Pomology.- France.- Poiteau (A.) Pomologie Française. Recueil des Plus Beaux Fruits cultivés en France, 4 vol., 420 stipple-engraved plates printed in colour and finished by hand, 3 stipple-engraved plates, tissue-guards, 7pp. Swedish manuscript document pasted to vol.1 front free endpaper, "Säfstaholms Bibliothek" bookplates, bookseller's sticker, contemporary half calf, gilt spines, a little rubbed, [Nissen BBI 551; Stafleu & Cowan 1548], folio, Paris, 1846.

⁂ A fine copy with noble provenance of the most attractive fruit book ever produced. This work represents the apogee of French stipple-engraved colour printing achieved by Redouté and his pupils. The plates first appeared accompanying Antoine Poiteau and Pierre Jean François Turpin's edition of Duhamel du Monceau's 'Traité des Arbres fruitiers' published in 72 parts 1807-1835. After Turpin's death in 1840 Poiteau, who was the sole author of the text, took control of the plates and removed Turpin's name from them. He also arranged text and plates according to the group of fruit whereas the 1807-1835 edition was without systematic arrangement.

Poiteau and Turpin were both outstanding botanical artists in the 'Redouté' style and utilised the techniques of colour-printing Redouté had devised. The 'Pomologie française' was published by Langlois the great master of colour printing who supervised much of Redouté's best work. A team of over twenty engravers worked on the plates. Four manuscript leaves in Swedish bound in before the title of the first volume mention the name of Gustav Trolle-Bonde.

Provenance: Bookplate of the Säfstaholms Bibliothek with the initials GTB (Gustaf Trolle-Bonde) at head of bookplate and on all spines. Gustaf Trolle-Bonde (1773-1855) was a patron of the arts and collector of books and paintings. He inherited Säfstaholms in 1797 and rebuilt and redesigned large parts of the estate to house his growing art collection and library. The library was sold in 1920. The estate is now an art museum showcasing Swedish artists from the early 20th century.