Details from the interior of the book

Alfred de Sauty (1870-1949) was a bookbinder who produced tooled bindings of exceptional delicacy. De Sauty was active in London from approximately 1898 to 1923 and in Chicago from 1923 to 1935. His finest work is thought to be have been accomplished between 1905 and 1914. Many aspects of his life are poorly documented. For instance, scholars are unsure whether, when in London, de Sauty worked independently, for the firm of Riviere & Sons, or both. While in London, he may also have been a designer for the Hampstead Bindery and a teacher at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. When he lived in Chicago, de Sauty worked for the hand bindery of R. R. Donnelley & Sons. He signed his work at the foot of the front doublure, if present, and at the center of the bottom turn-in of the front upper board, if not. Works he produced in London are signed "de S" or "De Sauty." Works he produced in Chicago are signed with his employer's name, "R. R. Donnelly."

The Curious and Profitable Gardener

There are several criteria by which a book can be deemed "rare" or "exceptional." It could be one of a small number printed in a certain year. It could be signed by the author. It could have a remarkable or unique binding. It could have been owned, in the course of its life, by a well-known person.

The volume of The Curious and Profitable Gardener owned by the Botany Libraries is of historical interest for the text it contains, one of its known previous owners, and the bookbinder who created its current binding. It was previously owned by Oakes Ames (1874-1950), a respected American botanist who specialized in the study of orchids. Ames was very interested in the field of economic botany and spent his entire professional career at Harvard University. He was married to Blanche Ames, an accomplished artist, and together they amassed a large botanical library. In the early 20th century, Ames had a number of his early 15th to 18th century botanical works rebound in fine leather bindings to suit his own particular aesthetic tastes. This particular volume came to the Botany Libraries in 1918 when Ames donated a collection of economic botany material from his personal library.

The Curious and Profitable Gardener was authored by John Cowell. This volume was printed in 1730 in London for Weaver Bickerton and R. Montagu.

The copy owned by the Botany Libraries is bound in brown goatskin with a central green circular decorative medallion. The medallion depicts a standing man bent over facing right holding a shovel. The decoration on the front and back covers is identical. The covers, spine, inside front cover (turn-ins), inside back cover (turn-ins), headcap, and all edges are tooled in gold. The exterior borders on each cover are composed of double straight lines tooled in gold. There are blossoms tooled in blind in each of the four corners. The spine is rounded and tight-backed. The binder's stamp "De Sauty" is centered on the lower turn-in of the front upper board.

The volume is in good condition. The leather is slightly scuffed in several places, particularly on corners and edges. The headcap at the tail is slightly cracked. This is a laced in binding, and the book opens well. It is sewn with white thread, probably cotton. There are double headbands at both the head and tail, made of red and brown thread, possibly silk. There is some acid migration from the leather turn-ins on both the front and back end sheets. There is moderate foxing of the text block paper. There is no evidence of tears and the paper is not brittle.

This book has been completely rebound. New endsheets have been added. The text block has not been trimmed.

Detail from cover

When was The Curious and Profitable Gardener bound? We can determine an approximate date for this bookbinding by applying some logical reasoning. We know that Alfred de Sauty worked in London from approximately 1898 to 1923. We also know that his finest work was accomplished between 1905 and 1914. This binding is most likely done in London because it is signed "De Sauty." The binding must have been made prior to 1918, when Oakes Ames donated it to the Harvard University Botany Libraries. These circumstances give us a nice terminus post quem (limit after which) and terminus ante quem (limit before which) of broadly 1898-1918. Based on the style and material of the bindings, as well as what we know about Oakes Ames's life, the range of circa 1900-1917 is most likely. To date, no relevant archival material has been found that would definitely answer this question. Barring further information, this general date range is as specific as one can be.

This bookbinding is a nice example of an early 20th century, English, fine, leather binding. However, one can not help but wonder what earlier binding materials were discarded in the rebinding process.

The Compleat Gard'ner, or, Directions for cultivating and right order of fruit-gardens, and kitchen gardens was authored by Jean de La Quintinie (1626 to 1688). This volume was printed in 1699 in London for M. Gillyflower, and sold by Andrew Bell.

The copy owned by the Botany Libraries is bound in a reddish brown Morocco goatskin with a central reddish circular decorative inlaid medallion. The medallion depicts a standing man bent over facing left with a fruit tree in front of him and a basket of tools behind him. The decoration on the front and back covers is identical. The covers, spine, inside front cover (turn-ins), headcap, and all edges are tooled in gold. The exterior borders on each cover are composed of double straight lines, one gold-tooled and the other blind-tooled. The inlaid central medallion is surrounded by a single border tooled in gold. Blind-tooled fleur-de-lys appear in each of the four corners. The spine is divided into six panels by five raised bands. The sixth panel, which is nearest the tail of the spine, is larger than the other panels. The title of the book is tooled in gold on the second panel of the spine. The date of publication is tooled in gold on the sixth panel of the spine. The binder's stamp "De Sauty" is centered on the lower turn-in of the front upper board.

The volume is in good condition. The leather is slightly scuffed in several places, particularly on corners and edges. This is a laced in binding, and the book does not open well. It is sewn with white thread, probably cotton. There is a single headband at the head and tail made of green and yellow thread, possibly silk. There is some acid migration from the leather turn-ins on both the front and back end sheets, and extreme foxing of the text block paper which has led to a darkening of some pages. There is no evidence of tears, and the paper is not brittle.

This book has been completely rebound. New endsheets have been added. The text block has not been trimmed.

Detail from cover

Alfred de Sauty

Greenfield, Jane. ABC of Bookbinding: A Unique Glossary with over 700 Illustrations for Collectors and Librarians. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 1998.

Lhotka, Edward R. ABC of Leather Bookbinding: An Illustrated Manual on Traditional Bookbinding. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2000.

Maggs Brothers. Bookbinding in the British Isles. London: Maggs Brothers, 1987.

Tidcombe, Marianne. "The Mysterious Mr. De Sauty." in David Pearson, ed., For the Love of the Binding: Studies in Bookbinding History Presented to Mirjam Foot. (New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press), 329-336.

Oakes Ames

Plimpton, Pauline Ames and George Plimpton. Oakes Ames. Jottings of a Harvard Botanist. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979.

Sax, Karl. "Oakes Ames (1874-1950)." Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 31 (1950): 335-337.

Schultes, Richard Evans, Pauline Ames Plimpton, Gordon W. Dillon, Leslie A. Garay, and Gustavo Romero-González. Orchids at Christmas. Harvard University: Botanical Museum of Harvard University, 1975.