SERRES (Olivier de). Le Theatre d'agriculture et mesnage des - Lot 106

SERRES (Olivier de). Le Theatre d'agriculture et mesnage des champs [...] où est representé tout ce qui est requis & necessaire pour bien dresser, gouverner, enrichir & embellir la maison rustique. A Geneve, printed for Samuel Chouet, 1651. In-4 double (quires of 8 ff. with horizontal spandrels): (32)-878-(2 blanks)-(16) pp. in brown basane, spine ribbed, cloisonné and fleuronné, edges speckled with red; binding very rubbed with leather missing from upper head and corners, wetness, foxing, a few tears and marginal worm work, a few old annotations on endpapers (contemporary binding). A Protestant gentleman from the Vivarais region who took part in the Wars of Religion, Olivier de Serres (1539-1619) devoted the rest of his life to beautifying his Pradel estate. His renown in agronomic matters led Henri IV to call upon him, to whom he pleaded for the extension of sericulture and the introduction of new plant species in France. The Théâtre d'agriculture, written in superb language, was composed with the traditional aim of ensuring the prosperity and autonomy of noble estates. It covers everything from household management, plant cultivation and animal husbandry (including mulberries and silkworms), to hunting, wine, food and drink. However, Olivier de Serres insists on the value of seeking out novelty and experimentation: here, for example, he is the first Frenchman to describe and encourage the cultivation of corn and potatoes. Originally published in 1600, Le Théâtre d'agriculture was still read with admiration by naturalist and agronomist Jean-Baptiste de Montesquieu (son of the author of the treatise De L'Esprit des lois), Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, Pierre Jean-Baptiste Le Grand d'Aussy, Albrecht von Haller and Arthur Young. Illustrated with 17 woodcuts, one fold-out and 16 in the text. The title vignette shows a perspective view of a garden, 12 plans of pleasure gardens, 2 plans and 2 views of medicinal gardens. Provenance: Jean-Samuel Petitpierre, pastor of Cortaillod in the canton of Neuchâtel (handwritten ex-libris); publisher Jonas-Pierre Berthoud, one of the four founders of the Société typographique de Neuchâtel (handwritten ex-dono); Neuchâtel bourgeois Jean-Alphonse Terrisse de Coulon and probably Eugène Frôté and Jeanne Triol in Neuchâtel (handwritten ex-dono). ATTACHED: VITRUVE (Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, known as). Architecture ou Art de bien bastir. A Paris [...] On les vend chez Iacques Gazeau [...]. 1547. In-folio, 19th-century antique parchment, copy incomplete of several leaves. First edition in French. Provenance: J.-F. Schnerb (bookplate on title).