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Michaux's North
American Sylva |
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| All three Michaux volumes
are inscribed presentation copies to the Philadelphia Society for the
Promotion of Agriculture, the first agricultural society founded in
America. (Charter members included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
and Benjamin Franklin.) The inscriptions in volumes I and III are in the
hand of John Vaughan, a prominent wine merchant and patron of the arts
and sciences who served as librarian and secretary of the American
Philosophical Society, and also as president of the Philadelphia Society
for the Promotion of Agriculture. In addition to being a close personal
friend and long-time correspondent of Michaux’s, Vaughan helped
Michaux enormously by personally handling the distribution of The
North American Sylva to prominent individuals, institutions, and
booksellers in America.
In a letter dated August 19, 1818, Michaux instructs Vaughan on the distribution of six presentation copies (this copy included) of The North American Sylva: "for you, my dear friend, one in color and one in black; for B. Vaughan, one in color; for Th. Jefferson, one in color; for Correa de Serra, one in color; for the society of Agriculture, one in color . . ." The inscription in volume II matches the hand of the person who took the minutes of the Society’s meeting on the day the Michaux volumes were received (September 15, 1818). The minutes from that meeting include the following: "F. A. Michaux of Paris presented to the Society through John Vaughan 3 ½ volumes of his North American Sylva . . . Resolved that John Vaughan be instructed to convey to the donor the thanks of this Society for his liberal and splendid present." |
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The North American Sylva is a landmark in the literature of America. In addition to being the first significant survey of American trees and soil, it serves as a fascinating travelogue, providing detailed portraits of the developing American landscape. With Nuttall’s supplement, "it is no exaggeration to remark that it is the most complete work of its kind, and is a production of unrivalled interest and beauty, giving descriptions and illustrations of all the forest trees of North America, from the arctic limits of arborescent vegetation to the confines of the tropical circle" (Sabin 48694-5). |
| Michaux, Francois Andre.
The North American Sylva, or a Description of Forest Trees, of the
United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia. Paris and Philadelphia: C. D’Hautel,
1819-18-19. Three volumes (parts 1-7, complete). With: Nuttall, Thomas.
The North American Sylva . . . Not Described in the Work of F. Andrew
Michaux. Philadelphia: J.Dobson, 1842-49. Three volumes. Quarto, six
volumes in all, mid-19th century straight grain morocco, elaborately
gilt decorated spines, edges dyed yellow, gilt dentelles, marbled
endpapers.
First editions in English, presentation copies, of Michaux’s North American Sylva, the most famous and, until the twentieth-century, the most comprehensive of all American botanicals. With first editions of Nuttall’s later three-volume supplement. All six volumes uniformly bound in ornate mid-19th-century full morocco. With 277 beautiful hand-colored plates. Volumes II and III are first edition, first issue; volume I is a first edition, second issue (the preferred issue). The three Nuttall volumes are all first editions. Expert joint repair. A stunning set, in outstanding condition and beautifully bound, with a remarkable provenance. |