Fruit Variety Register 1580-1660, Volume 1: Apples-Mulberries

Historical rabbit holes, for those who are inclined.

These slender booklets from Historical Management Associates are the work of an organization dedicated to historical re-enactment in the UK. They are written with a stickler’s attention to historical precision and a conviction that nothing is too arcane to investigate. Some of the books are simple transcriptions of period manuscripts; others represent significant original research, as in Cattle Farming and Grazing Management, which is 52 pages long but cites 36 sources, many of them published in the 17th century.

From the introduction:

“This work sets out to catalogue the orchard fruit varieties grown on farms or in cottage gardens of the period rather than the exotics grown in the great nobles specialist plots.  Leeway has been given in favour of including species and varieties where there is doubt to their social standing.”

Staplebound pamphlet. 52 pages.