Bidspirit auction | 1859 Charles L. Flint, Milch

1859 Charles L. Flint, Milch Cows and Dairy Farming, Phillips, Sampson and Company - This 1859 volume, titled Milch Cows and Dairy Farming, was authored by Charles L. Flint, who is identified on the title page as the Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture. The book was published in Boston by Phillips, Sampson and Company, located at 13 Winter Street. The comprehensive text addresses the breeds, breeding, and management of dairy stock, including an explanation of Guenon's method, the culture of forage plants, and the production of milk, butter, and cheese. It also includes a treatise on the dairy husbandry of Holland and Horsfall's system of dairy management. The book is liberally illustrated with wood engravings depicting various cattle, anatomical details like teeth for age estimation, and dairy equipment such as a cool-bath and butter packing barrels. The volume is bound in brown cloth with blind-stamped decorative borders and a central cow silhouette on the front and back boards. The spine is finished with gilded text reading MILCH COWS AND DAIRY FARMING, FLINT, and a cow head emblem. The cloth binding exhibits wear consistent with age, including fraying and losses at the head and foot of the spine, bumped corners with exposed binder's board, and surface scuffing to the cloth (photos 1, 2, 3). The interior pages show heavy foxing and prominent moisture staining throughout, notably on the title page and several illustrated plates (photos 4, 5, 8, 9). Some edge wear and minor chipping are visible to the paper (photo 4). The binding shows some strain but the text block remains attached.