An Essay Upon Gardening (Greenhouses). Steele, Richard Botany, Gardening, & Agriculture

270 x 220 mm. (10 5/8 x 8 5/8"). 1 p.l., vi-xx, [ii], xxi-xxii, [2], 159, [1], 102 pp. Lacking half-title and errata. Contemporary quarter calf over marbled boards, smooth spine with gilt rules and lettering (front joint solidly albeit inelegantly repaired). With three folding plates, each with a letterpress explanatory leaf. Henrey 1384. ◆Lower joint cracked, corners very rubbed, covers a bit worn and soiled; small repaired tear to title, dampstaining to margin corners in subscriber's list, plates torn along folds in a few places, three leaves with light overall browning, other trivial defects; not without significant imperfections, but generally clean and fresh, and a better copy than might be expected, given its use in what must have been unprotected circumstances. A unique book issued at the advent of the popularity of the importation of exotic plants into England, this is an important work on the construction and heating of greenhouses, which also includes an exhaustive list of exotic plants suitable for the greenhouse environment, remarks on the history of gardening, an essay on the stove, tips for the successful propagation of a wide variety of species, and directions for preserving seeds brought to England over vast distances by ship. The book covers the origin of artificial hothouses in 15th century Korea, and the first stove-heated greenhouse in England, which was erected at the Chelsea Physic Garden in 1681. The popularity of these structures continued to grow in the 18th century among the elite--particularly after Joseph Banks' invigoration of Kew Gardens with botanical specimens sourced from all over the world. The author especially encourages the cultivation of pineapples and grapes in the hothouse, which can "be matured in the highest state of perfection" and which are "what every gentleman of rank and fortune would wish to possess." The plates here include the plans and elevations of a 160-foot-long general stove, an idealized greenhouse featuring Ionic columns, and a greenhouse built by controversial botanist Richard Anthony Salisbury (erected before personal and professional scandals caused him to be shunned by the botanical community). Little biographical information is known of our author, Richard Steele, but Henrey notes that he received assistance with the text for this work from Adrian Hardy Haworth (1768-1833), an entomologist and botanist who founded a private natural history museum and garden in Chelsea, and who, in the words of DNB, "became something of a celebrity, consulted by the managers of provincial natural history museums and visited by foreign botanists." The present work is significant enough to command an interest, even when copies that are not in fine condition.