The idea has been floated to nominate "the most beautiful species" in
each family.  Sounds good in theory, but just wouldn't work - no two
people have identical concepts of what is "beautiful" - so achiveing
anything approaching a general concensus would be COMPLETELY impossible
- you would be lucky to get  identical twins to agree on such a list,
let alone a gaggle of average collectors from different cultural and
personal backgrounds!!  Further, most spp vary so much that within a
given family,  a spectacular specimen of a species usually considered
"not so beautiful" can be more wonderful than all but the best specimens
ofa species commonly regarded as fantastic!  At least one book has been
published of "The World's Most Beautiful Shells", but even this is just
one person's opinion, and of course he could never see more than a tiny
fraction of even the most prominant collections on the planet - and in
any case, his any other collector would probably look at the same
beasties he did, and come up with a completely different set of shells!!
        THat said, it seems certain charactaristics are "pre-programmed" into
our species' general concept of "beauty" - things like symmetry,
vividness and contrast of colors, "boldness" of pattern, stiking forms
(usually in terms of pleasant curves ;)    ) ... so that IN GENERAL,
almost any two people can take a look at a shell and agree that it
either is, or isn't beautiful or attractive - but as to the DEGREE of
attractiveness, forget it - this is where the pre-programming ends and
personal opinion takes over!!
 
Lochiam!
-Ross.
--
Ross Mayhew:    Schooner Specimen Shells:    Http://www.schnr-specimen-shells.com
"We Specialize in the Unusual"
Phone: (902) 876-2241     Snail Mail; P.O Box 20005, RPO Spryfield,
Halifax, N.S., Canada, B3R 2K9.
But try to find "something for Everyone"!!