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Category: Rare Books and Special Collections

Scientific illustration of seashells

The Conchologists: Searching for Seashells in 19th Century America

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

In the 19th century naturalists and enlightened amateurs in the U.S. cultivated an understanding of the natural world of this new country by documenting new and known varieties of plant and animal species. One of these scientific pursuits was conchology- the study and collection of marine, freshwater and terrestrial shells. The story of American conchology …