by MASCALL, Leonard
Woodcut vignette on title, one full-page woodcut, & several smaller woodcuts in the text. Black letter. 11 p.l., 88, [10] pp. Small 4to, late 18th cent. calf (upper joint cracked but strong, small paper flaw on blank outer margin of title, fore-edges faintly dampstained), spine lettered in gilt. London: J. Wight, 1575. The third edition of the first English gardening manual; the first edition appeared in 1569 and all 16th-century printings are rather rare on the market. Mascall took most of his text from David Brossard's Art et Manière de Semer et Faire Pépinières de Sauvageaux (Paris: 1552) with certain Dutch practices added. "Brossard, a Benedictine monk at the abbey of Saint-Vincent near Le Mans, who lived during the second half of the sixteenth century, was a skilful horticulturist...The English translation proved extremely popular and it appeared in many editions. Comparatively little is known of the translator, Leonard Mascall (d. 1589), who was the owner of a mansion called Plumpton Place, a few miles northwest of Lewes, in Sussex. He became clerk of the kitchen in the household of Matthew Park, Archbishop of Canterbury. It is said that in 1525 Mascall introduced pippin apples into England and established an orchard at his home in Sussex."-Henry, I, pp. 63-64 & p. 258 in the bibliography. A very good copy. Head of spine a bit chipped and a few headlines just shaved. (Inventory #: 5542)
(917) 294-2678
