As True as the Barnacle Tree

Artist and herbalist Anita M. Smith celebrates herb lore in Woodstock.

Published in 1939, this limited first edition (only 1,000 copies) was printed on one of the final runs at Hervey White’s Maverick Press in Woodstock. The frontispiece block print of AMS in her “show-off” herb garden, by Woodstock artists Maud and Miska Petersham, was used for many years by The Herb Quarterly.

“The use of herbs is an ancient practice,” writes Ms. Smith in the opening line of this charming book. Smith, a nationally known herbalist, provides the reader with a brief history of herbalism, interleaving her text with excerpts from such ancient herbals as John Gerard’s The Herball or General History of Plantes, Peter Treveris’s Grete Herball and Nicholas Culpeper’s Complete Herbal. Next are chapers on Native American, Quaker and Shaker herbal legends and usage—as well as a discussion of herb lore in Woodstock. She finishes with a suggested plan for a herb garden, followed by properties of selected plants, and recipes using some of her favorite herbs.

Softcover with a trim size of 5.5 by 7.75 inches; 50 pages. Published in 1939 by Hervey White at his Maverick Press. Fewer than ten copies are still available. This is an excellent choice for a collector of Woodstock books and artifacts.