Liger - Nouvelle Maison Rustique - 1762

THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN OF THE COUNTRYSIDE MANUAL: SCIENCE, COOKING, AND RURAL SECRETS
A monumental work of European agronomic culture, the Nouvelle maison rustique represents a true summa of practical knowledge from the eighteenth century, in which domestic economy, breeding, agriculture, and culinary arts intertwine in a coherent system for managing rural life. Liger builds an autonomous universe, where every aspect of the countryside — from the vineyard to the kitchen, from the beehive to hunting — is governed by empirical knowledge and codified tradition. The 1762 edition, expanded and richly illustrated, bears witness to the book’s fortune and ongoing evolution, aimed at landowners, estate managers, and the rural bourgeois, offering a vivid snapshot of the economic and material mindset of the Ancien Régime.
MARKET VALUE
Complete two-volume quarto copies, with intact iconographic apparatus and contemporary binding, generally range between 600 and 1,000 euros, with higher prices for copies in particularly fresh condition and with well-preserved plates.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Two volumes. Contemporary full calf binding, gilded spines richly decorated with raised nerves, red edges; signs of wear. Frontispiece engraved, 34 copperplate plates (of which 2 folding), 2 full-page woodcuts, and numerous illustrations in the text. Pages with some browning and foxing. In ancient books, with a multigenerational history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 10nn; 896; 20nn; (2). (2); 8nn; 894; 26nn; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
La nouvelle maison rustique, ou Économie générale de tous les biens de campagne.
Paris, Knapen, 1762.
Louis Liger.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
This work sits within the tradition of practical rural encyclopedias born in the 17th and 18th centuries, but it stands out for its breadth and systematization. Liger reworks the model of domestic “oeconomie” transforming it into a global treatise on agricultural management. The first volume addresses breeding — poultry, cattle, horses, sheep — extending into specialized practices such as beekeeping and silkworm farming, as well as fundamental crops like vines and cereals. The second volume broadens the scope toward horticulture, fruit growing, and complementary activities such as hunting, fishing, and bird trapping, culminating in a culinary section that includes preserves, liqueurs, beer and wine production, and a series of “useful secrets” reflecting the empirical knowledge of the era. The illustrative apparatus reinforces the didactic dimension, making the work a concrete tool for managing rural property.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Louis Liger (1658–1717) was a French agronomist and author specializing in practical treatises for managing agricultural estates. His body of work sits within the context of the growing rationalization of rural activities between the 17th and 18th centuries. With the Maison rustique, Liger contributed decisively to the diffusion of accessible and systematized technical knowledge, intended for a broad audience of owners and administrators of landed property.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The work first appeared in 1700 under the title Oeconomie générale de la campagne and underwent numerous reissues and revisions during the 18th century, a sign of wide and lasting diffusion. The 1762 edition represents one of the most complete and illustrated, with substantial enlargements compared to earlier versions. Its circulation was particularly significant in France but also across Europe, contributing to the standardization of agricultural and domestic practices in the preindustrial era.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Vicaire, Bibliographie gastronomique, col. 521 (describes an edition with 28 plates); Thiébaud, Bibliographie des ouvrages français sur la chasse, no. 597; Brunet, Manuel du libraire, does not cite this specific edition but mentions other printings of the work; Oberlé, Les Fastes de Bacchus et de Comus, notes the work without specifying this edition; see ICCU/OPAC SBN catalogs for copies held in Italian libraries (search by author Liger and uniform title Maison rustique, ed. 1762).