A History of Garden Art

This is a beautifully illustrated set of "A History of Garden Art" by Marie Luise Gothein. 1928; J.M. Dent & Sons; London. Complete set in two volumes. The volumes are profusely illustrated with over 600 photographs and figures. Nicely bound with decorative gilt front covers and spines; gilt top page edges. Hefty, oversized set - each volume measures 11" tall x 8 1/4" wide.

The contents are as follows:
VOLUME I - Ancient Egypt; Western Asia in Ancient Times; Ancient Greece; The Roman Empire; Byzantine Gardens and the Countries of Islam; The Middle Ages in the West; Italy in the Time of the Renaissance and the Baroque Style; Spain and Portugal in the Time of the Renaissance; France in the Time of the Renaissance; England in the Time of the Renaissance.
VOLULME II - Germany and the Netherlands in the Time of the Renaissance; The Time of Louis XIV; The French Garden in European Countries; China and Japan; The English Landscape Garden; Tendencies of Garden Art in the Nineteenth Century; Modern English Gardening; Landscape Architecture in North America (United States and Canada).

From the Preface: "The History of Garden Art is a work of supreme ability. To those who have made a lifelong study of gardening - and the number is probably greater than is commonly supposed - it must make an irresistible appeal, for its pages present a panorama beginning in that dim past in which history itself took birth, and extending through ages crowded with vital events and heroic figures. It is at once significant and enthralling to realize how closely gardening has been interwoven with those decisive occurrences and those momentous personalities which have affected human destinies the most profoundly. The History of Garden Art easily takes its place as a garden classic - one might almost say, so all-embracing is its scope, as a historical and social classic.

Condition:
Light soiling/staining to the covers. Sharp cover corners. VOLUME 1 - crack at front hinge between the end paper & frontispiece resulting in the front cover being a bit shaky; the text pages are clean with no notable issues found; bookplate affixed to front pastedown; the front end paper has a red checkmark at the top-left corner and a name/address/date written in green pen; light foxing & tanning to the end papers & pastedowns; staining at the bottom and outer edges of the text block. VOLUME II - tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages; bookplate affixed to front pastedown; 2 different names/addresses/dates written in pen on front end paper; the pages are mostly clean with the exception of a few pages at the front and at the back that have some light foxing and tanning; light stain at the lower-outer corner of the text block. Overall the set is in Good+ condition.