Britain

The Curiosities of Ale & Beer

In the words of the author himself, this tome is responsible for "the bringing to light of many curious facts, so far as I am aware, never before noticed" about the role of ale and beer in the history of mankind. Starting in ancient Egypt, Bickerdyke traces the evolution of beer and brewing up through the late 1800s.

Phrenological Illustrations

Phrenological Illustrations is a 19th-century satirical work by British artist and caricaturist George Cruikshank that pokes fun at the “science” of phrenology, the pseudo-science in which one analyzed the shape and features of the human skull to explain behavior and personality.

British Mineralogy

James Sowerby's British Mineralogy is the first comprehensive illustrated work on mineralogy. Though more than 200 years old, in many ways it has never been superceded. It was issued in parts over 15 years and ultimately contained 550 plates meticulously drawn from actual specimens, engraved and brilliantly colored by Sowerby himself and members of his naturalist/artist family accompanied by descriptive text. It is by common consensus "the supreme work of British topographical mineralogy, [and] the most ambitious colourplate work on minerals ever published" (Conklin).

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