A most appealing set of the uncommon Italian translation of Dumont de Courset's important work of botanical instruction. The existence of an Italian edition is firm evidence of the centrality of Le Botaniste Cultivateur in European practice, and shows clearly the enduring impact of the Parisian gardens, notably Malmaison and Dumont de Courset's own garden at Boulogne-sur-Mer.

A most appealing set of the uncommon Italian translation of Dumont de Courset's important work of botanical instruction. The existence of an Italian edition is firm evidence of the centrality of Le Botaniste Cultivateur in European practice, and shows clearly the enduring impact of the Parisian gardens, notably Malmaison and Dumont de Courset's own garden at Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Le Botaniste Cultivateur was de Courset's magnum opus, a sweeping study of the subject which, among much of interest, included a long account of the gardens at Malmaison, a discussion of the latest news from London, right through to comments on the cost of exotic plants and hints on how to grow them. Particularly noteworthy is his extensive list of plants, which gives the best and most thorough account of where and how exotics were being grown in France.

This Italian edition was based on the revised second French edition of 1811, further expanded to provide a more detailed overview of the "plante straniere naturalizzate ed indigene coltivate in Francia, in Austria, in Italia, ed in Inghilterra." The notice of exotics is of course particularly significant, not least those from "Nuova Olanda". There had been an earlier German edition based on the first edition of 1802-1805, but this Italian edition is the only contemporary translation of the complete and revised work.