Paine, William. 18th century herbarium with letterpress title

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270331 From dealer's description: "Folio (312 mm x 195 mm x 45 mm). 68 leaves with over 620 mounted plant specimens, manuscript captions to each in ink. Contemporary reverse calf, rubbed, upper cover detached. Some specimens damaged or missing. Earl of Orrery’s armorial bookplate removed from paste-down and pasted to letterpress verso. Compiled by the professional plant collector William Paine, this substantial English medicinal herbarium is a beautiful and rare artifact. Aside from its aesthetic qualities, the herbarium provides intriguing clues and context to Paine’s wider portfolio, motives and his entrepreneurial talent. Paine compiled different kinds of herbarium for sale. He collected the majority of his specimens in the West Country, but his expeditions also extended to the south coast of England. In this example it appears he is offering his services as a collector of plants most useful to an apothecary, physician, etc. specimens include , “Indian Figg”, “Bread Clover”, “Water Bittony”, Hounds Tongue”, “water planton”, “Wild Cucomber or Spirting Cowcomber”, “poded wild Liquorish (rest harrow?)”, “y e Enchanters night Shade”, “water pursling”, “English Tobacco”, “a small speciment of Forigne Tobacco”, etc. All of these were thought to have efficacious medicinal qualities, however, there are several toxic specimens that would likely do far more harm than good e.g . “Medow saffron”, “Hemlock”, Thorn Aple”, etc. The colour variations of the ink - captions associated with samples varies, suggesting that Paine completed his herbariums over time dependent on season and location. Additionally, he probably compiled several different kinds of herbarium at any one time - a strategy that would have facilitated his prolific product output. This example is unique among Paine’s surviving collections, in that it contains a printed title - dedication page, ‘To ye Right Honble John Boyle, Earl of Orrery [in manuscript] This Hortus Siccus, is Presented by your Humble Servant William Paine Botanist, Collected from the Seas, Rivers, Fields, Woods, and Gardens, of Most Parts of this Kingdom. Anno Dom. 1731 ~ Persons Serv'd since this was printed...’ , ‘BATH, printed by T. Hinton, near the Bridge. 1731. Unrecorded on ESTC and not mentioned in an of his other known herbariums. This is T. Hinton’s earliest publication; he is later recorded at Southwark. Printing is not a feature in Paine’s other surviving herbariums, indicating perhaps that he wanted to convey more professionalism in his work, but that expansion outgrew even his expectations. The printed title - dedication page also includes Paine’s existing list of customers, split into, “Bar’ts” and “Esqs” professions such as, “Doctors and Practitioners in Physick”; “Surgeons”; “Druggists and Apothecarys”; “Divines, Gentlemen, and trades Men”; “Gentlewomen”. Among those listed is “Thomas Player” Paine is known to have dedicated a copy of a West Country counties herbarium to Player, which he commenced in 1730 (Christie’s 2003). Together with the manuscript text that follows, titled “Persons Serv d . since, this was Printed” , this list of customers functions as an advert leaf showcasing his popularity. It appears a successful strategy, as this herbarium has almost 50 additional names compared to Player’s copy, commenced one year earlier which had 108 subscribers. Despite the transition to a generic printed - title page, Paine goes to the trouble of writing a dedication, inscribed “To the Right Hon ble John Boyle Earl of Orrery” . This perhaps demonstrates that Paine has seen value in retaining the ‘personal touch’ and bespoke character of his product. The Earl of Orrery (1707 - 1762) was a writer and a friend of Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Samuel Johnson. He shunned public affairs wherever possible, preferring instead the rural tranquility of his estate at Marston, Somerset, or his wife's house at Caledon. Following his marriage in 1732 he made significant improvements to the gardens of both estates. A charming and unique example of Paine’s work, this medicinal herbarium is redolent of both the working conditions of its creator and the wider context of its creation. Rather than a hobby or intellectual pursuit of the elite, collecting plants and compiling herbariums was Paine’s livelihood and perhaps his sole source of income. According to Dandy, Paine “was evidently a man of no education” (Sloane Herbarium, 1958). However, although he lacked formal qualifications, features of this herbarium suggest that Paine was a hard - working and shrewd entrepreneur. Collation of the other available materials ought to yield a greater understanding both of Paine’s practices and of 18 th century plant collectors in general." Ordered from Dean Byass, D 9202, 2018-05-14, Battersea Bibliolater (London Book Fair 2018 catalog), item 1