The Collector's Encyclopedia of Shells
Peter Dance
- 01 januari 1990
- 9781872532059
Samenvatting:
THE COLLECTOR’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SHELLS
EDITED BY S. PETER DANCE
Few living things can be preserved in a way that retains their natural beauty. For this reason, shells, which deteriorate little, are particularly attrac-tive to collectors today - fine specimens pass through the world's great auction rooms and are bringing higher and higher prices. In addition, the popu-larity of skin diving as a leisure activity has l urther stimulated interest in shells, and now shops across the nation are making exotic species available to the collector. Since the beaches of the world offer an immense variety of shells to anyone who cares to look for them, this book is an invaluable guide to the serious collector, the dealer, and the amateur who just enjoys shells for their intrinsic beauty.
The Collector’e Encyclopedia of Sbelle is the first reference work to combine comprehensive worldwide coverage of seashells with color photographs closely integrated in the text. The illustrations are reproduced large enough to show not just the general appearance of the shell, but details of surface pattern and texture.
The more than 2,000 species are arranged in systematic order following
an up-to-date classiflcation of mollusks.
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Within each genus, the species are dealt
with in alphabetical order. The stunning
color photographs - over 1,500 espe-
cially taken for this book - often include
more than one specimen so the variation
within the species or different aspects of
* *
the shell can be seen. A pictorial key is provided to assist the collector in identifying his specimens.
Within each genus an extensive selection of species is listed, and for each species the popular name (if any) is given, as well as alternative scientific names, geographical distribution, and full description.
The informative introduction deals with the biology, classification, identi-fication, and zoogeography of mollusks. And the system of zoogeographical zones, used throughout the book to summarize the distribution of species not restricted to specific localities, is explained. In addition, the editor out-lines the histoiy of shell collecting and offers sound advice to the collector.
S. Peter Dance is one of the world’s leading experts on shells. For many years he worked at the Natural Histoiy Museum in London, the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff and the Manchester Museum, which hold the three main collections in Britain. He has travelled widely in search of shells, talked about them on television and radio, and written about a hundred articles, both popular and scientific. Among his fifteen books are Shell
Collecting (1966), Rare Shelb (1969), Animah, Fakej and Fraudo (1976), The Art of Natural Hiotory (1978), Seaohelh, Btvalveo (1980), Claooical Natural Flut ton/ Printo: Birdo and F’uh (1990).
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