The book was written as a catalog of plants and seeds and featured twelve detailed engravings of seasonal plants in bloom. Henry Fletcher produced each of the twelve hand-colored engravings from paintings by Pieter Casteels. Each plant was numbered, with a list of the corresponding species names provided. More than 400 different species of plants were featured. The plates were originally sold on a subscription basis for £1 5s in uncolored form, or £2 12s 6d for a colored version. The book was reprinted in 1982.
In 1732, Furber produced a follow-up work entitled Twelve Months of Fruit. Like his previous collection of flowers, Twelve Months of Fruit featured twelve full-color plates with 364 different fruits. Each plate focused on one month, and showed the varieties of fruits that would ripen during that month.
Other works by Furber include a 1732 book entitled The Flower Garden Displayed, a generalpurpose book written for a wider audience.
Dunthorne 114 ; Henri 712 ; Nissen BBI 677.
Provenance : John Daniell, Esq., ex-libris armorié gravé.
