The Big Oyster - A Molluscular History of New York

Published by Vintage Books, 2007. Foxing to page edges and endpapers.

When Peter Minuit bought Manhattan for $24 in 1626 he showed his shrewdness by also buying the oyster beds off the tiny, nearby Oyster Island, renamed Ellis Island in 1770. From the Minuit purchase until pollution finally destroyed the beds in the 1920s, New York was a city known for its oysters, especially in the late 1800s, when Europe and America enjoyed a decades-long oyster craze... Travellers to New York were also keen to experience the famous New York oyster houses. While some were known for their elegance, due to a long-standing belief in the aphrodisiac quality of oysters, they were often associated with prostitution... The Big Oyster is the story of a city and of an international trade. Filled with cultural, social and culinary insights - as well as recipes, maps, drawings and photos - this is history at its most engrossing, entertaining and delicious...