The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. Gathered by John Gerarde of London master in Chirurgerie
London: by [Edm. Bollifant for [Bonham Norton and] Iohn Norton, 1597.
Price: $25,000.00
Folio: 34 x 23.7 cm. [20], 1,392, [72] p Collation: A4, B6, A-Z8, Aa-Zz8, Aaa-Vvv8, Xxx10, Aaaa-Tttt8, Vvvv6, Aaaaa-Iiiii4
FIRST EDITION.
An excellent, tall copy of a book rarely found in such fine condition, bound in late 18th c. polished calf, rebacked with the original spine preserved (some wear to edges of the boards and corners, minor wear to boards, spine scuffed and a bit crackled). The boards are framed by a delicate gold roll; the spine is also tooled in gold. Internally very clean copy with broad margins and occasional deckled edges at the outer margin. In the course of this copy’s 1,400 pages there are only the following, very minor points: the title page is foxed and a little stained at the margins, leaves I7 and I8 have small blemishes, p. 204/5 with small brown stain, marginal damp-stain to S1-6; V8-X1 with small repair in blank margin at head, rust spot on lvs. Cc1-2 , Ee1 and Ss4 with small marginal hole, Ll4 with small ink spot in margin, Oo1-2 with spots and tiny holes in the gutter, Qq2 with long note in red pencil, slim worm-trail in blank lower margin of gatherings Ss and Tt, small ink spot in margin of Mmm5-6, light soil stains on pp. 978-9 (possibly from a plant specimen), rust hole on p. 995, ink stains to index lvs. 5F1 and 5F2, final leaf lightly foxed.
Illustrated with more than 1,800 woodcuts. Due to a compositor’s error, leaves the pages printed on lvs. Qq2 and [Qq7] are reversed, with pages 621-622 printed on leaf Qq2 and pages 611-612 printed on leaf [Qq7].
The rare first (only 16th c.) edition of the most famous of the early English herbals. It differs greatly from the subsequent editions (of 1633 and 1636), which were heavily altered by Thomas Johnson. The more than 1,800 woodcuts have a distinguished history. They were obtained from the publishers of Jacobus Theodorus Tabernaemontanus’ (c. 1525–90) "Icones Plantarum" (1590) and many were copied from earlier woodcuts in the works of Dodoens, Mattioli, Fuchs, and other earlier herbalists.
John Gerard is to this day one of the best known of English herbalists. In 1586 the Royal College of Physicians established a garden of physic and appointed Gerard its curator. Gerard also supervised the gardens of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, and mentions Burghley’s garden frequently in his herbal.
The genesis of this herbal was complex. At its core is the physician Robert Priest's translation of Dodoens' collected botanical works, the "Stirpium Historiae Pemptades Sex" (1583). Priest died before finishing the work and the task of completing the herbal fell to Gerard, who grafted onto Priest's work the catalogue of his own garden, and appropriated Priest's work as his own. Gerard's ‘Herbal’ is also heavily indebted to Mathias Lobel, whose classification scheme Gerard adopted in place of Dodoens'.
“The 'Herball' contains many of Gerard's own remarks, such as localities in various parts of England for scarce plants, and many allusions to persons and places now of high antiquarian interest. Many friends, among them Jean Robin, director of the Jardin Royal at the Louvre, sent him specimens and information. In his own garden Gerard raised many exotic plants such as the potato. His illustration of that plant is the first to appear in any herbal, although his naming of the plant as the ‘Virginian potato’ caused some confusion. Jean l'Ecluse (Clusius) had correctly identified the origin as Peru. Despite the many errors [many of which were corrected by Johnson in this new edition] and repetition of folklore, such as the story of the barnacle tree from which geese were supposed to be hatched, Gerard's 'Herball', being in the English vernacular, is still one of the best-known English herbals.”(Smolenaars, ODNB).
Henrey 154; Hunt 175; Luborsky & Ingram. Engl. illustrated books, 1536-1603, 11750