John Phin. Open Air Grape Culture: A Practical Treatise on the Garden and Vineyard Culture of the Vine, and the Manufacture of Domestic Wine.

New York: C. M. Saxton, Agricultural Book Publisher, 1862. First edition. 8vo, 7.6". Original green cloth, blind stamped boards, gilt title to spine. 375 pp. Illustrated throughout. Yellow endpapers.

Condition: Fair. Headband nearly detached. Spine sunned with dulled gilt. Front inner hinge fully split and separating. Corners worn through. Two small white spots to rear cover. Previous owner’s ink stamps to front and rear endpapers and scattered within the text, with the same owner’s ink inscription to the pastedown and title page. Text complete and illustrations intact. A worn but serviceable copy.

Significance: Documenting mid-19th-century American vineyard practice prior to the rise of commercial West Coast viticulture.