Bradley, RichardBiblio.com
The Science of Good Husbandry: or the Oeconomics of Xenophon. Shewing the Method of Ruling and Ordering a Family and of Managing a Farm to the Best Advantage
1727015648London: Thomas Corbet at Addison's Head without Temple-Bar 1727. First and only edition. Small octavo pp 8 131 pages slightly waved as this is an unpressed copy occasional slight creases or marks a slim marginal worm-hoile affects the lower margin of a few leaves but overall a very clean copy internally endpapers a little stained a small contemporary signature label on the front endpaper contemporary mottled calf a simple single marginal gilt line rather worn at the edges the lower cover scuffed rebacked at a later stage with a simple calf spine raised bands and a black title label. The covers slightly bowed. RARE. Little is known about Bradley's childhood aside from an early interest in gardening and the fact that he lived in the vicinity of London a city at the time with many amateur naturalists. Though Bradley lacked a university education his first publication Treatise of Succulent Plants gained him traction with influential patrons like James Petiver and later Hans Sloane. With their support he was proposed and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1712 at the age of 24. Two years later Bradley visited the Netherlands and took an interest in horticulture. He spent the next decade back in England writing treatises on topics related to this central interest like weather fertiliser productivity and plant hybridisation. In recognition of his work in the field and with the thereafter unfulfilled promise that he would found and fund a university botanical garden the University of Cambridge named Bradley its first professor of botany in 1724 a position he would hold until his death. As Bradley was not a wealthy man in his later life and as this was an unsalaried position the newly minted academic continued to focus most of his efforts on making a living through publishing. According to his rival and successor John Martyn as well as his successor son Thomas Martyn Bradley did this at the expense of his students whom he reportedly neglected to even lecture to. Bradley made notable innovations and discoveries across a wide array of disciplines. For example this work included directions for the making and use of a rudimentary kaleidoscope to aid in formal garden design and layout. He also wrote about cooking and was the first to publish recipes in the English language using the then-exotic pineapple as the main ingredient. His History of Succulent plants was the seminal treatise on the topic and his studies of tulips and auriculas helped further accurate theories of plant reproduction. Bradley was also a pioneer in the examining of fungal spore germination and the pollination of plants by insects. His publications additionally contained information on how to build and use greenhouses early theories regarding agricultural productivity and pond ecology. First Edition. Full-Leather. Very Good. Thomas Corbet, at Addison's Head without Temple-Bar Hardcover
Mike Park Ltd · Royaume-Uni750,00 £GB≈ 856,35 €
