543 - Estienne, Charles. *De re hortensi libellus*. A guide to the Latin names of common herbs, flowers, and fruit trees typically found in gardens, based on the works of established authors. For the enjoyment and benefit of children. With a woodcut printer’s mark on the title page and the last leaf. Lyon, Sebastian Gryphius, 1536. 97 pp., 7 leaves. 15.5 x 10 cm. Contemporary parchment binding.

Estienne, Charles. *De re hortensi libellus*. A guide to the Latin names of common herbs, flowers, and fruit trees typically found in gardens, based on the works of established authors. For the enjoyment and benefit of children. With a woodcut printer’s mark on the title page and the last leaf. Lyon, Sebastian Gryphius, 1536. 97 pp., 7 leaves. 15.5 x 10 cm. Contemporary parchment binding. Baudrier, VIII, 125 - Adams, S-173 - Pritzel 274 - Hunt, I, 45 - Wellcome 322 - Von Gütlingen V, 502. - An early edition of Estienne’s third book for children, and his first to be written not from excerpts by Lazare de Bait but from his own sources. It covers the names and appearance of trees and plants, as well as their French names. Estienne’s writings are considered the first books for children intended not for instruction but for entertainment. They were very successful and appeared in several editions in quick succession. - With a contemporary handwritten bookplate reading “Francj Ma (?) Cessinj.” - Endpapers replaced. Title page bears an old “M” stamp in the lower corner. The printer’s mark is accompanied by the very small handwritten initials “F M C F.” Slightly browned, with occasional minor spots. *