OP: The Oysters of Locmariaquer

Pantheon Books, 1964. Hardcover. Very Good Plus. First printing.

This remarkable account of oysters and oystering in the bays and gulfs of southern Brittany is a rare treat. 

Eleanor Clark (1919–1996) was a novelist who also wrote non-fiction, and The Oysters of Locmariaquer, published in 1964, was a compelling exploration of what might have seemed at first to be a narrow subject. 

To the contrary, Clark ranges from the lives of the people of this culturally remote region to unexpected lessons in marine biology, the ins and outs of marketing in the seafood trade, and the writing of the great historians and gourmands of ancient Rome.

The book, which won a National Book Award and garnered substantial sales, has taken its place as a classic. Oysters are among our most storied foods, and this absorbing account of the intersection of the natural world and the human domain, now available only in paperback, has been a steady seller since the store opened.

We are pleased to offer a first printing of the simple but elegantly designed hardcover edition. It is in Very Good condition, and the dust jacket, protected in a mylar sleeve, is also Very Good, with modest shelfwear and chipping. A very faint splash of water damage to the front jacket. A sweet gift inscription to the front free endpaper. A significant addition to any collection, and, more to the point, a book that will reward a good reading—or even two.