KALENDARIUM HORTENSE: OR THE GARD'NERS ALMANAC

London: John Martyn, 1671. Fourth Edition. 155 x 98 mm. (6 x 3 7/8"). 127 pp., [8] leaves (final blank).
Contemporary sprinkled sheep, covers ruled in blind, flat spine with small paper label and painted red markings. With engraved frontispiece. Front flyleaf and title page with early ink markings ("X 16." and "D X 14"); rear inside cover with pencilled signature of Wm. Lyall. Keynes 61; Wing E-3494; ESTC R215726. ◆Old repaired crack to tail of rear joint, short tears to head of joints, leather a little stained and rubbed, but the original fragile binding solid and pleasing; first couple of leaves frayed and browned at edges, a couple of short marginal tears, other trivial defects, but a surprisingly attractive copy internally, quite clean, fresh, and bright throughout.

This is an especially appealing copy of John Evelyn's most popular work, a guide to monthly gardening tasks that is scarce because, as Keynes observes, "The book was made for use, and it was, indeed, used up." Compiled around 1650, the "Almanac" was first printed in 1664 as an addendum to the folio edition of "Pomona"; a separate octavo edition was first released in 1666. The present work takes the amateur gardener through the months of the year, pointing out garden tasks, planting times, and the fruits and flowers in season. Well-known as a diarist, a book collector, and a founder of the Royal Society, John Evelyn (1620-1706) published a number of important books (either original works or translations from the French) on architecture, navigation, gardening, and arboriculture. DNB notes that perhaps his most lasting contribution was through his beloved hobby: "His enthusiasm for horticulture in particular, both in his own garden at Sayes Court and in his correspondence and publications, translated continental ideas into England and laid the groundwork for the English landscape garden of the eighteenth century." Early separate editions (before the 1691 printing) of the "Almanac" are uncommon in the marketplace: RBH lists just one copy of the 1666 printing, offered in 1926, and four copies of the 1669 edition over the past 60 years. We could find no record of the 1671 issue at auction..