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an old book with a brown cover sitting on top of a white surfacean old book with a picture of a statue on top of itthe front cover of a book with a drawing of a man in a rooman open book with a drawing of a pyramid on top of itan old book with a picture of a man and a woman on it
ALDE

105 - SERRES (Olivier de). *Le Theatre d'agriculture et mesnage de…
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Estimate €2,000 - €3,000
Sale commission
Description
SERRES (Olivier de). *Le Theatre d'agriculture et mesnage des champs*. Paris, Abraham Saugrain, 1603. In-4, fawn calfskin, decorated spine, marbled edges (late 17th-century binding). Second edition, partly original and the first complete edition, of the ‘first major French treatise on agronomy’ (Pierre Berès), revised and expanded by the author with numerous additions to various chapters. ‘This second edition, which is also very fine, is at least as rare as that of 1600’, according to Thiébaud. The illustrations consist of a beautiful frontispiece title page featuring a portico, engraved on copper by Charles de Mallery, and 24 wood-engraved plates, including 8 headpieces depicting rural scenes, 15 plans of medicinal or ornamental garden beds, and a double-page insert. A monumental work of universal interest, *Le Théâtre d’agriculture* is divided into eight ‘sections’ covering the full range of agricultural subjects. Reprinted many times, the work exerted a great influence on silk production and the cultivation of beetroot, maize and potatoes. It contains numerous chapters and passages devoted to food and drink, dealing as early as the second ‘lieu’ with bread and vegetables, ‘which are of great use in the upkeep of a country household’; in the third, it discusses wine-making, and in the fourth, the production of butter and cheese; finally, in the eighth and last section, the first two chapters concern ‘the use of food’ and provide numerous recipes for bread and wine. He takes a particular interest in ‘techniques for curing various meats, on the one hand, and methods for preserving fruit (in salt, vinegar, must, cooked wine, sugar and honey), on the other’. The second chapter of Book VIII thus constitutes a veritable treatise on jam’ (Livres en bouche). Finally, the last chapter of the work deals with ‘Hunting and other honourable pursuits of the gentleman’. Damage to the headbands and corners, two split bindings, traces of restoration, a repaired tear on p. 537, faint printing on p. 605, worm damage affecting the text on pp. 649–762, a wormhole in the lower margin, scattered pinholes, and crossed-out inscriptions in the margin of the frontispiece. Thiébaud, 840 – Vicaire, 788 – P. Berès: *En français dans le texte*, no. 79 (on the first edition) – *Livres en bouche*, no. 88 (ibid.).
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About the sale Fine antique books – A library in the Languedoc
Auction location
Auction time 10/20/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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