Dear Stephen et al,

Yes, one can find the old handcolored shell prints at reasonable prices.
 The best way is to scour the Internet book search engines
(www.abebooks.com is the best) and the natural history book dealers'
catalogs for broken (incomplete) volumes which can often be obtained at
reasonable prices.  I would say that you can find nice 19th century octavo
handcolored prints for $10 to $15 each when purchased on this basis.
 Quarto will cost about double that.  Folio will probably run $30 to $100 a
print.  You will have to look and be patient but trust me, you can find
such items although the supply is dwindling.

For those of you whose love of shells can not supercede your need to invest
your money wisely, antiquarian shell books and prints have a very good
record of appreciation in value.  I collect old natural history auction and
dealer catalogs and can cite many examples of shell books that once sold
for pennies now being worth tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars.

Try selling a rare shell back to a dealer at a premium to what you paid!

I have found collecting the old conchological literature and art to be a
supremely satisfying pastime.  It has greatly increased by understanding of
malacology.  Where as many shell collectors may remember names such as
Cypraea surinamensis and take interest in the shell, its beauty and natural
history, I and people like me have the double pleasure of knowing it was
described by George Perry in 1811 in a work called "Conchology", which at
the time was highly controversial and raised the scorn of the likes of the
Sowerbys.

Good luck with your burgeoning interest,

Sincere regards,

Scott Jordan

-----Original Message-----
From:   Olivier Caro [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Tuesday, April 02, 2002 4:27 AM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Shell books related

Dear Martin.
As you seem living not very far away from Leiden, could you please give us
some nice adresses ( and/or url) of bookdealers?
These old reprints are wonderful, and I don't know if somewhere exists a
more interesting town than Leiden for philosophy, nature & libraries.
Some of my best books come from this place !

All the best

Olivier Caro
Paris,
France.
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Cadee M.C.
  To: [log in to unmask]
  Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 1:55 PM
  Subject: Re: old shell drawings



  [Cadee M.C.]
  Dear Stephen,There has been a reprint  of Sowerby's Thesaurus
Conchyliorum by Brill (Leiden, The Netherlands}. I bought some of them [the
reprints are several little books] in a second hand shop.  I 'll look in my
"library" after other works with reprints of coloured shell drawings, for I
know I have some
  Yours Martin C. Cadee, The Netherlands.
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