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12mo. 4.1 x 6.76 inches. Frontis.+ [ii] + ii + 480 + xii pp. [2], B-U12, Y-Y6. Illustrated with engraved frontispiece by Isaac Taylor. Bound with contemporary patterned calf, gilt decorated spine and gilt borders, black morocco label. Front and rear hinges loose and joints weak Small area on top border of frontispiece missing. Small abraded area at right lower edge of C6-7 with minimal loss of text. Early ink stains, especially, F6-7 and U6-7. Some foxing and browning of pages. 1947 ink inscription inside front paste-down. First published as Mawe's Gardener's Calendar in 1767, this proved to be one of the most popular gardening books of its era and indeed continued to be revised as late as 1879. It is arranged by the months of the year, with lists of plants at the end. In fact it was not written by Thomas Mawe, but by John Abercrombie (1726-1806), son of an Edinburgh market gardener, who had worked at Kew and other royal gardens and later established his own market gardens in the London area. Having expanded his practical observations into book form, his publisher, William Griffin, submitted the publication to his friend, William Mawe, gardener to the Duke of Leeds. Mawe 'bore testimony to the merit of the production, and prefixed his name to the publication in order to give it that celebrity to which it was so justly entitled, for which he received a gratuity of twenty guineas.' Following the great success of the book, Mawe, a notable figure in the gardening world, invited Abercrombie to visit him in Yorkshire. There the author saw 'a gentleman so bepowdered, and so bedaubed with gold lace, that he thought he could be in the presence of no less a personage than the Duke himself.' (both quotations from Blanche Henrey). In spite of this the two became friends and Mawe gave Abercrombie further information to use in his published works. This sixth edition is the last to appear under the sole authorship of Mawe and from the seventh edition of 1776, Abercrombie added his own name to the title page. These later editions were larger by a third or more. The fine engraving of two gardeners digging and hoeing was replaced by a portrait of Abercrombie from 1800 onwards. A scarce early edition of this influential gardening book. NATURAL HISTORY/SCIENCE GARDENING NATURAL HISTORY/SCIENCE ESTC T 33566 Blanche Henrey 1057 DNB. Seller Inventory # 19370
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