No, No, No---
    I know all that. People have been making jewelry out of shells for more than 50,000 years. Not what I'm asking. What I'm wondering is if there are collections like "WE" do dating from earlier than the 16th century. Did "Sir William Frisby of Essex" indulge in shell collecting on his 1482 trip to the continent---and did he box 'em up and will them to some budding museum?
    Did Sir Milton Hergesheimer bring back a collection of shells from the Red Sea when he returned from the 3rd crusade? (Everyone knows Miltie didn't like fighting very much)
    You know---that sort of thing!
        Art
>
> From: "Thomas E. Eichhorst" <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 2004/12/12 Sun PM 02:39:45 EST
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Old Collections
>
> Art,
>
> Okay, I'll bite.  Man's interest in shells goes back to prehistoric times.
> Shell jewelry in the form of necklaces and "buttons" have been found in
> prehistoric sites in both the New World and the Old World.  Shells in
> middens left over from early man's epicurean habits seem to get more
> attention, but there is plenty of evidence of the aesthetic use of shells.
> In Europe, a 30,000 year old burial site of Cro-Magnon man contained the
> bodies of a man, woman, and child.  They were decorated with red ochre and
> surrounded by weapons, tools, animal teeth, AND a necklace made of
> seashells.  Another site contained a Cypraecassis rufa, the helmet shell
> used to make cameos.  This shell is from the Indo-Pacific, yet found its way
> to Europe.  Obviously a valued item and not as a food item (no refrigeration
> for such long journeys back then!).  Similarly, there are Spondylus shells
> found in sites in my native state of New Mexico - a long way from any ocean.
> Early man traded shells that had value back then as now for their beauty.
> Our interest in the colors/patterns/designs/shapes etc. of shells did not
> spring to life in the last few thousand years, but has a long history.  And
> as for pre-Linnaean, there were plenty of authors who wrote about shells
> before old Carl von got us settled on the binominal system.  Early Minoan
> art shows shells in a decorative fashion, Aristotle (300's BC) coined the
> word "mollusk," Pliny (early AD) wrote about mollusks in his Natural
> History, Middle Age monks used images of shells in their illuminated works,
> and lots of Europeans used the availability of the printing press to
> describe their collections.  The "collector's cabinet" was already a very
> popular (among the wealthy) past time in the 1500s and 1600s.  Shells were
> coming back to Europe from the many South Sea expeditions and the fervor was
> on!  I am sure our collector friends in Japan and China can tell similar
> stories of early collecting in their countries.
>
> Tom Eichhorst
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
> > [log in to unmask]
> > Sent: Sunday, December 12, 2004 11:56 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Old Collections
> >
> >
> > The Question Man Asks:
> >      It appears to us that Shell cvollecting is a relatively new
> > sport. That is---there doesn't appear to be many records predating Linne.
> >      But is this so?
> >      Are there records of collectors dating back to the middle
> > ages? Kings? Crusaders? Japanese Emperors? Would Patrice Bail or
> > Tom Eichorst know?  Are there musty non-displayable conchs hidden
> > in places even the curators no longer frequent?
> >      Wouldn't it be interesting---if----
> >    The Q Man
> >
> > PLEASE NOTE: My new, long-term, and correct email address is:
> > [log in to unmask] Please update your records!
> >
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