Shells and Shell Collecting

Title: Shells and Shell Collecting
Genre: Science, Nature & Pets
Author: S. Peter Dance
Publisher: The Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd., London, U.K.
Year: 1972
Pages: 128
Format: Hardcover, with dust jacket.
Provenance: Bas relief insignia of previous owner with the initials MML, stamped on first page.
Contents: Introducing the Shell World; Major Shell Groups; Shell Shapes; Shell Sculpture; Shell Colour and Pattern; Shell Collecting Past and Present; Freaks and Frauds; Rare Shells; Shells and Man; Shells and Art; Index; Acknowledgements.
Opening Sentence: “‘Shells are at once the attraction of the untutored savage, the delight of the refined artist, the wonder of the philosophic zoologist, and the most valued treasure of the geologist’.”
Random Passage: “It is only since the end of the Second World War that collectors have acquired most of their shells by their own exertions or by exchange with other collectors. Before then they relied heavily on dealers to supply them with specimens, especially the more attractive shells from tropical regions.” (from Shell Collecting Past and Present)
Notes: S. Peter Dance was a prominent shell collector/enthusiast who catalogued his favorite rarities in a separate book, Rare Shells (1969). The website of the British Shell Club includes a gallery devoted to some of the rare specimens which are pictured in this particular book.