1636 GERARDs HERBALL Handsome Folio 1800 Woodcuts A Beautiful & Impressive English C17 Illustrated Work Start Price USD 3,000.00 Current Price USD 3,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, August 21, 2008 End Time Thursday, August 28, 2008 Location Cliftonwood, Bristol See more about '1636 GERARDs HERBALL Handsome Folio 1800 Woodcuts' Description T H EH E R B A L LOR GENERALLHiftorie ofPlantes. . Gathered by John Gerardeof London Master in CHIRVRGERIE. Very much Enlarged and Amended by Thomas Johnfon, Citizen and Apothecarye of LONDON. London Printed by Adam Iflip Joice Norton and Richard Whitakers. Anno 1636. Contemporary i.e. early seventeenth century mottled calf, expertly rebacked, edges speckled red. Elaborately engraved title page, mounted without loss. Occasional light markings, damp stains to preliminary leaves, severe only in opening pages, and quickly easing off (see pictures), English index leaves occasionally frayed to foot, with loss of lower corner particularly to 7B3, loosing a few words to final lines of that leaf, final leaf dusty, contemporary plain mottled calf, expertly rebacked, edges speckled red. Very occasional foxing mark, and solitary worm trace to inner margin in early leaves, not approaching text. A folio volume, it measures approximately 33.5cm (13¼") x 24cm (9½") x 11cm (4¼"). Pagination pp. [37], [1, blank], 1630, [1, illus.], [1, blank], [45, indexes i Latin and in English], [1, 'advertisement to reader'], a number of leaves misnumbered, text collated and complete and lacking only the first and final blanks leaves. Signature of Joseph Blacker to recto 3, early signature to verso of same leaf in secretarial hand, difficult to read but perhaps Will Farquer, his friend and ?confidant, later notes to final leaf, with name Dobson, and Richard Swayne (repeated), and the odd financial calculation. JOHN GERARDE or GERARD (1545-1612), English herbalist. He attended a local school, and having studied medicine, he travelled in Scandinavia and Russia, possibly also in the Mediterranean. Gerard initialled became a surgeon, but he became well known as a highly skilled herbalist. He was superintendent of the gardens of Lord Burghley in the Strand, and at Theobalds in Hertfordshire. He was living in Holborn, where he had a garden, to which he devoted great attention, and published a list of the plants therein in 1596. Gerarde's Herball, achieved instant success and became a household word. It is a large and impressive folio volume, and beautifully produced piece of work, containing more than eighteen hundred woodcuts. Gerard was a keen botanist and corresponded with his scientific contemporaries, and whilst he makes liberal use of the work of his predecessors, the Herball contains much of Gerard's own work, and useful information such as localities in various parts of England for scarce plants, and many allusions to persons and places now of high antiquarian interest. He lays claim to a purely scientific object, but accepts much contemporary folk-lore, which does not detract from the interest of his volume. In 1633 Thomas Johnson edited a new edition of the Herball, which was so well received that a reprint of it, word for word, was brought out in 1636. The genus Gerardia was founded by Linnæus in commemoration of John Gerard, and it now includes about thirty species, chiefly North American. Gerard's Herball, especially the edition by Johnson proved extremely popular and remained a standard text for students of botany until into the middle of the eighteenth century, and is known to have been used by John Coakley Lettsom and Sir Joseph Banks. This great work has always been highly sought after, as much for its beauty as its quaint interest. With a fine engraved title page. Woodcut capitals to prelims and opening of books, with head devices, and over 1800 woodcuts of plants. Please note imperfections, but a good, often crisp and clean copy of this beautiful herbal, and fine example of early seventeenth century English printing, increasingly rare in intact, complete condition. Place a Bid!