- 20
Hale, Thomas [attrib. to John Hill]
Estimate
18,000 - 25,000 USD
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Description
- Eden: or, A Compleat Body of Gardening, containing Plain and Familiar Directions for Raising the Several Useful Products of a Garden. … Compiled and Digested from the Papers of the late celebrated Mr. Hale, by the Authors of the Compleat Body of Husbandry. And comprehending the Art of Constructing a Garden for Use and Pleasure; the Best Method of Keeping It in Order; and the Most Perfect Accounts of Its Several Products. London: Printed for T. Osborne, T. Tyre, S. Crowder & Co., and H. Woodgate, [1756–] 1757
- paper, ink, leather
Engraved allegorical frontispiece after J. Wale by C. Grignion depicting "The Genius of Botany explaining to the Gardener the Characters of Plants," dedication leaf to the Earl of Bute. Illustration: 60 handcolored engraved botanical plates (numbered 1–60) after and by Hill, Boyce, and others.
Folio (16 5/8 x 10 1/4 in.; 423 x 261 mm). Binding: Contemporary calf, rebacked to style with maroon morocco label, marbled endpapers. Provenance: Doddington Library (bookplate).
Some browning and scattered foxing. Binding extremities rubbed, corners restored.
Folio (16 5/8 x 10 1/4 in.; 423 x 261 mm). Binding: Contemporary calf, rebacked to style with maroon morocco label, marbled endpapers. Provenance: Doddington Library (bookplate).
Some browning and scattered foxing. Binding extremities rubbed, corners restored.
Literature
Cleveland Collections 442; Dunthorne 129; Great Flower Books, p. 100; Henrey 776; Hunt 559; Nissen 880; An Oak Spring Flora 53 (second edition); Stafleu & Cowan TL2 2770
Condition
Some browning and scattered foxing. Binding extremities rubbed, corners restored.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
An outstanding copy of the scarce handcolored issue of the first edition. Little is known about Thomas Hale except that his papers are allegedly the source of the present work and its companion volume, The Compleat Body of Husbandry (1756). Authorship is often attributed to John Hill, whose name alone appears at the close of the dedication to the Earl of Bute in this edition and on the title-page of the enlarged second edition of 1773. Published in sixty numbers between 28 August 1756 and 18 November 1757 as a gardener’s calendar, Eden suggests the appropriate seasonal management of the flower, fruit, and kitchen gardens and nursery: "We shall treat Gardens from their Origin, Design, and first Construction, to the raising them to Perfection, and keeping them in that condition; and we shall consider, in our Course, their Products, whether of Use, Curiosity, or Beauty. These we shall describe in their several Seasons, suiting our Publications to the Time of their Appearance" (introduction).
One of the less fortunate efforts at instruction, however, is a disquisition on the curative virtues of Atropa belladonna, one of Britain’s most toxic native plants (page 477). The index concludes with a humbling correction: "The Publick are to be informed, that since our Publication of the virtues ascribed to Deadly Nightshade, many Trials have been made but few have succeeded: it has no specifick Virtue against Cancers, and its Use may be harmful."