SERRES (Olivier de). Le Théâtre d'agriculture et mesnage des champs. Paris, Jamet Métayer, 1600. In-folio, stiff vellum, single fillet and large medallion of cold arabesques in the centre, five-ribbed spine (Binding of the period). An extremely rare first edition of the most important treatise on agronomy ever published. According to Thiébaud, "this first edition is the finest of all". It is illustrated with a porticoed title-frontispiece featuring Henri IV, the work's dedicatee, engraved on copper by Charles de Mallery, 8 headline vignettes showing scenes of rural life and 16 large woodcut figures of flowerbeds. The first major French treatise on agronomy, this monumental work is of universal interest. Like Montaigne's Essais, its contemporary, Le Théâtre d'agriculture is one of the first great achievements of the modern world's spirit of clarity. Anyone who loves the land, or who wants to understand it, will be delighted to immerse themselves in this enjoyable read. The work, divided into eight "places", describes all agricultural subjects. Repeatedly reprinted, it had a major influence on the production of silk and the cultivation of maize, beetroot and potatoes. It contains a large number of chapters and passages devoted to food and drink, starting in the second place with bread and vegetables, "which are of great use in maintaining the rural lifestyle"; in the third, he discusses wine-making and, in the fourth, butter and cheese-making; finally, in the eighth and last place, the first two chapters deal with "the use of food" and give numerous recipes for bread and wine. "As an agronomist rather than a gastronome, Oliver de Serres was not interested in culinary preparation itself, but in methods of preserving food [...]: techniques for salting different meats on the one hand, and on the other, methods for preserving fruit (with salt, vinegar, must, cooked wine, sugar and honey). The second chapter of Book VIII is a veritable treatise on jam" (Livres en bouche). Finally, the last chapter of the book deals with De la chasse et autres honnestes exercices du gentilhomme. Born into a family of militant Protestants, Olivier de Serres (1539-1619), the father of French agronomy, acquired the Pradel mills in the Vivarais region in 1557, which he converted into a model farm. In 1598, on the death of his brother Jean, pastor and historiographer to King Henri IV, he was appointed joint guardian of his nephews and nieces and went to court to obtain the money promised by the King to their father. But Henri IV would not receive him, so he settled in Paris to work on publishing his Théâtre d'agriculture. A chapter was published in February 1599 under the title La Cueillette de la soye par la nourriture des vers qui la font, followed by the first edition of the book on 1 July 1600. Olivier de Serres did not obtain satisfaction until 1604, when the king had made the Théâtre d'agriculture his bedside book. He was then able to return to his land once and for all. A very fresh copy with good margins (345 x 215 mm). The spine is missing, as is part of the stamped medallion on the first cover. Vicaire, 788 - Bitting, 428 - Livres en bouche, n°88 - Oberlé, n°612 - Simon : Bacchica, II, 619 - Thiébaud, 840 - En français dans le texte, n°79.