BACON (Francis) et Abraham COWLEY Lot n° 150

On Gardens. Two Essays. London, Robt. River & Sound, 1909. Petit in-12 carré, 4 ff.n.ch., pp. 9-45, 1 ff.n.ch. (Printer's name on verso): blue morocco, frame of three gold fillets and stylized flowering stems, the buds mosaicked in green, rectangle in the centre, back ornamented, golden rose and mosaic in the caissons, inner frame with plant iron at the corners, head gilt, untrimmed (Riviere & Son). This edition brings together two texts on the gardens composed in England during the reign of the Stuarts: the famous evocation of the ideal garden, Of Gardens, initially published in 1625 in The Essayes by Francis Bacon (1561-1626), evoking the garden as the purest of man's leisure activities, conducive to the relaxation of the mind, and speaking of the size and shape of gardens, plants and their scent, fountains, etc., then a poem by the poet Abraham Cowley (1618-1667). Printed on laid paper, the text is embellished with some ornate initials printed in red. Charming river binding. Rare stitching.