Sylva or a Discourse of Forest Trees. Vol. I-II

Description:

An early 20th century reprint of the fourth edition (London, R. Scott, 1706), with an essay on the life and works of the author by John Nisbet. John Evelyn (1620-1706) was an English diarist and writer. ‘Sylva’, first published in 1676, was Evelyn's pioneering work on tree cultivation. Although primarily intended to encourage tree planting after the devastation of the civil war, Sylva was a learned work addressed more to gentlemen than to foresters. In it he introduced the word ‘avenues’ into the English language of landscaping. The fourth edition contained 'an Historical Account of the Sacredness and Use of Standing Groves'. (ODNB)

Condition

2 vols, roy. 8vo, orig. cloth, gt, teg, other edges uncut, light rubbing to extremities, slight fading to spines. Withdrawn from Ipswich Free Library with their armorial book-plate to endpapers and a few neat ink stamps (including to verso of plates). Though ex-lib. this is a very good set.