Le Théâtre d'Agriculture

In-folio of (8) leaves, 1004 pp, (10) leaves.
Full ivory vellum, smooth spine, black morocco label on spine, marbled edges, marginal dampstains, marginal tear to 2 leaves… Binding circa 1820.

326 x 212 mm.

Serres, Olivier de. Le Théâtre d'Agriculture et stewardship of the fields.
Paris, Iamet Metayer, 1600. Official printer to King Henry IV.

“Very rare first edition” (Tchemerzine) of “the extremely remarkable theatre of agriculture by Olivier de Serres” (Pierre Larousse), the first modern treatise on agronomy.
Tchemerzine, V, 817; Pritzel, 8630; Mortimer, French Books, 494; Thiebaud, 840; Schwerdt, II, 156-157; Kress, 236; En français dans le texte, 79.

“This is the first great French treatise on agronomy. The prose of Serres, in the wake of Montaigne and Saint Francis de Sales, is clear and beautiful… More than twenty successive editions attest to its success” (En français dans le texte).

Olivier de Serres, lord of Pradel (1539-1619), was a gentleman farmer deeply attached to his land. He was able to settle there from 1573 onward and redoubled his efforts to make it a model estate, practicing the cultivation of maize and mulberry, bringing in water through irrigation canals, introducing the potato to the soil of Vivarais, and even using artificial meadows. He was called to Paris by Henry IV.

His Théâtre d’agriculture et mesnage des champs, in which he recorded with delightful simplicity the results of 40 years’ research and practice, brought him a fame that would fade only at the end of the seventeenth century, with the emergence of La Maison rustique by Ch. Estienne and Liébault.

The actions of Olivier de Serres, at first isolated, became a symbol of the economic recovery that Henry IV sought to inspire.

“Through his work as a rural landowner, Olivier de Serres never lost sight of the national interest; he wished to convince gentlemen to personally manage their estates; he read the old treatises on agronomy, found them insufficient and outdated; and so, over thirty years, he devoted his leisure to composing a treatise that could be of use in his time. The work is dedicated to Henry IV, who instantly recognized how this book could support his efforts to pacify minds and bring about economic recovery. As a result, the king did not stint on his praise. It is said that he had several pages read to him after dinner each day. The utility of this work, royal protection, and its relevance won it a great and lasting success, as shown by the many editions produced in the first half of the seventeenth century” (Dictionnaire des Œuvres).

“It can be said that, for almost two centuries at least, it was the bedside book of all educated agronomists” (Davy de Virville).

The work is illustrated with an engraved frontispiece by Malleru, sixteen woodcut figures in the text representing parterres, and eight engraved woodcut headpieces at the start of each chapter depicting scenes of rural life.