Selections from the Collection of Dr. Eugene Vigil and the Remaining Stock of Antiquariat Botanicum Lots 67-192
Chicago native Dr. Eugene L. Vigil began his career as a scientist, earning his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Iowa in 1967. From 1971-1988, Dr. Vigil taught Botany at Marquette University and the University of Maryland. He was appointed plant physiologist in 1988 for the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture until 1995, when he was appointed Program Director for the NIH. Dr. Vigil is a leader in botanical science and industry, advancing our understanding of plant cell organization. He transitioned to full-time bookselling in 2001. As a person of Hispanic and Navajo descent, Dr. Vigil has sought to encourage young Hispanic and Indigenous students to STEM fields. Since 1995, he has devoted his time to helping other minority scientists achieve success and is a Life Member of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). Vigil was first introduced to the book trade through his interest in gardening, specifically teaching himself how to build a rock garden. His surplus of gardening books after these explorations prompted him to find a way to sell them, leading him to his second career as a bookseller. He founded Antiquariat Botanicum in 1987, where he has sold books from the 15th to the 20th centuries on Botany, Gardening, Mathematics, Medicine, Natural History, and Science and Technology, as well as Travel and Exploration. The antiquarian materials he sold reflect his knowledge of botany, cell biology, the history of biomedical science. Vigil has been a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of American (ABAA) since 1999, and is a member, by affiliation, of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). Hindman is pleased to offer selections from his collection and the remaining stock of Antiquariat Botanicum, and will offer further selections in 2022.
67 AGRICOLA, Georg Andreas (1672-1738). Versuch einer allgemeinen Vermehrung aller Baume, Staude und Blumengewachse. Regensburg: Johann Leopold Montag & Johann Heinrich Gruner, 1772. 2 parts in one volume, folio (365 x 220 mm). Half-titles, title to part I printed in red and black; 2 engraved frontispieces; 34 engraved plates in text (2 folding). Modern vellum-backed marbled boards, uncut. Later edition of the first book devoted to tree and plant cuttings and grafting, first published in 1716-1717. Though earlier editions of Agricola’s work were primarily concerned with fruit trees, the present edition provides a detailed exposition of different methods to propagate new trees not only from grafting cuttings to roots of the same species of tree, but also grafting similar trees of different species to generate new varieties. See Hunt 452. $2,000 - 3,000
68 [ALBUM - CHINESE SCHOOL]. Album containing 10 ink and color drawings on pith paper, ca 1860s. Oblong 8vo album containing 10 finely drawn ink and color drawings on pith paper, each measuring about 105 x 168 mm, and mounted onto larger sheets (238 x 150 mm) within blue printed borders. (Some overall browning from adhesive, some minor cracking with occasional small losses.) Bound in 19th-century cloth-covered boards (rebacked). Provenance: Mrs. M. N. Clarke (signature, with a note that the album was given to the owner in 1862). The subjects include flowering pants, birds and butterflies. Pith comes from the central column of spongy cellular tissue in the stem of the small tree Tetrapanax papyrifera, native to southwest China. because of the nature of pith and its cellular structure, the pigment used sits on the surface of the sheet, and fine detail could be achieved. Albums of pith paintings retain their vibrant colors. $800 - 1,200
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FINE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS INCLUDING AMERICANA
