The glasshouse evolved in the seventeenth century to protect gardeners' exotic plants from the rigours of the Northern winter. This book traces the development of man's skill in creating and controlling an artificial climate. The period of greatest advance in this field was the nineteenth century, and Hix discusses the ingenious constructions made initially for private individuals and botanical societies, and towards the mid-century, with the mass-production of components, the fashioning of modular constructions such as the Crystal Palace and the many vast and cheaply built International Exhibition halls in Europe and America. Innovators such as J. C. Loudon, Charles McIntosh, Joseph Paxton, firms such as Loddiges of Hackney and Lord & Burnham of New York, are treated in some detail.
Very slight wear on the dust jacket. Greene & Greene Library stamp on first page. Inside in good condition.