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The most popular work on domestic economy in the country of the late 16th, and 17th century

ESTIENNE, Charles & Jean LIEBAULT.
L'agriculture et maison rustique. Reveüe & augmentée de beaucoup, dont le contenu se voit en la page suyuante: avec un bref recueil des chasses du cerf, du sanglier, du lievre, du renard, du blereau, du connil, du loup, des oyseaux, & de la fauconnerie: comme pourrés voir à la fin de ce livre, avec les figures. Y joint la fabrique & usage de la jauge, ou diapason. Plus a esté adjousté en ceste derniere edition, une instruction pour sçavoir en guels temps, mois, lune, & saison, on doit semer & replanter selon le pays froid & chaud, pour faire advancer & retarder les semences & toutes sortes de graines. Dierniere édition.

Title printed in red and black, full-page woodcut of a cow with explanatory text within borders, idem of a horse, 2 woodcut illustrations of herbs, 20 nearly full-page woodcut plans of pleasure-gardens, 10 woodcut illustrations on distilling apparatus, and 3 large woodcut illustrations on land-surveying.<BR>

Lyon, Simon Rigaud, 1654. 4to. Contemporary full calf, spine gilt in compartments with title lettered in gold. Title printed in red and black, full-page woodcut of a cow with explanatory text within borders, idem of a horse, 2 woodcut illustrations of herbs, 20 nearly full-page woodcut plans of pleasure-gardens, 10 woodcut illustrations on distilling apparatus, and 3 large woodcut illustrations on land-surveying.
(16), 574, (18) pp.

Rare revised and enlarged edition of the most popular work on country-housekeeping and practical manual on domestic economy of life in the country of the late 16th, and 17th century, including designs for pleasure-gardens and chapters on the hunting of all sorts of games, including falconry.
The principal author of this work is normally taken to be Charles Estienne (1504-1564), who was an early exponent of the science of anatomy in France. Charles was a younger brother of Robert Estienne, the famous printer, and son of Henri (the elder), who Latinized the family name as Stephanus. After the usual humanistic training Charles studied medicine, and took his doctor's degree at Paris. He was for a time tutor to Jean-Antoine de Baïf, the future poet. His career, however, was interrupted by the oppressive persecutions in which their religious opinions involved the family. In 1551, when Robert Estienne left Paris for Geneva, Charles, who had remained a Catholic, took charge of the printing establishment, and in the same year was appointed king's printer.
Charles's principal works are devoted to medicine and agriculture: De dissectione partium corporis humani libri tres (Paris, 1545); a series of small books intended to teach the terminology of classical (Latin) agriculture to the young, which in 1554 he put together in a single volume, which he published under the title Prædium Rusticum (perhaps because the titles resemble each other, bibliographers have for centuries pronounced the Maison Rustique to be the translation into French of Estienne's earlier Latin text, to which in fact it bears no resemblance beyond the general subject of agriculture); and the present collection of tracts on various branches of agriculture.
At some point in the 1550's, Estienne's daughter, Nicole, married a young doctor and scholar with an apparently brilliant career ahead of him, Jean Liébault (c.1535-1596). That Liébault collaborated with his father-in-law in writing the Maison Rustique is obvious from the title-page; but the details of their working relationship are unknown, and no doubt shall remain that way. In any case, Charles had been obliged to take over the family firm with the unfortunate result that in 1561 he was sent to debtor's prison, where he remained until his death in 1564 - the very year that L'agriculture et maison rustique was first published. It turned ouit toe be an astonishing success. It is not known whether anyone has ever seriously tried to total all the editions and translations that eventually were made of it, but the number is certainly in the hundreds. From the 1567 edition on Liebault was mentioned on the title-page. Eighteen years later, ca. 1582, Liébault made very substantial revisions and additions to the original text, which were included in the future editions and translations.
At the beginning of the 17th century the work had grown into an encyclopedic practical manual on domestic economy of life in the country. The work now also had become much more richly illustrated, including no less than 20 designs for pleasure-gardens.
Editions of this work are often found bound up with an edition of Clamorgans La chasse du loup, which is, however, not the case with this copy.

Fair copy.- (Binding worn, front hinge weak; title soiled with two ownership's entries, some small tears throughout; occ. waterstaining and browning; some woodblocks injured by use).

Souhart, col. 170-3; http://www.wine-maker.net/Thackrey_Library/Library_pdf.files/MaisonRustique.pdf; not in Baudrier, cf. I, p. 207 (1591-ed.) & pp. 365-8 (eds. of 1576, 1583, 1586 & 1589); Bitting pp. 146-7 (1668-ed.); this edition not in Thiebaud nor Schwerdt.

Related Subjects: 17th Century Agriculture & Husbandry Falconry French Gardens Hunting

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