Johann Sigismund Elsholtz, 1672

ELSHOLTZ, Johann Sigismund (1623-1688). Vom Garten-Baw: Oder Unterricht von der Gärtnerey auff das Clima der Chur-Marck Brandenburg. Berlin: Georg Schultze, 1672.

Second edition, enlarged, of an important early German gardening book. Elsholtz was the court physician to Elector Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg and director of his botanical garden. This treatise presents the latest horticultural techniques, tailored to the German climate, and provides documentary evidence for the history of German princely gardens. It addresses flower gardens and their design, kitchen gardens, medicinal gardens, and the care and design of vineyards. The engraved frontispiece presents a view of the Elector's palace and garden, with him and his consort as Apollo and Diana. Both this and the 1666 first edition are rare at auction. Pritzel 2632.

Quarto (222 x 169mm). Folding engraved frontispiece, 8 engraved plates, and woodcut illustrations in text (paper flaws on two index leaves obscuring some letters). Contemporary vellum with yapp edges, red edges (hinges repaired, endleaves renewed). Provenance: remains of erased stamp on title.