Alfred Hoffy
Alfred A. Hoffy (1796–1872) was a mid 19th-century American
Hoffy founded a quarterly journal, Hoffy's Orchardist's Companion, and illustrated it with high-quality plates, but found it too expensive to sustain. Later he worked on another publication about American fruits, North American Pomologist, with William D. Brincklé. They published a compilation in 1860 of the entire series.
Early life
Alfred Hoffy was born in
Early career
Holly's Orchardist's Companion
Hoffy was very interested in fruit production in America, and in the early 1840s, he founded a periodical on American fruit. He illustrated it with color plates that he intended would match the quality of those found in European journals. Hoffy's Orchardist's Companion: A Quarterly Journal, Devoted to the History, Character, Properties, Modes of Cultivation, and All Other Matters Appertaining to the Fruits of the United States was praised in the local and national press for its usefulness and especially for the "superb colored engravings of fruits".[2] Despite the praise, Hoffy published only five issues over two years (1841–43) before ending production, as it was too expensive and he could not cover his costs by subscriptions.[4] Hoffy's Orchardist's Companion was the first American periodical devoted solely to fruit cultivation.[1][2]
North American Pomologist
Hoffy and Brincklé believed that this series was needed because of "repeated disappointments which have attended the cultivation of Foreign Fruits in this country"[2] and also to clear up increasing confusion over common fruit names. The entire series was published in 1860 in a single volume as Hoffy's North American Pomologist.
Family and death
In Philadelphia, Hoffy married Emma Jane Patterson. They had six daughters and two sons together. In the late 1860s, Hoffy moved his family to
Gallery
References
- ^ a b Exhibit: Hoffy's Orchardist's Companion; A Quarterly Journal, Devoted to the History, Character, Properties, Modes of Cultivation, and All Other Matters Appertaining to the Fruits of the United States, Cornell University Albert R. Mann Library website.
- ^ a b c d e f Brincklé, William D. , ed. Hoffy's North American Pomologist. Philadelphia: A. Hoffy, 1860.
- ^ a b c d e "Hoffy, Alfred A.", The Library Company of Philadelphia Digital Collections, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Reviews". Magazine of Horticulture, Botany and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs, vol. 17, 1851, p. 512.
External links
- "Alfred A Hoffy". Find A Grave website