120. [Vade Mecum]. A Vade Mecum for Malt=Worms: or, a Guide to Good Fellows. Being a description of the manners and customs of the most eminent publick houses, in and about the cities of London and Westminster. With a hint on the props (or principal customers) of each house. In a method so plain that any thirsty person (of the meanest capacity) may easily find the nearest way from one house to another. Illustrated with proper cuts. Dedicated to the brewers. London: Printed and sold by T. Bickerston, n.d. 23 cm. 56, 48 pages. Headpiece woodcut illustrations. "The Second Part" has a title page similar to the first. Bookplate of Larchmont Yacht Club, presented by "James B. Ford." Faded violet-brown cloth, gilt title on spine. Spine frayed and partially cracked at hinges. Small inkstains at bottom edge of front pastedown, and at bottom edge of back cover. Contents clean.  

Each page, with the street name at its head, sings the virtues of a different pub. The book is reminiscent of "The Search after Claret … a Farther Search … and the Last Search …" which preceded it [see my Catalogue S, item 55), and which was poetically perhaps a trifle better. Since there were so many worthy pubs in London, additional names are listed as footnotes on a number of pages. Here are some samples from this ode to drunkenness.

 From the Charles in Rosemary Lane [page 16, part 1]

"… To this same House where funcking Chaps in Throngs,
Through Clouds arising from Tobacco, joke,
And swill, and cannot see themselves for Smoak."

"Nor shall the Sign of Paul, the Saint, be miss'd,
Kept by a Trojan, true as ever piss'd; . . . . . .
To drown himself in Belch, or act the Swine,
By wallowing in the Channel after Wine;
And then by Watchman led to Lodging Door,
To tumble into Bed to Stink and Snore …"

 And in Chancery-lane, the last house in part one [page 56]:

"Here I should stop, since Ancient Poets tell,
There's no Return when once we're got to Hell: . . . . . 
Take my Farewell of Water mix'd with Grains, 
To drink these Heavenly Dews that HUMPHREYS'S house contains. 
Wine! Generous Wine! that every Want supplies, 
Gives Peace to restless Minds, and Light to darkned Eyes …"

Simon lists this title (BG #1518) as a modern facsimile reprint, original date c.1720. Bookdealer listings guess the date of this reprint variously as ca. 1850 or 1870. As for the donor of this book to the Larchmont Yacht Club, he may well be Commodore James B. Ford, a wealthy New Yorker who gave a gift of $6,000 to his friend, explorer Robert Abram Bartlett (born Nfld 1875, died NYC 1946), which Bartlett used to purchase the schooner Effie M. Morrissey in Newfoundland, allowing him to continue his Arctic explorations with another 20 voyages. It's a long story.

121. Valaer, Peter. Wines of the World. New York: Abelard Press, (1950). 22.5 cm. (7), 576 pages. Bibliography pages 496-521. Red cloth, very slightly frayed at top of spine. Chipped and heavily worn dustjacket.  

Valaer, born in North Carolina, was a chemist who did research for the Bureau of Internal Revenue for 43 years. Much of that research is reflected in this book. There are chapters on world wine grapes and wine types, including fruit wines. These are followed by chapters on wine in the United States. France is relegated to the chapter on "Wines of Other Lands," beginning at page 353. In this chapter, even Canada and Mexico are given three pages apiece. But now we're at page 426, and it's back to chemistry. The last chapter is a long series of tables of wine analyses [523-567]. Well, it's different, and sort of interesting.

In his work, Valaer was involved in the enforcement of the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914. The website of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention very recently reproduced an article dated January 1, 1951, by Peter Valaer, Chemist, United States Treasury Department (Early Days in Narcotics Enforcement in the United States of America), which talks about the difficulties of enforcement. "As the overworked narcotics agents said to me, it was like bailing out the ocean with a teaspoon." And that was fifty years ago.

122. Valente-Perfeito, J.C. Arte de beber o vinho do Pôrto. [Lisbon]: Instituto do Vinho do Pôrto, 1935. Printed by Litografia Nacional do Pôrto. 22.5 cm. (3), 64 pages, including illustration of wine glass tipped in on blank page (51), + 2 plates. Errata slip tipped in on back endpaper. Decorative headpieces, tailpieces and initials in blue. All edges untrimmed. Decorated paper. Title inscribed in ink on spine, in same fine hand as ownership signature on front cover and on title page: "Antonio R. Passos. Agronomo."  

The introduction is by Ricardo Spratley, president of the Port Wine Institute. This pamphlet is a form of educational and promotional publicity piece for port wine. The opening sentence: "Some time ago, in London, while we were seated at a well-provided table, enjoying an 1896 «Vintage», one of the most refined devotees of Port wine spoke to me these words, which made a deep impression on me: «Any time when you are not drinking Port is a waste of time»." This was the most sincere and spontaneous praise of the generous wine of the Douro that he had ever heard – justified by the quality of the wine and the ambience [page 5]. The author covers ruby and tawny and vintage ports, cellaring, drinking, port and champagne, port and cognac. In the brief section on port and champagne, he says that whisky, although fine by itself, is a disaster with port, and he had an experience with "a British colleague and friend" to prove it [56]. "The cocktail was invented by the devil." [11]. Homage is paid, of course, to George Saintsbury. At one point, he is referred to as the "pontifex maximus of the wine liturgy." [25].

123. Valente Perfeito, João do Carmo. O Vinho do Porto ... esse desconhecido! Suplemento ao Caderno N.^o 76 (Abril 1946) do Instituto do Vinho do Porto. Porto: Tip. J.R. Gonçalves, 1946. 20.5 cm. xiv, (5), 34, (1) pages. Illustrations. Introduction by Mário Bernardes Pereira. Paper.  

The burden of this pamphlet is that Port wine, "authentic prodigy of nature," is not drunk in Portugal; Lisbon does not know the Douro. This does not happen with other world-renowned wines, such as Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhine, Mosel, Chianti, Tokay, which are drunk mainly by the natives [page 1]. "Legion are the Portuguese who abstain from alcoholic beverages, on the pretext that they're harmful." [2]. Time to educate the natives. "The wine of Porto is the number one wine of the world – the King of wines." Of all places in the world, only that strip of land in the Douro Valley can create this gift for us. Many have tried to take the Douro vines to other parts of the earth, convinced that the same vines will produce identical wines. Not so. When transplanted to exotic climes, the Douro vine misses the vital elements of its natural habitat and produces wines without any character [27-28].

124. Valente-Perfeito. Let's Talk About Port. An edition of the Instituto do Vinho do Porto. Porto: Tip. J.R. Gonçalves, 1948. 21.5 cm. (2), xii, (7), xvi-xxxiii, 100, (1) pages + 12 glossy plates, one of them a map, one in color, the remainder photos. Ribbon bookmark. Maroon cloth, gilt title on cover and spine. Dustjacket is worn and has faded spine.  

This work is based on the author's Arte de beber o vinho do Pôrto [item 122], but "far from being a literal rendering of the Portuguese, the present edition (under a different title) has left out some passages … and includes some new matter …" [page xx]. The UK is the traditional main market for Port, "and it is my firm belief that the United States will become sooner or later … a connoisseur and, therefore, a lover of the Douro wine, too." [xxii]. The author repeats his almost vituperative tirade against cocktails, suggesting that they be replaced with port, sherry, or madeira, "an olympic trinity … the three finest fortified wines in the world …" [13]. He laments the fact that the Portuguese do not appreciate their own unique product, which he attributes to ignorance. Since all the best port went to England, I wouldn't fault the Portuguese for not drinking what's left. Valente-Perfeito gives Saintsbury very high marks for properly appreciating and praising port. "George Saintsbury … has dedicated to Port wine a chapter or two of imperishable beauty." [26]. But he seems almost obsessed with André Simon's attitude to port. "Monsieur Simon is obviously not a lover of Port wine, that absolute king … He is supremely addicted to Claret, Burgundy and Sauterne, and Hock and Champagne …" [xxviii-xxxii]. Well, of course, Simon was not an Englishman, so his loyalties were not really compromised. And Saintsbury left for another port at 87, while Simon bubbled on to 93.

125. Van Glaas, Pieter. Prostbüchlein. (By Ernst Heimeran, Horst Kliemann, Karl Turley, Martin Urtel, four authors under the pseudonym Pieter Van Glaas). [Munich]: Heimeran Verlag, (1956). 10.5h x 17.5w cm. 169, (3) pages. Illustrations. Inscribed: "Na, denn Prost!" Decorated glossy boards. Minor scuff mark.  

21.–25. Tausend. A general guide to drinking. Chapter 1 covers European wine; 2: German beer; 3: spirits and liqueurs, including cocktails (alphabetic); 4: punches. Background and advice are included. Heimeran (who writes on wine) says he's only a wine drinker, not a connoisseur, that it all started with a musician friend, who would offer a bottle of wine "composed" for each piece they played at their home concerts, Mosel for Mozart, Palatinate for Brahms, Burgundy for Bach, etc. And so he's been enjoying the music of wine ever since, for forty years [page 9].

126. Van Maanen-Helmer, E. and J. What to do About Wines. New York: Harrison Smith and Robert Haas, 1934. 20.5 cm. 184, (24 cellar record blanks) pages, including 4 maps. Maroon cloth back and spine, with front cover in cork. Gilt lettering on spine, faded. Decoration and title in maroon on front cover.  

One of the better books of advice for the folks just released from prohibition prison. The authors limit their coverage of wines to the Rhine, Moselle, Burgundy, Champagne, Cognac, Bordeaux, Sherry, Port. The reason: "… even the most willing of novices can absorb only so much at a time … and you cannot do better than to begin with the best, leaving the rest until your taste and judgment are sufficiently well-developed to enable you to separate the sheep from the goats." [page 13]. One piece of advice: "If … you find bargains absolutely irresistible, at least drink up your purchases by yourself." [95]. A nod to the passion for bridge at that time: "It would be a shame to waste fine wines on people who are too absorbed to notice what you are giving them. Light, unimportant wines can be consumed in large quantities without making people sleepy, while they may do much to soften the acerbity of the post-mortem discussions." [156].

127. Van Maanen-Helmer, E. and J. What to do About Wines. New York: Harrison Smith and Robert Haas, 1934. 19.5 cm. 184, (24 cellar record blanks) pages, including 4 maps. Red cloth. Title on spine in black, and on cover, with decoration. Endpapers browned. Covers a little soiled, and two water spots on front cover, top and bottom. Internally sound. Good reading copy.  

Same as item 127, except that because of the smaller page size, the table on page (46) lost its bottom line, and the four maps had their lower borders cut off. Perhaps all copies suffered this fate?

128. Vandyke Price, Pamela [Joan] (1923 – ). Winelovers' Handbook. By Pamela Vandyke Price, editor of Wine & Food Magazine. London & Glasgow: Condé Nast Publications, in association with Collins, (1969). Printed by W.S. Cowell, London. 18.5h x 22.5w cm. 80, (16 maps), (32 record blanks) pages. Pages 1-32 and 49-80 are on buff paper, 33-48 are black & white photos, maps are brown and black on blue paper, and wine record blanks are white. Illustrations. Illustrated glossy boards. Internally clean, but a little wavy, presumably from dampness.  

"For copyright reasons this edition is not for sale in the USA." An introductory book to wine, helped along by maps and encouragement to record-keeping. The foreword is by H.W. Yoxall, author of the Wine and Food Society's Wines of Burgundy. The section titled "Wines around the world" devotes 12 pages to France, 13 to the rest of Europe and less than 7 to 3 of the remaining 6 continents (Africa, Australia, North America). In the picture gallery, France gets 4 of 16 photos and Portugal is a close second with 3. No other country gets more than one. On the subject of American wines: "Comparatively few American wines are available in the U.K. at the present time, as the inevitable high price in this market makes them a source of interest rather than a commercial proposition …" [page 80].

Vandyke Price was editor of Wine & Food 1967-69, and contributed to newspapers and journals, such as Wineland, South Africa. She has written a goodly number of books, including Cooking with Wine, Spirits, Beer and Cider, 1959; Century Companion to the Wines of Bordeaux, 1971 & 1982 (translated into French, German and Dutch); Alsace Wines and Spirits (with C. Fielden); Wines of the Graves, 1988 – to name just a few. Her last book listed in Who's Who 2001 is the autobiographical Woman of Taste. Recreation: "making wine vinegar."

129. Verdier, Paul. History of Wine. How and when to drink it. By Paul Verdier, president of the City of Paris. San Francisco: City of Paris, 1933. 20 cm. 42, (2 ads) pages. Maps and illustrations. Stapled paper, wine map of France on cover. Staples rusted from water damage at spine. Back cover missing. Clean text and illustrations, but still a genuinely poor copy.  

Overview of the wines of France, with a few words on port, sherry and madeira, and a concluding chapter on California. Verdier's contribution to the Prohibition aftermath. "Why City of Paris Sells Wine: Because there is an opportunity to be of great service to our patrons in the sharing of our experience, we feel it is our duty to operate a wine and liquor department." It's not often, is it, that an opportunity is presented as a duty.

130. (Vermont). State of Vermont. Second Annual Report of the State Agricultural Experiment Station. 1888. Burlington: The Free Press Association, 1889. 22.5 cm. 152 pages. Paper.  

Though grapes were not a prime project for the Vermont station, the horticulturist established a vineyard with two plants each of 49 grape varieties [page 100]. They are listed on pages 118-119. One of the aims of the station was to find fruit varieties that would withstand severe winters, and they set out the most promising Russian fruits to compare with standard varieties. But, although some Russian apple varieties are listed, it is not clear whether any of the grape varieties came from Russia [14].

131. Vermorel, V. & R. Danguy. Les Vins du Beaujolais, du Mâconnais et Chalonnais. Étude et classement par ordre de mérite. Nomenclature des clos et des propriétaires. Illustrée de nombreuses vues des principales propriétés. Par M. V. Vermorel, Directeur de la Station viticole de Villefranche pour le Beaujolais. M. R. Danguy, Professeur à l'École de Viticulture de Beaune pour le Mâconnais et Chalonnais. Cet ouvrage est publié avec le patronage des Conseils généraux du Rhône et de Saône-et-Loire. Dijon: Librairie H. Armand, [1894]. Imprimerie Darantière, Dijon. 20.5 cm. 703, (1) pages. Illustrations. Paper. Nice copy.  

An extensive and detailed census of the vineyards of the Beaujolais [pages 5-184] and Mâconnais/Chalonnais [185-688] wine areas. For each of these two main areas, there is a topographical introduction, including history, climate, soil, grape varieties, extent of vineyards, diseases of the vine, winemaking and classification, and production statistics. This is followed by detailed descriptions for each canton, with illustrated listings of individual properties. The organization of the material is similar to that of Cocks & Féret for Bordeaux, but it does not give production figures for individual proprietors, nor the extent of their vineyards. However, it is nevertheless a valuable reference source for these areas.

Among the publisher's other offerings [page (2)] are Danguy & Aubertin's Les Grands Vins de Bourgogne (La Côte d'Or) [1892], and the 6th edition of Cocks & Féret's Bordeaux et ses Vins [1893]. Thus this book would fall somewhere between 1893 and 1898, the date of the 7th edition of Cocks & Féret. In a dealer offering of the reprint edition of 1982 (Paris, Jean Laffitte, 703 pages, 500 copies), the date of the original edition is given as 1894. Simon BV, page 101, has no date. This copy is from the Leon Lambert collection, with the "Deuzel" [="Two L's"] stamp on endpaper.

132. Veronelli, Luigi. The Wines of Italy. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, (1964). [On verso of title]: Printed in Italy by Canesi Editore, Rome. [Colophon]: Printed by Visigalli-Pasetti arti grafiche, Roma. 24.5 cm. 326, (1) pages + 8 color plate art reproductions, and 24 double foldouts with 67 tipped-in wine labels. Illustrated endpapers. Blue cloth, gilt titles on spine, on blue and on red. In blue cloth and paper slipcase, with illustrations on front and back faces matching endpaper illustrations. Nice copy.  

"First published in 1964." This work was first published in Italian by Canesi, Rome, in 1961. The first English version was also published by Canesi (no date). This is the first US edition, which was actually not available (at McGraw-Hill in New York) until well into 1965, when I purchased it. As I see it now, this book was really addressed to Italians. For one thing, there are no maps, which would be no problem for a native, since Veronelli follows the traditional sequence through the regions and their provinces, familiar to most Italians through the abbreviations on their automobile license plates, if nothing else. Some of the text seems a little quaint to our ears, though maybe it was different in 1961. For example: "Wines, like beautiful women, are different, mysterious and fickle. Every wine, like a woman, has to be conquered. It always begins by refusing, either politely or rudely according to its temperament, and it concedes only to him who aspires to its soul as well as to its body. It will belong only to him who knows how to ‘discover’ it with gentleness." [page 47]. Veronelli's choice of labels may have reflected the taste of the time, but by the eighties, when I lived in Italy, there had been a quantum leap in the general level of interest in more sophisticated wines, and of course by now there has been another quantum leap. However, as a physical object, this book would be a fine addition to any wine library, because the labels are bright and colorful and attractively presented, as are the art reproductions.

One other interesting note. One dealer discovered that the selection of labels is not the same in all copies of this book. I considered listing all the labels in this particular copy, so collectors could make a comparison, but I thought better of it.

133. Veronelli, Luigi (editor). Catalogo Bolaffi dei Vini del Mondo, a cura di Luigi Veronelli. Prima ristampa. Torino: Giulio Bolaffi, (1968). Finito di stampare il 1º dicembre 1968 in Borgo San Dalmazzo dall'Istituto Grafico Bertello. 24.5h x 23w cm. (43), 473, (3) pages. Numerous wine label reproductions. Monochrome borders throughout. Advertising in color and b&w pages 415-473. In pocket inside back cover are a (36)-page summary guide to the wines of Italy (Guida Bolaffi ai Vini d'Italia), and a folding Italian wine map (Carta Enologica d'Italia). Illustrated glossy boards, minor shelf-wear. Nice copy.  

Second printing. The wines are listed in this sequence: white wines – France, Italy, Germany, Europe, outside Europe (Argentina, Australia, Colombia, Japan, Israel, South Africa, Turkey); red wines – same as for white wines, except that Chile and Peru are added for "outside Europe." Pages 407-414 add information on the most widely distributed wines of Italy. Note the conspicuous absence of California. For each wine listed, there is a label reproduction and information on producer, location of vineyards, grape varieties, aging qualities, organoleptic examination, gastronomic guide, vintages, prices. A unique approach to wine reference books.

Bolaffi is most famous in Italy for his catalogues for stamp collectors, but he also does art and wine "catalogues." Italy is of course represented in this volume, but it is given much more extensive coverage in separate catalogues, first published in 1969 for both red and white wines, and beginning in 1979, in separate editions for red and white.

134. [Vevey]. Panorama of the [Fêtes des Vignerons]. Lausanne: Spengler et C.^ie, (1833). Thirty lithographed panels, pasted together into a single strip, depicting a wine festival procession, probably the Fêtes des Vignerons at Vevey of 1833. Each panel measures about 20 cm high by 50 cm long, for a total length of about 15 meters. All panels are numbered, except 1 and 2. Edges are frayed, and all but 8 or 9 panels are waterstained. Panel 1 has some wrinkles.  

A brief description of each panel:

1. Troupe of men with fifes and drums, followed by troupe with spears, then a group of men with banner: "Ora et Labora."

2. Fifteen men, followed by a group of boys drawing a float with potted flowers, followed by 4 musicians.

3. A group of women carrying garlands of flowers, followed by 2 musicians and 9 couples.

4. Two couples with sheep, 2 men pulling a float with potted plants, 4 musicians, 4 couples bearing farm implements and produce.

5. Four couples carrying farm implements and produce, a band of musicians, 2 women bearing a plant supported on poles resting on shoulders.

6. Four women bearing a smoking urn, 2 carrying a plant, and 4 bearing a woman on a canopied throne, all on shouldered poles. Followed by a couple carrying rake and scythe (as in panel 7).

7. Eleven couples carrying rakes and scythes, followed by a team of horses with rider, pulling the hayrack in panel 8.

8. Hayrack followed by 6 men with 2 pairs of cows, one of which has a collar with the date 1833, followed by a couple.

9. Four men and 2 boys, followed by horse pulling wagon containing wooden implements and huge pot hanging at rear.

10. Two men with drums, followed by troupe of boys carrying staffs with mounted figures, followed by 8 men.

11. Nineteen men carrying vineyard tools, followed by 2 couples with grape pickers' baskets.

12. Eleven couples, the men carrying two-pronged hoes.

13. Team of horses pulling wagon with anvil and tools in bower, followed by 8 men with vineyard tools.

14. A band of musicians, followed by 2 women, then another 2 women carrying an object between them by means of poles.

15. Four women bearing an object with smoking urn, another 2 a plant, another 4 a woman on a canopied throne – on poles (similar to panel 6).

16. Twelve couples.

17. Team of horses pulling two-wheeled vineyard equipment, followed by 4 women with hoes.

18. Team of horses pulling loaded hayrack with 2 young ladies sitting on it, followed by 7 young men carrying tools.

19. Band of musicians, followed by 4 women carrying a fruit basket on poles, and 3 men leading a goat.

20. Four women carrying an object with smoking urn, 2 women with basket of grapes, 6 black men carrying young Bacchus, astride a barrel.

21. Five men with clubs, followed by 8 couples – the men bearing a staff with flowers and wearing shorts made of leaves.

22. Four couples, as in panel 21, followed by man on a donkey, supported by 2 black men, followed by 4 men with spears.

23. Four musicians, followed by 4 pairs of men carrying baskets of grapes, a potted grapevine, and an urn.

24. Two men carrying a large bunch of grapes between them on a pole, 3 men with a banner, 5 couples carrying grape pickers' baskets.

25. Seven couples as in panel 24, followed by horse pulling the cart in panel 26.

26. Four-wheeled cart with wine barrel, followed by team of horses pulling wagon with upright wine-barrel and 4 men.

27. Team of horses pulling a float depicting Noah's ark with grape arbor, wine-press and people, followed by 6 men.

28. Band of about 25 musicians, followed by 18 ladies and gentlemen.

29. Six couples, followed by horse-drawn log cabin.

30. Pair of horses pulling wagon loaded with furniture, followed by a troupe of 16 men with battle-axes.

The name of the lithographer was obtained from panel 30, the date was embedded in panel 8. See Simon BG #1558 (length 14 m 45).

135. [Vevey – Bieler]. Fêtes des Vignerons, Vevey 1905. 16 estampes par E. Bieler. Album officiel de la Fête des Vignerons, célébrée à Vevey les 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 & 11 Août 1905. Vevey: Säuberlin & Pfeiffer, 1905. 25h x 32.5w cm. 16 leaves of color illustrations. Decorative endpapers. Pale green cloth, gilt title on spine, stiff paper covers bound in. Title is on decorated red and green paper cover. Covers are water damaged and warped. Internally clean, but paper is rippled throughout.  

The editors say that their aim was to revisit the scenes that originally inspired the Fête des Vignerons, in their natural rustic setting, while scrupulously respecting the official costumes of the current festival. They felt it would be good to break, for once, with the traditional album, which was simply a preview of the planned procession, and they hope that people will be pleased with this innovation, since it has allowed the artist, Ernest Biéler, to create a genuine work of art. Among the subjects of the illustrations are the harvest, the press, vineyard work, gardeners, hay-making, the goatherd, as well as other subjects that appeared in the 1833 procession (item 135), such as the chariots of Ceres and of Bacchus.

136. Villa Maior, [Julio Maximo de Oliveira Pimentel] Visconde de (1809-1884). Preliminares da Ampelographia e Oenologia do paiz vinhateiro do Douro. 1.^o fasciculo. 1865. [2.^o fasciculo. 1866]. [3.^o fasciculo. 1866]. [4.^o fasciculo. 1869].
[bound with]:
Relatorio acerca da Exposição Universal de Paris em 1878. 1879. Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional, 1865-1879. 28.5 cm. [fasciculo 1]: 45 pages; (cover title leaf for fasciculo 2), (1), 48-97, (1) pages; (cover title leaf for fasciculo3), (1), 100-144 pages; (cover title leaf for fasciculo 4), (1), 145-243 pages. [Relatorio …]: (cover title leaf), 42 pages. Illustrations. All had been bound into one volume, but the covers are gone, there is some staining of the first few and last few leaves from the no-longer-present pink endpapers. Otherwise clean, except that pages are rippled throughout from dampness. Would certainly benefit from a nice new binding. Signed on title pages and elsewhere by our ubiquitous previous Portuguese owner, "Antonio R. Passos, agronomo."  

The first instalment has a general introduction on the Douro wine-lands, followed by a treatise on the Quinta do Silho – description, vineyards, main grape varieties, viticulture, harvest and wine-making, soil analysis, products other than the vine (olives, almonds, etc). The second instalment continues along the same general line with Quinta do Caldeira, Quinta do Vesuvio (at greater length), and other quintas in the same region – do Arnozelo, de Vargelas (incl. do Valle, do Meio, da Gallega), and do Sibio [=Forrester's quinta das Forneiras]. Instalment 3 "digresses," as the author admits later, to additional vineyards of the Upper Douro, in the Bragança district. While not part of the main Douro vineyards, this digression is justified "because of the help these regions provided in the years of scarcity to the commerce in wine, aside from the interest they inspire for their productive capabilities, which sooner or later will contribute to the public wealth." [page 145]. The 4th instalment covers the Alto Douro from the Valleira "cachão" to the Pinhão river, "the principal subject of my inquiries." Among the quintas included are dos Aciprestes, de Roriz, da Roeda, and do Noval. Simon, BV 116a, has only the first 2 or 3 instalments.

The report on the participation of Portuguese wines at the Paris Exposition of 1878, tells us that 2,131 exhibitors from Portugal and the Portuguese colonies won 750 awards, of which 9 were "diplomas of honor" (the most prestigious of the awards), 43 gold medals, 112 silver, 260 bronze, and 326 honorable mention. All award winners are listed by name and home city, together with the category. It is not clear to me which categories represented wines, but I assume at least #75 was one, since among the exhibitors were Antonio Batalha Reis (gold), Companhia geral do Alto Douro (gold), Cossart Gordon of Funchal (gold), Crofft of Villa Nova de Gaia (honorable mention), Região vinhateira da Madeira (diploma of honor), etc. – and more. Category 43 and others were probably also wine categories. In any case, the awards were numerous. IVP # 3219.

137. Villa Maior, [Julio Maximo de Oliveira Pimentel] Visconde de (1809-1884). Manual de Viticultura Practica. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade, 1875. 19 cm. 552 pages. Illustrations. Errata page 548. Blue paper. Covers mauled, soiled, and detached. Spine gone, binding loose. Internally, some pages have a few brown spots, and there is creasing of some sections around spine area. Overall quite clean, and a prime candidate for binding.  

A detailed and extensive manual for grape growers in Portugal. It begins with a chapter on general considerations regarding factors that affect vines. This is followed by concepts of the organography and physiology of vitis vinifera, before going on to detailed methods of grape cultivation, with notes on practices not only in the Douro, but in France, and even ancient times. The author also touches on renewal systems, such as layering, and has a chapter on diseases of the vine. Notes at the end include extensive annotated lists of Portuguese grape varieties – white [pages 432-465], red [466-512], and other, such as rosé [513-515]. Simon BV, page 84. IVP #3216.

138. Vizetelly, Henry (1820-1894). The Wines of the World Characterized & Classed: with some particulars respecting the beers of Europe. By Henry Vizetelly, Chevalier of the Order of Franz Josef; wine juror for Great Britain at the Vienna Exhibition of 1873. London: Ward, Lock, & Tyler, Warwick House, 1875. Printed by Jas. Wade, London. 18 cm. (15), 10-202 pages. Vignette illustrations. All edges red. Blue cloth, gilt title on spine. Binding is modern, but has no value, since it's in rather poor condition from water damage. Internally clean, but some discoloration from edge bleeding. Damp-rippling.  

Prefatory note, dated at Paris, May 1875: "The following pages comprise a revised and amplified version of two Reports drawn up at the request of Her Majesty's Commissioners for the Vienna Universal Exhibition of 1873, and the republication of which in a more popular form has been frequently suggested." And it certainly is an amazing collection of information and opinions on the wines of the world, as sampled at that exhibition – or in some cases as not sampled, because not exhibited for one reason or another. This exhibition saw a record number of wine samples from all the wine-producing districts of the world. The big-name Champagne houses did not participate. However, there were wines of "the very first character, it being well known that some of the finest wine is produced by Rheims and Epernay firms of whose existence even the ordinary connoisseur is ignorant …" [32]. Switzerland sent only a few samples to Vienna, "and these unfortunately not her best." [60]. The wines of Austria, Hungary and Transylvania were apparently well represented. Regarding the wines of the Douro: "I anticipated, thoughtlessly enough, when assisting at the tasting of the wines of Portugal, that merely its natural wines would have been submitted to the jury, and that we should find the highly alcoholised fluid consumed in England under the name of Port unrepresented at Vienna. I was, however, speedily undeceived …" [104]. You can imagine the rest. Later he singles out for praise Port wines from the Feuerheerd vineyards that had been exhibited at Albert Hall the previous year. The wines were free from added alcohol and some showed as much as "27^o of proof spirit, proving the utter absurdity of dosing Port wine with alcohol." [109]. The chapter on the wines of the US, "a land which is destined to become, like Australia, one of the great wine-producing regions of the world." [157-163]. The jury noted a marked difference between wines vintaged in California, with its European vines, and those from other states, growing indigenous varieties. Of the California growths – "Angelico, Aliso, Porto, &c., the best were those of Messrs. Eberhard and Lachmann, to whom … a medal for progress was awarded. This firm displayed some capital Riesling wine …" Other American firms awarded medals for progress were M. Werk and Sons of Cincinnati, Pleasant Valley Wine Company of Hammondsport, NY, and Buena Vista Vinicultural Society. Three medals for merit went to the New York firms of Ellis and Curtis, and G. Groezinger, Ruyter, and to Poeschel and Scherer of Hermann, MO. Among the wines exhibited were Catawba wines (fuller than Rhine wines) and Concords (obnoxious foxy flavour, too prominent for European tastes – to a lesser extent in Ive's Seedling, Hartford Prolific and Isabella). "The finest American red wines were … Norton's Virginia, and the Cynthiana. The former … only needing finesse to equal a first-rate Burgundy … [etc] … Of white growths … the Delaware … proved the most delicate, resembling a Rhine wine in character, and possessing a fragrant bouquet … [Sparkling Catawba has] too much of that musky perfume … Apart from the scent, [it] may be best compared [with] perhaps effervescent Vouvray, while unquestionably the American sparkling wine most appreciated by the jury was the Californian Sonoma, which proved to be … not unlike a middle-class Aï champagne." And there's more on American wines. This book provides a wealth of facts in an entertaining way.

139. Vizetelly, Henry (1820-1894). Facts About Sherry, gleaned in the vineyards and bodegas of the Jerez, Seville, Moguer, & Montilla districts during the autumn of 1875. By Henry Vizetelly, wine juror for Great Britain at the Vienna Exhibition; author of "The Wines of the World Characterized and Classed." With numerous illustrations from original photographs and sketches. London: Ward, Lock, & Tyler, Warwick House, 1876. Printed by Jas. Wade, London. 18 cm. 108 pages + 16 plate illustrations and others in text (indexed). All edges red. Blue cloth, gilt title on spine. Binding is uniform with that of item 139, including all the faults described, except that there's no discoloration from edge bleeding.

A well-documented, well-illustrated, well-written account of a wine trip through the sherry country, as seen through the eyes of a wine-savvy journalist. And did you notice his fascination with Longfellow's "Catawba Wine?" Not only did he quote it twice in his "Wines of the World," but he does it again in this book, on page 12 ("so dulcet, delicious and dreamy"), not apropos of a wine, but of a ship passage. I can't say I blame him, because I think it's the catchiest wine poem ever written, in English or any other language I've ever been entertained in. Regarding the sulphuring of wine: "Occasionally common Jerez wines are sulphured, just as all the sweeter Sauternes are – in the latter case to check the fermentation and prevent all the sugar turning into alcohol. This question of sulphuring wines was fully discussed by the scientific members of the wine jury at the Vienna Exhibition with reference to some magnificent ‘Auslesen’ … The jury agreed with the opinion expressed by chemists of repute that no harm can result … provided the sulphuric acid is afterwards got rid of … It would appear, therefore, … that the outcry raised against sherry was an utterly baseless one." [pages 61-62]. One more quote to ponder: "Advocates of women's rights will regret to hear that the labours of the softer sex are altogether dispensed with in the vineyards of the South of Spain." [16]

140. Vizetelly, Henry (1820-1894). A History of Champagne, with notes on the other sparkling wines of France. By Henry Vizetelly, Chevalier of the Order of Franz-Josef, author of ‘The Wines of the World Characterised and Classed,’ ‘Facts About Port and Madeira,’ ‘Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines,’ ‘Facts About Sherry,’ etc. Illustrated with 350 engravings. London / New York: Vizetelly & Co. / Scribner & Welford, 1882. Printed by Robson and Sons, London. 28 cm. xii, 263, (4), (7 advertising) pages + 6 plate illustrations at frontispiece, and pages 31, 148, 168, 205, 245, and one foldout color map at page 117. Illustrations. Title page in red & black. All edges gilt. Green cloth, gilt titles on spine and cover, gilt border and vignette illustrations on cover. "Scribner & Co." at bottom of spine. Spine waterstained and torn at bottom. Some fraying at bottom of covers and some edge staining, but gilt title and illustrations on cover are intact. Internally fairly clean, with occasional brown spots and some gutter browning. Binding quite loose throughout. To sum it up, it's all there, but it's not at all a desirable copy  

A rather thorough, profusely illustrated book on the Champagne wine country – its history and its current viticultural and wine-making practices. Here's what Vizetelly himself says about it in the first, less than felicitous, sentence of his preface (dated at St. Leonards-on-Sea, February 1882): "The present is the first instance in which the history of any wine has been traced with the same degree of minuteness as the history of the still and sparkling wines of the Champagne has been traced in the following pages." He tells us that he visited Champagne frequently in the past ten years and that his position as wine juror at the Vienna and Paris Exhibition opened up many sources of information which he turned to good use for this book. "It should be stated that portions of the volume, relating to the vintaging and manufacture of sparkling wines generally, have been previously published under the title of Facts about Champagne and other Sparkling Wines, but they have been subjected to considerable extension and revision …" For additional information on Vizetelly's wine opuses, see Gabler, pages 291-295. This book was reprinted by the Scolar Press, 1980.

Born in London, Henry Vizetelly was the son and grandson of printers. The "Vizzetelli" family had migrated from Italy at the end of the 17th century. Henry's wood engravings contributed to the success of "Parr's Life Pills," from the profits of which Herbert Ingram started the Illustrated London News, for which Vizetelly's firm executed a number of engravings. In 1843 Henry, together with his older brother James (1817-1897) and Andrew Spottiswoode, started the rival Pictorial Times, which counted Thackeray as a staff member. Vizetelly's "best work as a wood-engraver was done about 1850 … for an edition of Longfellow's Evangeline." In 1855, he started The Illustrated Times, with Gustave Doré as one of the artists, but he sold his share in it to Ingram in 1859, and in 1865 went back to work for Ingram as Paris correspondent of the Illustrated London News, where he mainly spent the next seven years, including the time of the siege of Paris, about which he later wrote a book. It was in Paris that he he became an authority on wine and in 1873 he served as a wine juror at the Vienna exhibition. Vizetelly gave up his position with the Illustrated London News and became a London publisher, specializing in translations of French and Russian authors. Publishing Zola in unexpurgated form led to his indictment in 1888 on obscenity charges. The jury refusing to listen to a recital of 21 passages selected by the prosecution, Vizetelly pleaded guilty, on advice of counsel, and was fined £100. Vizetelly issued pendente lite a selection of "extracts principally from English Classics, showing that the legal suppression of M. Zola's novels would logically involve the bowdlerising of the greatest Works in English Literature (London … twelve copies printed …" He then proceeded to reissue Zola's works, expurgated by his son Ernest. He was again charged with publishing obscene libels and in 1889 was sent to prison for three months, to the detriment of his health, though he continued to publish. [Source: Dictionary of National Biography].

141. Von Zobeltitz, Hanns. Der Wein. Mit 10 Kunstbeilagen und 152 Abbildungen. Bielefeld und Leipzig: Verlag von Velhagen & Klasing, 1901. Printed by Fischer & Wittig, Leipzig. 25.5 cm. (4), 126, (2) pages + 10 plates, of which 2 in color, mostly art reproductions. Maps, illustrations and photos. Wine label reproductions. Short bibliography page (128). Title page in red & black. Inscribed on half-title [translation]: "as a happy souvenir to a wine connoisseur on his 46th birthday, 17.1.26" by an illegible inscriber. Top edge gilt. Flexible maroon and off-white cloth, gilt title and decorations. Some soiling.  

Number 1 in the series "Collection of Illustrated Monographs." Following some historical background, the author describes the wines of the world, beginning with Germany [pages 18-56], Austria-Hungary [57-64], Switzerland [65-66], France – Bordeaux, Burgundy [67-84], and on to port and sherry, Italian and Greek wines, and finally Champagne and Sekt [94-115], followed by a few pages on the service of wine and a series of menus of great dinners. About the wines of America, this is all he has to say: "The North Americans praise their own production to the skies ["to the tallest poplar trees"] and in spite of their temperance dabbling obtain huge amounts of European grape juice. I liked the taste of only a few of the California wines I have had the privilege of becoming acquainted with, one bordeaux-like red wine, and above all a fiery, apparently heavily alcoholized sweet wine from Los Angeles."

Back to home page