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| Detail. Jean de la
Quintinie, The compleat gard'ner; or directions for cultivating
and right ordering of fruit-gardens and kitchen-gardens. London:
Printed for Matthew Gillyflower, … and James Partridge, 1693.
DeB Ec/1693/L |
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Gardening for recreation
The Lady's recreation, which deals chiefly with flowers and greenhouses, contains a wonderful frontispiece engraved by Elisha Kirkall, the English artist who produced the first English chiaroscuro prints in 1722. Although nothing appears to be known of the author Charles Evelyn, he was not slow in self-promoting his book. Two letters printed at the back favourably review it. They were signed by John Laurence, the author of The Clergyman's recreation, a book on the culture of fruits. According to Laurence, he never even saw the book.
Gardening for consumption
Jean de la Quintinie was the director General of the Royal Kitchen Gardens to Louis XIV and author of Instructions pour les Jardins Fruitiers et Potagers (1690). The first complete edition in English is The Compleat Gard'ner (1693), a work believed to be translated by George London, the English gardener and nurseryman, and overseen by John Evelyn, the 17th century diarist. Apart from dealing with fruit and kitchen gardens, the book includes a dictionary of horticultural terms, a calendar for the kitchen garden, and a dictionary of kitchen garden plants. On display is the layout of the King's garden at Versailles.
