EVELYN, John (1620-1706). Silva: or, a Discourse of Forest-Trees. Alexander Hunter, editor. York: Printed by A. Ward for J. Dodsley et al, 1786.

2 volumes, 4to (305 x 241 mm). 43 engraved plates (one folding), 2 folding tables. (Spotting.) Contemporary calf (covers detached).

The "New Edition" of Evelyn's best-known work and the first major work published in England on forest trees; "It contains an enormous amount of information concerning the cultivation of the various kinds of forest trees, and the uses of their timber, together with facts and anecdotes obtained from books, both classical and contemporary. The work was a success from the start. Its publication gave a great stimulus to planting in Britain [....] No other work on arboriculture exerted a greater influence on forestry in this country than Evelyn's Sylva” (Henrey). This new edition is the first to contain Evelyn's Terra (originally published as A Philosophical Discourse of Earth, 1676), his notable contribution to horticulture. Henrey, p.138; Nissen BBI 615; Oak Spring Silva 33.