Shell specimens
Date
1776
Creator
Peter Brown (1758 - 1799, British) , Illustrator
Object type
Library reference
55207
Material
Dimensions
height (print): 199mm
width (print): 270mm
width (print): 270mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Conchological study of ten shell types. Includes, in some cases, depictions of their external and internal surfaces.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 - The Prickly Limpet shown on the inside, and on its side (Helcion pectunuculus)
Figures 4 and 5 – The Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas), listed as the ‘Bason Conch’
Figures 6 and 7 – Barnacles (Balanus)
Figure 8 – The Razor Clam (Ensis arcuatus)
Figure 9 – The Mussel (Mytilus edulis), listed as ‘The Common Muscle’
Figures 10 and 11 – The Bear Paw Clam Shell (Hippopus hippopus)
Figures 12, 14, and 15 – The Freshwater Pearl Mussel (Margaritifera Margaritifera), listed as ‘The Pearl River Muscle’
Figure 13 – The Windowpane Oyster (Placuna placenta), listed as ‘The Glass or Chinese Pellucid Oyster’
Figure 16 – A Chama Bivalve (Chama gryphoides)
Figure 17 – A Spur Shell (Trochidae unidentified)
Plate seven from Emanuel Mendes da Costa’s book, Elements of conchology: or, an introduction to the knowledge of shells, 1776. Inscribed above: ‘PL. VII’
Emanuel Mendes da Costa (1717-1791) naturalist was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1747.
Peter Brown (active 1758-1799) British naturalist and natural history illustrator illustrated Mendes da Costa's Elements of conchology.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 - The Prickly Limpet shown on the inside, and on its side (Helcion pectunuculus)
Figures 4 and 5 – The Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas), listed as the ‘Bason Conch’
Figures 6 and 7 – Barnacles (Balanus)
Figure 8 – The Razor Clam (Ensis arcuatus)
Figure 9 – The Mussel (Mytilus edulis), listed as ‘The Common Muscle’
Figures 10 and 11 – The Bear Paw Clam Shell (Hippopus hippopus)
Figures 12, 14, and 15 – The Freshwater Pearl Mussel (Margaritifera Margaritifera), listed as ‘The Pearl River Muscle’
Figure 13 – The Windowpane Oyster (Placuna placenta), listed as ‘The Glass or Chinese Pellucid Oyster’
Figure 16 – A Chama Bivalve (Chama gryphoides)
Figure 17 – A Spur Shell (Trochidae unidentified)
Plate seven from Emanuel Mendes da Costa’s book, Elements of conchology: or, an introduction to the knowledge of shells, 1776. Inscribed above: ‘PL. VII’
Emanuel Mendes da Costa (1717-1791) naturalist was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1747.
Peter Brown (active 1758-1799) British naturalist and natural history illustrator illustrated Mendes da Costa's Elements of conchology.
Object history
Volume donated to the Royal Society by Ronald Winckworth, British natural historian, 1942.
Related fellows
Emanuel Mendes da Costa (1717 - 1791) , Naturalist