My choice would be the scallop.  As early as the late 15th century when
bookbinding started to became an artform, intricate gold leaf scallop
motifs were a popular design for die-cut leather book covers. Countless
varieties of scallop borders and scallop designs adorn antiquarian book
covers from the 15th and 16th centuries.

On the other hand, I would have to agree that the Nautilus motif may tip
the scale for the frequency of non-malacological book cover illustrations
in the past one hundred years -- as experienced by Marien, walk into any
book store and the Nautilus motif seems to be a highly popular illustration
for illustrating the covers of novels, computer books, ecology treatises,
etc.

I would think that many people truly do not immediately recognize a shell
illustrated on a book cover as molluscan shell.

Rich
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www.worldwideconchology.com
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Original Message:
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From: Andy Rindsberg [log in to unmask]
Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 09:06:43 -0500
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Shells on books

Interesting. There must be a lot of shells on book covers. So, here's the
challenge to the fiction-lovers out there in ConchLand: What kinds of shells
are most commonly used by artists to illustrate book covers?


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