THE COUNTRY-MANS RECREATION, or the Art of Planting, Grassing, and Gardening in Three Books... Hereunto is Likewise Added the ART of ANGLING. de BARKER, Thomas, BARKER, Thomas, Reginald Scot, Leonard Mascall - 1654

London, printed by T. Mabb for William Shears, [and William Hunt for the Expert Gardener], and are to be sold at the signe of the Bible in St. Pauls Church-yard, near the little North door, 1654. & 1653.. The first declaring divers waies of Planting, and Graffing, and the best times of the year, with divers commodities and secrets herein, how to set or Plant with the Root, and without the Root; to sow or set Pepins or Curnels, with the ordering thereof, also to cleanse your Grafts and Cions, to help barren and sick Trees, to kill Worms and Vermin, and to preserve and keep Fruit; how to plant and proin your Vines, and to gather and presse your Grape; to cleanse and mosse your Trees, to make your Cider and Perry, with many other secret Practises which shall appear in the Table following. The second treateth of the Hop-Garden, with necessary instructions for the making and maintenance thereof, with some directions for tabaco. Whereunto is added, The Expert Gardener, containing divers necessary and rare secrets belonging to that art, hereunto is likewise added the ART of ANGLING. SECOND EDITION IN 4 PARTS, 2 PARTS DATE 1653 AND THE OTHER PARTS DATE 1654. Small 4to, approximately 185 x 130 mm, 7¼ x 5 inches, 22 full page illustrations in the Expert Gardener part and 13 text illustrations in the first 2 parts, no illustrations in the angling part, pages: [16], 1-135, [1]; [2], 1-54; [2], 1-18, pages 129-135, are on "Certain directions for the sowing, planting and transplanting of tobaco." all parts have their own separate title pages, attractively rebound in modern full calf with green morocco gilt lettered label, gilt lettering, date and gilt fish design to spine, gilt fish design to middle of upper and lower covers with a gilt fish to each corner, new endpapers. Pale browning and staining to first title page, heavy browning to 5 leaves of text and 3 leaves of illustrations, pale age-browning to pages 1-8 in the first part, pale staining to last page of text in the angling part. occasional minor stains to margins a few small rust holes, small paper fault in 1 lower margin in Angling part, not affecting text, pale browning to top margins of first 2 leaves, not affecting text, neat old ink name to top of title page and following page, otherwise good copy. The first part is, Mascall's Booke of the Art and Maner, Howe to Plante and Graffe all Sortes of Trees', a translation of a French treatise first published in 1569, and very rare; The second is a reprint of Scot's 'A Perfite Platforme of a Hoppe Garden', written in 1574; Third part is The Expert Gardener, a text originally published in 1594 as 'The Orchard and the Garden', The fourth part, the Art of Angling first published 1651, this second edition of: title page and 18 pages is dated 1653, and was published in this edition for the first time, the first edition is very rare. A copy of the first edition was sold by Bonham's Auction House on 22nd May 2012, Lot 38, and can be found on Google. See for Art of Angling: Westwood & Satchell, Bibliotheca Piscatoria, page 21; The Library of John Gerard Heckscher of New York page 22, No. 126; The gardening works see: Blanche Henrey, British Botanical and Horticultural Literature before 1800, Volume 1, page 236, No. 48; Rachel Hunt, Catalogue of Botanical Books, Volume 1, pages 282-84, No. 26; The Cleveland Herbal, Botanical and Horticultural Collections, pages 197-98, No. 216; George Thomason, Catalogue of the Pamphlets, books etc., Relating to the Civil War and Restoration, Volume 2, page 76, Aug.5. E. 806. (16); The Compact Edition of the Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 1, page 95; ESTC R207486. MORE IMAGES ATTACHED TO THIS LISTING, ALL ZOOMABLE, FURTHER IMAGES ON REQUEST. POSTAGE AT COST.