COLUMELLE (Lucius Junius Moderatus). De re rustica,... Lot 34

COLUMELLE (Lucius Junius Moderatus). De re rustica, libri XII. Paris, Robert Estienne, September 1, 1543. 2 parts in one vol. in-8 posterior half parchment. I) 498 pp, (10) ff. of index, 1 blank f. - II) 70 ff. and (2) ff. Beautiful Latin edition by Robert Estienne, printed in italics, including in fine (separate pagination) the notes of Pietro Vettori of Florence. Born in Cadiz in the first century, Columella, an agronomist and landowner, traveled throughout the Iberian Peninsula, Gaul, Italy, Greece, Cilicia, Syria and the vicinity of Carthage to study the agricultural traditions, various customs and techniques of these peoples. Installed in Rome, he wrote his treaty in 42. In these XII books, Columelle approaches all the aspects of the rustic life: management of the grounds, roles of the Master and the servants, agricultural councils... Certain passages are true treaties, concerning the vine (books III and IV), the fields and the cattle (V), the cheese (VI), the farmyard (VIII), the apiculture (IX), the tenant farm (XI), and various councils on the house and various receipts: vinegars, mustard, mead, cheese, dry fruits, wine making, how to make oil, to preserve the olives and other vegetables and fruits... (XII). Book X is a poem in verse about gardens. And following book XII, there is a treaty of trees. On the title, manuscript bookplate of 1758, Nicolas Bugniatre, of the Abbey of Saint-Jean de Laon. Illegible library stamp. Contemporary marginal notes on pp. 29 and 361-368. Light spotting but not serious. Median fold to first few leaves with small hole at gutter. Boards rubbed. Renouard, Estienne, p. 55 - Adams, C 2410 - Schreiber, 70b.