The Magic of Herbs

LEYEL (C.F. [Hilda]) & BAWDEN (Edward)

Published by Publication Date: 1926

First edition. 8vo., 21x15cm, 230pp. Original publisher's green cloth, original dustjacket design by Edward Bawden. London, Jonathan Cape.  Very good, edges of jacket lightly rubbed, cloth spine and top edge faded, but overall bright and presentable, particularly the scarce jacket.  Hilda Leyel, who published under the initials 'C.F', was a self-taught herbalist who took particular inspiration from the writings of Nicholas Culpeper, after whom she named the small chain of herbalist shops she operated in London. The Magic of Herbs was her first book, offering both extracts and anecdotes from classic texts, alongside contemporary recipes for herbal remedies, cosmetics and culinary creations. We learn, for example, that 'Mrs. Earle has devised a way of her own for using dried lavender. In Pot Pourri from a Surrey Garden she says: 'on the backs of my arm-chars are Liberty silk oblong bags like miniature saddle-bags filled with dried lavender, sweet verbena and sweet geranium leaves. this mixture is much more fragrant than the lavender alone, and the visitor who leans back in the chair wonders where the sweet scent comes from'. The queen of British food writing, Elizabeth David, fondly remembered being given a copy of Leyel's The Gentle Art of Cookery as a young girl: 'I wonder if I would have ever learned to cook at all if I had been given a routine Mrs Beeton to learn from, instead of the romantic Mrs Leyel with her rather wild, imagination-catching recipes.' The dustjacket design by Edward Bawden is a fine example of his bold early work, and brings exactly the necessary degree of colour and whimsy to accompany Leyel's playful text. . Seller Inventory # 250024

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Magic of Herbs
Publication Date: 1926
Binding: Hardcover
Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
Edition: 1st Edition