Forum Rare Books | Rare Books

< Back

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 diverses curiositez dignes de remarque, contenües en la page qui suit l'epistre: avec un brief recueil des chasses du cerf, du sanglier, du lievre, du renard, du blereau, du connil, du loup, des oiseaux, & de la fauconnerie. Plus la fabricage et usage de la jauge, ou diapason, tres-neccessaire pour sçavoir iuger ce que tient un vaisseau, suivant la mesure de quel lieu, ville, ou pays que ce soit. Avec une instruction pour scavoir en quel temps, mois, lune & saison on doit semer & replanter selon le pays froid & chaud, pour faire advancer & retarder les semences, & toutes sortes de graines. Derniere 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, 3 large woodcut illustrations on land-surveying, large woodcut plan of a orchard ('Trium-verd').

Paris, Nicolas de la Vigne, 1640. 4to. Contemporary vellum. 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, 3 large woodcut illustrations on land-surveying, large woodcut plan of a orchard ('Trium-verd'). (16), 664 pp. The 16 pp. of the idex are bound after (2).

With:
(2) CLAMORGAN, Jean. La chasse du loup, necessaire a la maison rustique. En laquelle est contenue la nature des loups, & la maniere de les prendre, tant par chiens, filets, pieges qu'autre instrumens. Paris Nicolas de la Vigne, 1640. 4to. 64 pp. and (16) pp. with the index of the Maison rustique. With 14 nearly full-page woodcuts and some woodcut diagrams in the text.

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.
Since 1570 the Maison Rustique was published together with Clamorgan's treatise on wolf-hunting, which could, however, also be sold separately. It is one of the most important works on wolf hunting which is usually found included in editions of the Maison rustique, but was first published in 1566. La chasse du loup describes the habits of wolves and discusses different methods for hunting. Clamorgan first offers observations (drawn from sources as diverse as Aristotle and Olaus Magnus) on the natural history of wolves and the medicinal uses of preparations derived from wolf excrement and body parts. Later chapters address such topics as training bloodhounds for the hunt, how to distinguish wolf tracks from dog tracks, and various strategies for capturing wolves using traps, nets, and decoys. Each method is illustrated by one or more nearly full-page woodcuts. At the end of Clamorgan's work the extra treatise by Gervais de la Court on the calculation of tonnage is added (pp. 47-64: 'La fabrique de la jauge ou diapason'), considered very useful for the measuring of wine-casks, etc.
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, and especially the large woodcut illustrations on wolf-hunting are very interesting.

Good copy of a rare edition.- (Recased, with new endpapers; top of front hinge dam.; title and first leaf repaired at right lower margin).

Springer p. 19 (other editions); Goldschmiths' Libr. I, 702; Thiébaud, col. 353; Souhart, p. 170-3; NUC lists one copy.

Related Subjects: Agriculture & Husbandry

Add to Shopping cart

€ 2.250,00

Prices in EUROS (€), shipping and BTW/VAT extra.

< Back

Terms of sale

All items are offered subject to prior sale. Prices are nett and in (€) EURO. VAT/BTW, postage, and insurance are not included.

Free shipping for orders over € 2,500. EU customers: if applicable, please quote your VAT number when placing orders.

Preferred mode of payment: by credit card through our secure online payment service, which is facilitated by Ogone. If you wish to make other arrangements, please contact us. Terms of sale

E-mail this to a friend

Antiquariaat FORUM B.V.
Tuurdijk 16
3997 MS t Goy-Houten,
The Netherlands

Phone: (+31) (0)30 601 1955
Fax: (+31) (0)30 601 1813
E-mail: info@forumrarebooks.com
Web: http://www.forumrarebooks.com