The American Vine Dresser's Guide.

New York: G.&C. Carvill, 1829. Book. 12mo, orig. printed boards. Pp. xv, [16]-142. Spine split vertically, chipped at extremities, front cover mostly detached, rear threads secure; moderately browned and foxed. Second edition; first published in 1827. Loubat was a New York merchant, born in the south of France. He established a vineyard of 35 acres on what is now the Brooklyn waterfront, planted with his own imported French vinifera, vines that would ultimately succumb to American blackrot and mildew. But he enjoyed enough success to impress Nicholas Longworth, whose first Ohio vineyards were planted with vines supplied by Loubat. His book, with facing French and English text begins with a dedication "To the Shade of Franklin." It is based entirely on French practice, and covers all aspects of planting, cultivation, pruning and propagation and carries through briefly to wine making, casking and bottling. Loubat's work is the third treatise on the subject published in America, following close on those of Adlum and Dufour. A scarce work, this second edition particularly so. The printed boards, always desirable, are here particularly important, with the rear board taken up with Loubat's "Proposals for the Introduction of the Grape Vine into the United States, at a moderate expense," describing his vineyards, mentioning that he is the sole agent of the Royal Nursery at Luxembourg, Paris; that his father is a nurseryman and grape grower in France; giving prices of large quantities of vines, and listing 10 agents for them in as many cities, from Boston to New Orleans. Rinck 1505; Amerine and Borg 2146; Imprints 39324..