Untitled: mussel

The mussel is a common sight on British shores and restaurant menus. In National History: Mollusca Gosse writes that the edible mussel is 'familiar to everyone' and describes the incredible quantities in which they were consumed in Victorian Britain. However, the subject of this collage is less instantly recognisable as it shows the internal anatomy of the mollusc. The two white ovals are not pearls they represent the muscle that, in life, holds the shell closed.