The Royal Society, founded in 1660 and patronised by Charles II in 1661, finally received its Royal Charter with permission to publish in 1662. The first books to be produced under this new permission were Robert Hooke’s Micrographia and John Evelyn’s Sylva, first published in 1664. Evelyn was one of the founding members of the Royal Society, a keen diarist (for which he is best known) and a scholar with a wide range of interests in the new sciences. His book Sylva came about as a result of a request to the Royal Society by the Commissioners of the Navy for a report on forestry. Forests were at the time being extensively plundered by the Royal Navy in its demand for more ships, and Evelyn recommended new planting to meet the demand for more wood and provide for the future. One such suggestion by Evelyn was for the nobility to plant grand tree lined avenues of oak trees leading to their country estates. This, he argued, would provide both a useful supply of timber for warships and would optically enhance the view along the primary driveway.
The book went into several editions, continuing to be expanded and published by presses throughout Britain, such as this illustrated 1774 edition printed in York by the bookseller Ann Ward, until the early nineteenth century.