1st edition. 1704 Dictionarium Rusticum et Urbanicum: Or, A Dictionary... of Country Affairs

The 1st edition of the Dictionarium Rusticum et Urbanicum: Or, a Dictionary of All Sorts of Country Affairs...

A remarkable work, that covers farming, fishing, birding, gunpowder, beer-making, cooking, etc. See the (very) full descriptive title below. A remarkable, practical, and useful work for those wishing to apply scientific advances to rural life.

This work met with success and was immediately followed by a second issue, identified by a different name at the printer's mark. It was reprinted several times in the following decades, each time being expanded.

Full Descriptive Title -

Dictionarium rusticum & urbanicum: or, a dictionary of all sorts of country affairs, handicraft, trading, and merchandizing. Containing more particularly the whole art of gardening, viz. sowing, setting, grafting, transplanting, salleting, &c. with the names, descriptions, and uses, of all kinds of plants, flowers, and fruits. The raising and ordering of all manner of forest and fruit-trees, and dwarfs. Agriculture in the various parts of it, and the modern improvements made therein. The gentleman’s recreation; or the arts of hunting, hawking, fishing, fowling, ferreting, cock-fighting, &c. including (besides the several animals) the tackling, nets, and different instruments used therein. The breeding, feeding, and managing of all sorts of cattle, as also of bees, poultry, and singing-birds; with all their respective diseases, and cures. The preparing of all sorts of English liquors, common eatables and drinkables; with the several parts of country housewifry. The digging, refining, &c. of minerals; salt, and sugar-works; and the arts of making brick, birdlime, gunpowder, shot, &c. merchandizing, trading, and handicraft terms and instruments. The produce, manufactory, &c. of the counties of England, and of foreign parts. The ancient customs, and natural rarities of England. Illustrated with cuts of all sorts of nets, traps, engines, &c.

About the Author -

Because the author is not stated, it has been attributed to Nathan Bailey and John Worlidge. Mr. Worlidge printed, "Systema Agriculturae..." in 1669, with further additions following, in which is found a "Dictionarium Rusticum" glossary; it is much smaller in scope than the full work here printed, but shares some of the odder words, like, "Ablactation", and "Ablaqueation". Bailey printed Dictionaries in a similar style, but his first known edition was around 1720. It seems likely that Worlidge was the author.

Regarding Worlidge, little is known other than that he printed several treatises on agriculture and hailed from Petersfield in the county of Hampshire, Gentleman. It seems his family included one estate manager, and the botanist John Goodyer.

Bibliographic Details -

English Short Title Catalogue number T138447.

Worldcat OCLC numbers 1049459131 and 45210536

Goldsmiths'-Kress Library of Economic Literature - no. 4047

Physical Attributes -

Measures approx. 20 x 12 x 4.5 cm. Leather binding. Boards with blind fillet frame. Board edges rolled with gilt tool. Spine with title in gilt on black morocco in one compartment; four raised bands. Sprinkled edges. Occasional illustrations.

Pages - Not numbered, based on collation 834

Collation - A5, B-3G8. The odd A5 matches the catalogue entries.

Condition -

See pictures. Leather binding is dry; some crazing to spine (cracks). Joints cracked. Edge and corner wear. Some rubs to boards. Turn-ins ghosted endpapers. Lots of writing at front endpaper, some in old hands (shelfmarks), others newer. Looks like an ink spill settled into the gutter at front endpaper. Some separation between endpaper and text block at gutter. The first three leaves were opened poorly, leaving rough edges and chipping to the edges; bottom corner of second leaf missing. Some toning throughout, with occasional fox spots. Occasional thumb, dog-eared page, etc.. Occasional deckled-edge to page. Small candle ember hole in fore-edge margin of Low leaf. More toned at last ten leaves. Moisture mark from top-edge into margin at last third. Hinge cracked at rear, "080" on pastedown.