SOLVED. Field Guide to Species on an Alien Planet [s]

[Cathy]

This is driving me crazy! I vaguely remember a beautifully illustrated coffee-table book from the late '70s or early '80. The premise was that it was a natural-history guide for another planet, with paintings of all the organisms and notes on how they interacted. I think the idea was to demonstrate some of the principles of how ecosystems evolve and are mutually interdependent ... I remember it being a fairly popular book, one you would see on display if you dropped into any bookstore at the time. I'd love to see another copy, but have no idea what the title might have been.

[Snail in Danger (Sid)]

Oh man, that sounds awesome. I hope someone here knows!

[Random]

That does sound awesome. I wonder if its still available.

[Lindig]

Maybe this?

[Erika]

I think the description of the book is a bit confusing... it's a book about the organisms on planet Earth, but written as if someone from another place in the universe is learning about it, is that correct?

[Gerd]

Sounds familiar.

Although I believe the book I have in mind here was detailing the different races appearing in popular SF novels.

If I'm right my brother might still have it, gotta look for it later this day.

[Cathy]

Erika -- no, it was the animals, and maybe plants, of an invented planet (or maybe several different invented planets, I think now it might have had a few different ecosystems in it), supposedly written by a human naturalist.

Gerd and Lindig, it wasn't about sentient races from science-fiction movies or novels, the creatures were unique to the book.

[Dylan]

Any chance it was Aliens In Space: An Illustrated Guide to the Inhabited Galaxy?

[Cathy]

Nope, that's not it -- although that's closer to the concept. It's also not Barlow's Guide to Extraterrestrials.

[Cathy]

I might be crossing Expedition: Being an Account in Words and Artwork of the 2358 A.D. Voyage to Darwin IV and After Man: A Zoology of the Future in my memory! Certainly After Man is the right time period and that cover is ringing some bells for me.

[D.M.]

It may be this:

Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials: Great Aliens from Science Fiction Literature While it's not ecological, it's closer to Gerd's description and was very popular.

edit: never mind, caught his response to Gerd. Leaving the book name in because Wayne Barlowe could possibly be the artist.

[Cathy]

Thanks -- I think it is a cross between a Barlowe book and an imagined future earth ecology, both of which I must have seen around the same time and conflated into one book.

[Shelley]

You are thinking of Codex Seraphinianus. I believe it was written in the sixties, and tends to be rather pricey $500-$600, as it is a rather rare text. :)

[Cathy]

Wow -- I'll check that out.

[Cathy]

Ok -- that's not the book I remember, but wow is it fascinating. I love that kind of baroque weirdness!