mollusk

Equal parts science and culture, this charming book provides a scientific and gastronomic tour of the British Isles through the lens of Mollusca. The book describes both the appearance and habitat of various species of ‘British mollusks’ using their Latin (taxonomic) names, while also providing the reader with numerous variations on preparing these creatures for consumption. Recipes hail from all across Europe. The book features 12 colored plates and its cover is adorned with a golden snail upon a leaf.

Best known as a botanist and conchologist, Thomas Martyn (1735-1825) also published works on entomology. His Psyche is a famous — and famously rare — work, once thought to exist in only 10 copies, and while that number has been expanded to about 18, they are all different in the number of plates and pages of text (if any) that they comprise. Only 7 copies are known in U.S. libraries, and some of those are incomplete. This one, too, is a partial copy: 5 parts, with their original printed wrappers and 9 hand-colored plates (pt.1 text and all of pt.2 in facsimile).