THE RITUALS OF DINNER

New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1991. First American Edition. Hardcover. Mustard boards, purple cloth covered boards. Near fine, in near fine dust wrapper. 432 pages. 23.5 x 16 cm. When we eat together, we bring our culture with us, with all the possibilities for pleasure and danger that implies. Throughout our history, table manners have been one way of keeping the peace, of domesticating some of the wilder aspects of human - especially men's - behavior. The Rituals of Dinner explores every aspect of our eating rituals - how we invite and seat people, how we serve them, what we eat with, and how the treat our guests. Margaret Visser provides a history of how we look and deal with all things culinary. Interior, boards, and dust wrapper clean and crisp. Covered in protective mylar.