HILL, EDEN: OR, A COMPLEAT BODY OF GARDENING, [1756]-1757

Folio (421 x 525mm.), hand-coloured engraved allegorical frontispiece, 60 hand-coloured engraved botanical plates, contemporary speckled calf gilt, scattered spotting, upper joint splitting, very slightly rubbed with small repairs to spine ends

ESTC T32413

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

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 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."