Citrus.- Sterbeeck (Franciscus van) Citricultura oft Regeringhe der uythemsche Boomen en te weten Oranien..., first edition, engraved frontispiece, coat-of-arms, and 14 plates, additional f. without signature bound between p.74-75 (all called for), lacking final blank f., small marginal repair to frontispiece not affecting image, Jean Nicolas Georges Bockenhemer bookplate, contemporary calf, gilt spine, spine ends chipped, joints starting, [Hunt 365; Nissen BBI, 1893; Pritzel 8948; Stafleu & Cowan 13013], 4to, Antwerp, Joseph Jacobs, 1682.

⁂ First edition of Sterbeeck’s rare treatise on the culture of citrus fruit in the Low Countries. The work deals with various fruits such as oranges, pomegranates, and passionflowers; Sterbeeck also offers suggestions on the management of exotic trees, indoors in winter or outdoors in summers, and the various ways to care for them. Sterbeeck (1630-93) was an Antwerp-born priest and botanist; he also wrote the earliest work solely devoted to fungi, 'Theatrum fungorum', in 1675.