"A CLEAR AND PRECISE MANUAL FOR THE DISTILLER AND LIQUOR MANUFACTURER": FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH OF JACQUES DE BREVANS' THE MANUFACTURE OF LIQUORS AND PRESERVES, 1893

BREVANS, Jacques de. The Manufacture of Liquors and Preserves. Translated from the French. New York: Munn, 1893. Octavo, original gilt-stamped pictorial navy cloth, patterned endpapers. $3500.

First edition in English of this comprehensive guide to distilling liquors and creating flavored spirits, with 65 black-and-white illustrations and diagrams depicting the manufacturing process, in original pictorial cloth.

Written by liquor distillation expert Jacques de Brevans, this manual attempts to explain the complex and technical manufacture of liquors, liqueurs, and cordials in plain language, including recipes for how to create flavored spirits. Also included is information about preserving fruits through a type of vacuum-sealing/canning process and a section on medicinal spirits. The intricate in-text illustrations carefully depict the required set-up for successful distillation. The first edition was published in French in 1890.

Inner paper hinges expertly reinforced, only slight rubbing and a couple very faint stains to cloth. A near-fine copy.