...is my copy of the Field Book of Seashore Life, by Roy Waldo Miner. It is a field guide to the tidal invertebrates of the Atlantic Coast, from Labrador to Cape Hatteras, and although not specific for my neck of the woods, there is enough overlap in the biomes that it is still useful for Florida tidepoolers. Almost every marine lab and marine biology student I've ever come into contact with has a jealously-guarded copy,even though it is way out of date, long out of print, and quite old-fashioned in its approach and philosophy. I picked mine up new in the late 60s for a biology class for $15. At one time, it was the only thing like it, and today, even though there are many good field guides available, sometimes only this one will do to key out some obscure critter. The copyright date is 1950.

Miner is a small, thick, hardbound book of almost 900 pages, and the color plates are sparse and rather amateurish, barely worth the effort. There are no photographs. But it is the line drawings that are incomparable: pen and ink sketches of thousands of creatures, clearly and skillfully drawn so the relevant identifying features are highlighted, whether it be a claw, or a carapace segment, or an eye stalk. If necessary, they are dissected, the relevant structures exposed. And keep in mind, the vast bulk of the critters here are less than a centimeter in length. The work that must have gone into it is phenomenal, and all by the same hand because the style is so distinctive and uniform. The text is equally comprehensive, highly detailed and anatomically oriented (unlike modern guides, there is little information as to the biology and ecology of the creature). The arrangement is taxonomical: phylum/class/order/family/genus. Each species is described in exquisite detail, sometimes the only difference between them being minute variations in the length of antennae, or the number of bristles or leg joints on an appendage.

Over the years, many of the scientific names have changed, biology is constantly fiddling with nomenclature (what used to be quadrupeds are now tetrapods!) and many taxonomies have been re-defined, from the phylum level (Coelenterata is now Cnidaria) all the way down to individual species. And I have no doubt that hundreds of the creatures described here are now extinct, due to the environmental stress on coastal waters.

The California intertidal is well supplied with good field guides, the ocean there being so uniform, rich and accessible and with the tradition of Ricketts, Snook, Hedgepeth, Abbot and Light to show the way. But on the Atlantic, with its three great habitats (rocky coast, sandy beach, mangrove/coral coast) the best support is the Peterson Field Guides, fine books for the beachcomber and student, but barely adequate for the serious hobbyist or professional. The best of them is Gosner's Field Guide to the Atlantic Seashore, covering the same geographical range as Miner. Gosner is a good supplement, but not a replacement for the latter.

Miner cannot be replaced, it is, as far as I know, unavailable in facsimile or online, and there are no plans to put it back in print that I know of. When the few remaining copies disappear, the effort and time and vast experience of its author will go with it. Washed away, like footprints on the sand at low tide.