Inventory of a flower garden kept by the Birley family of Lancashire, 1821
- Title(s):
Inventory of a flower garden kept by the Birley family of Lancashire.
- Published/Created:
- England, 1821.
- Physical Description:
- 1 v. (ca. 80 p., with many blanks) ; 17 cm.
- Holdings:
- Rare Books and ManuscriptsSB457.6 .I58 1821Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon FundView by request in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details. - Copyright Status:
- Copyright Not Evaluated
- Full Orbis Record:
- http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/8823882
- Classification:
- Archives & Manuscripts
- Notes:
- The Birley family of Kirkham and Preston, Lancashire, made a considerable fortune in flax importing and sailcloth manufacturing in the 18th and 19th centuries. By 1876, the Birley mills employed around 1600 people in Kirkham.
Paper watermarked 1815.
Predominantly in pen and ink, with more frequent use of graphite pencil near the end of the inventory.
Bookseller's ticket: Clarke, bookseller, Preston.
Bound in full calf, with marbled edges and marbled endpapers.
Manuscript inventory of flowers kept in an English garden in 1821. The author of the inventory is unidentified, although the volume bears the armorial bookplate of Charles Birley. In several headings, it is dated March or April, 1821. It is unlikely that the author is Charles Birley, since he would have been only 9 at the time, and the writing is in a mature hand. It is possible the inventory was kept by Charles's father, Thomas Birley, of Millbank, Kirkham.
The records are kept in a notebook of pre-printed tables, with 20 sections containing 48 numbered lines per section. The garden inventory occupies 8 of these sections. The lists are grouped according to six kinds of flowers: Auriculas (48 varieties, or cultivars); Pinks, i.e. dianthus (30); Carnations (39); Polyanthuses, i.e. primula (38); Peonies (24); and Irises (20). On the final pages are noted several names, perhaps those of flower suppliers. - Subject Terms:
- Birley, Charles, 1812-1891 -- Bookplate.Birley, Charles, 1812-1891, associated name.Birley, Thomas, 1782-1847, associated name.Carnations -- Great Britain -- 19th century.Clarke -- Bookseller.Flower gardening -- Great Britain -- 19th century.Flowers -- Great Britain -- 19th century.Gardening -- Great Britain -- 19th century.Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 19th century.Irises (Plants) -- Great Britain -- 19th century.Peonies -- Great Britain -- 19th century.Pinks (Plants) -- Great Britain -- 19th century.Primroses -- Great Britain -- 19th century.
- Form/Genre:
- Armorial Bookplates (Provenance)
Record keeping works -- 1821. - Export:
- XML