"New subscribers are requested to post a brief introduction about themselves,
telling the focus and extent of their shelling interests, and anything else
they believe the group would be interested to hear about."

Fifteen years ago I purchased the inventory of a small craft shop on Pine
Island off the coast of Lee County in Southwest Florida. With it came what I
felt to be a treasure of shells from the owner's wife's then closed shell
shop called "The Black Pearl" on Sanibel Island. Off and on I have tried to
find more information about these shells, each one identified in detail with
genus, year found, by whom, in what depth of waters near what continent, etc.
Most of them are cyprea shells, but there are a variety of others.
I've joined this listserv to resume my search for information as to value of
this collection, whether any of these are now extinct,(since several were
marked by the owner in 1971 as "scarce") and how I can find an Internet
source with pictures and subspecies names to compare to the typed notes and
appearance of each. I would love to hear from anyone who might point me in
the right direction on any of these points, and I will browse the archives of
this listserv.  Thanks.

Sue Gulley