W.R. Guilfoyle 1840-1912: The Master of Landscaping
Australian History Antiquarian & Collectible Biography Garden Design Botanical History Landscape Architecture Illustrated Reference
First-edition hardcover of R.T.M. Pescott’s W.R. Guilfoyle 1840-1912: The Master of Landscaping is the definitive biography of the man who transformed Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens into one of the world’s great public landscapes. Published in 1974 and now scarce in clean, collectible condition, this volume traces Guilfoyle’s journey from plant-collecting expeditions on Victoria’s coastline to laying out the sweeping lawns, subtropical beds and serpentine lakes that still define Australia’s garden-city identity. Packed with period photographs, maps and botanical plates, the book doubles as a visual reference for heritage gardeners, landscape designers and anyone restoring period properties.
Collectors prize this 1974 first printing for its large-format dust-jacket artwork—rarely found without edge tears—and for the generous page count that lets Pescott weave social history with horticultural detail. Readers discover how Guilfoyle’s plant introductions (waratahs, tree-ferns, bougainvillea) survive in today’s gardens, while primary-source excerpts reveal the politics of 19th-century public-works funding. The tight, unmarked binding on this copy ensures every illustration lies flat for study, making it a practical field reference as well as a shelf showpiece.
Whether you’re hunting Australian heritage titles, building a landscape-design library or seeking a gift for a green-thumbed history buff, this vintage first edition delivers authority, beauty and investment-grade scarcity in one package. Keywords like “Melbourne Botanical Garden history,” “Australian landscaper biography,” and “illustrated first edition gardening book” consistently surface this title in collector searches—secure it now while clean copies remain available.
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