Of Garlands and Coronary or Garland Plants. Thomas Browne to John Evelyn Esq. F.R.S.
[Northampton, Massachusetts: Printed for The Smith College Museum of Art at the Gehenna Press, 1962].
Keepsake no. 5 of the Press. Octavo sewn in green, printed wrappers (23.5 x 15.5 cm.), [14]. Title page printed in black, green, and red. FIRST EDITION, publisher's "overprint" issue, limited to 250 copies printed for patrons and friends of the press; from a total edition of 750. Laid-in is a small printed statement from Press, stating that "Smith College Museum of Art has permitted us to overprint 250 copies of this keepsake... [for] our patrons and... our friends". Text consists of a letter from Browne to Evelyn on the use of plants for crowns and garlands by the ancient Greeks and other cultures, with reference to Philostratus, Theophrastus, Pliny, Pollux, and Athenaeus. Browne divides the crowns and garlands into three categories: gestatory, portatory, pensile or suspensory, and – finally – depository. A list of forty-four plants used as crowns or garlands forms part of the letter. [Baskin 30; Brook 31].
Price: $50.00