Stanford University Press, 1939. Large 8vo (22.8 x 15.6 cm). xxii, 320 pp.; 46 numbered plates, 112 illustrations on unnumbered plates. Publisher's pictorial cloth. Green endpapers.

The very rare first edition of what became an immensely popular book written by a great friend of Nobel laureate John Steinbeck, "Ed" or "Doc" Ricketts. "By 2004, the book had sold around 100,000 copies, making it one of the best-selling books published by Stanford University Press" (Wikipedia). Edward Flanders Robb Ricketts (1897-1948) was a marine biologist and ecologist. "He became renowned as the inspiration for the character Doc in John Steinbeck's 1945 novel Cannery Row, Rickett's professional reputation is rooted in Between Pacific Tides (1939), a pioneering study of intertidal ecology. A friend and mentor of Steinbeck, they collaborated on and co-authored the book, Sea of Cortez (1941)" (Wikipedia). Sea of Cortez narrates a joint expedition by Ricketts and Steinbeck to the Gulf of California in order to study and collect tropical marine life in an area just south of that covered by Between Pacific Tides. Ricketts was tragically killed when his car collided with a train. At the time, he was contemplating another zoological-ecological expedition together with John Steinbeck. Printed errata leaf tipped in on Plate IV. Provenance: small name stamp of George Piternick in the top margin of the front free endpaper, and top edge. Piternick (1918-1999) was a Professor at the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, at the University of British Columbia. "...he received an A.B. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1939. He pursued graduate studies in Zoology at the University of Hawaii and The University of California at Berkeley. ... [H]e received a BLS in 1947, and joined the staff of the library first as a Cataloguer and a Catalogue Analyst, then as a Library Administrative Analyst until 1961, when he was appointed Assistant Director of Libraries at the University of Washington. In 1965 he joined the faculty of the School of Librarianship, the University of British Columbia as Associate Professor, and was promoted to Professor in 1970. He taught courses in Resources in Science and Technology, Research Methods, College and University Librarianship, and Sources of Information. ...He was a frequent contributor to and reviewer for library journals in Canada and the US, specializing in topics relating to catalogues, technical services, statistics and physical storage." (Anonymous). It is no wonder that this former owner treated this book with the upmost respect. Pictorial bookplate, of Stanford University Press "Take my money but leave my book" mounted on the front pastedown. Boards a bit rubbed, more so at spine ends; tiny smudge on front board; a few marginalia in light pencil, otherwise an excellent, clean copy. Very rare. We found no auction records. Anonymous (1999) George Piternick (1918-1999) ExLibris News 215, p. 10. Not in Nissen.