(New York, NY): Pantheon Books, 1957. First edition. Quarto. Two volumes. xxi, [1], 212, [4]; xii, [213]- 433, [3] pp. Truly magnificent work, a two volume set, with volume one providing a dense and vibrant account of mushrooms in Russia and parts of Europe covering history, folk customs, folklore, diet, and culture. Volume two recounts Wasson’s trip to Mexico and his participation in a ritual ceremony by the indigenous Mazatec people and provided the public with an introduction to the work of Maria Sabina resulting in an immediate boom of drug tourism and opened the doors to the psychedelic sixties. The volumes are illustrated with eighty-two full pages plates and three vignettes. Twenty-six of the plates are watercolors of mushrooms by Jean Henri Fabri. The remaining collotypes were printed by Fratelli Alinari. Complete with the fold-out chart, Mushroom Stones of Middle America, by Borhegyi de, S.F. Volumes are in very good condition with the chipped, worn, torn, and browned glassine jackets, housed in publisher’s slipcase. Published in a limited edition of 512 copies. A nice copy of this important work.
