REPTON, Humphry, assisted by his son J. Adey Repton. ~ Fragments on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening. Including some remarks on Grecian and Gothic Architecture, collected from various manuscripts, in the possession of the different Noblemen and Gentlemen, for whose use they were originally written; the whole tending to establish fixed principles in the respective arts.
First edition, complete with half title and list of plates with errata. Plates from drawings by Humphry Repton. 24 hand-coloured aquatint plates, (3 double-page), of which 10 have overslips; 5 tinted aquatint plates, of which 1 has an overslip; 13 uncoloured aquatint plates, of which 3 have overslips; 9 uncoloured aquatint vignettes, of which 2 have overslips; wood-engraved vignettes and figures in text.
Pp. xii, 238, [2] (list of plates). Large 4to., contemporary drab boards, a very good untrimmed copy. Rebacked with an early hand-written spine label laid down, boards a little worn but strengthened at very edges and hence a robust, handsome copy in original untrimmed condition with large margins. Housed in a green morocco backed solander box, spine gilt.
Repton’s final treatise on landscape gardening which brings together all of Repton’s work into a book which could be understood by anyone intersted. Charmingly the final plate with overslip shows the work Repton did on the aspect from his own cottage in Hare Street which what appears to be an image of the old man himself resting on the fence. He relates the care of the aspect of small areas as being the same as the great aristocratic estates and Royal domains. He talks of his framing of his 25 yards of Garden from which he can see “the cheerful village, the high road, and that constant moving scene, which I would not exchange for any of the lonely parks that I have improved for others...Others prefer still life, I delight in movement”.
He rails against owners banishing the public from their grounds and writes that he believes that the beautiful parks and pleasure-grounds should be open “to cheer the hearts and delight the eyes of all, who have taste to enjoy the benefits of Nature” whilst honouring the joy of ownership or what he calls “Appropriation”.
In Fragment Twelve, titled 'Concerning Colours,' Repton discusses colour theory and includes detailed instructions for the artisans who colored the aquatints in Fragments by hand. In this chapter he illustrates his colour theory with a fascinating plate that includes a diagram explaining the 'Harmony of Colours' as well as instructions for colouring a landscape scene 'before and after sun-rise; that is, before and after the natural process of colouring takes place.'
He ends what he sees as his final words on his art with the words of Voltaire “who, after enumerating various experiments to obtain happiness, concludes...Allons mes amis, il faut cultiver nos jardins”.
Repton died two years later.
Booklabel of George Seton Veitch