An Oak Spring Pomona : A Selection of the Rare Books on Fruit in the Oak Spring Garden Library (Hardcover)

by Sandra Raphael (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
An Oak Spring Pomona is the second of a series of catalogues describing selections of rare books and other materials in the Oak Spring Garden Library, a collection formed by Rachel Lambert Mellon. The Pomona describes one hundred books and manuscripts about fruit, with illustrations taken from some of the most beautiful books on the subject, as well as from original drawings and paintings. The earliest book described is Bussato's Giardino di Agricoltura of 1592, the latest The Herefordshire Pomona, an encyclopaedia of apples and pears from the 1870s. In between there is a gathering of fruit books large and small: La Quintinie's Instruction pour les Jardins fruitiers, first published in 1690 and translated by John Evelyn three years later, Duhamel's Traite des Arbres fruitiers, and nearly fifty others from France and Britain, among them Brookshaw's giant Pomona Britannica and a handful of pocket-sized books of directions for grafting and cultivating the best varieties available. Sections on fruit-growing in these two countries are followed by others on fruit elsewhere in Europe (including the books of Knoop, Gallesio, and Bivort) and fruit in America (with Downing, Hovey, and several sets of nuserymen's plates), with chapters on citrus fruit (beginning with Ferrari's Hesperides of 1646), apples and pears, peaches and soft fruit, grapes, melons, and tropical fruit. Each description makes clear the background of the book concerned and its relationship to others, while a generous number of illustrations in color and black and white help to give the impression of their contents. Many of the Oak Spring copies have particularly interesting associations, recorded in inscriptions, bookplates, or binding details, all of which are described.

In these descriptive, discursive catalogues a strictly chronological arrangement has been abandoned in favor of grouping books related by their subject, in order to emphasize their connections. Although there is a brief bibliographical summary of each book, the background essays give the Oak Spring catalogues a historical setting that should appeal not only to book collectors and librarians, but also to garden historians, botanists, and all those interested in fruit cultivation and gardening in general.

1990, 320 pages. 9-5/8 x 11-1/4 inches, including 170 illustrations, over 70 of them in color.

From the Publisher
Oak Spring Garden Library comprises Rachel Lambert Mellon's celebrated collection of rare books, manuscripts, works of art, and related artifacts concerning gardens, gardening, landscape design, horticulture, and botany. Conserved at Upperville, Virginia, in a striking library designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes in consultation with Rachel Mellon, the collection is both a unique historical archive and a day-to-day working resource. Among Rachel Mellon's own contributions to the art of garden design are the Rose Garden and Jacqueline Kennedy Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C. Her honors include the Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Royal Horticultural Society's Veitch Gold Medal, and the American Horticultural Society Landscape Design Award, and recently she has been recognized for her assistance during the restoration of the Potager du Roi at Versailles.

The cloth-bound catalogues that describe the holdings of the Oak Spring Garden Library are printed on acid-free paper and are designed, printed, and bound to the highest standards. Each volume is richly illustrated with duotone and color images.

An Oak Spring Sylva: A Selection of the Rare Books on Trees (1989)

An Oak Spring Pomona: A Selection of the Rare Books on Fruit (1990)

An Oak Spring Flora: Flower Illustration from the Fifteenth Century to the Present Time (1997)

An Oak Spring Hortus: Garden Design in the West since the Renaissance (forthcoming)

An Oak Spring Flora Mundi: Regional Floras and Travels (forthcoming)

An Oak Spring Herbaria: Herbs and Herbals in Western Culture (forthcoming)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (December 26, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300049366
• ISBN-13: 978-0300049367
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 10.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,192,902 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #100 in

  Books > Arts & Photography > Design & Decorative Arts > Graphic Design > Commercial > Science Illustration