Charles Eliot. Landscape architect. A lover of nature and of his kind who trained himself for a new profession and through it wrought much good.

Boston, MA and New York, NY, Houghton, Mifflin; Cambridge MA, The Riverside Press, 1903. Thick 8vo (22.6 x 15.3 cm). 794 pp., two large, coloured folding maps in front and rear pocket; two tissue-guarded portraits, 57 plates, maps and photographic plates and two tinted plates with movable slips. Original green cloth with gilted title on the spine and front board. Top edge gilt. = An uncommon, richly illustrated work on the landscape architect Charles Eliot (1859-1897), and on landscaping, in particular of the New England region. The use, on two plates, of overlays to demonstrate the effect of uncontrolled tree growth is peculiar and effective. Eliot was "known for pioneering principles of regional planning and laying the groundwork for conservancies across the world. Instrumental in the formation of The Trustees of Reservations, the world's first land trust, playing a central role in shaping the Boston Metropolitan Park System, designing a number of public and private landscapes, and wrote prolifically on a variety of topics" (Wikipedia). The book was edited by Charles eliot's father, Harvard University President Charles William Eliot (1834-1926). T. S. Eliot was his cousin. Provenance: Bookplate of The Sesame Reading Club of Albany, NY, on the front pastedown, and its stamp in the top margin of the first text page. Binding a bit weak; two tiny labels on the spine, otherwise a very good copy.