Interesting news items from the world of conchology and malacology
Museum Exhibit Opens to Public
Chenu
"Pink or Queen Conch" (Strombus gigas).
From Jean Charles Chenu, Illustrations conchyliologiques ou description et figures de toutes les couquilles connues, vivantes et fossiles. Paris. 1842-1853
A Delight for the Eye and the Mind
Books on Mollusks and Their Shells

AN EXHIBITION
February 16 through June 30, 2001

Ewell Sale Stewart Library
The Academy of Natural Sciences
PHILADELPHIA, PA, 27 FEB 2001 - The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia is one of the oldest and largest centers in the world for MALACOLOGY, the scientific study of MOLLUSKS.

There are approximately 100,000 living species of mollusks. The Academy’s holdings of 12 million mollusk specimens, the world’s second largest collection, represents both living species and the fossilized shells of extinct species. These are used for research by in-house curators and by visiting experts and shell collectors.
The magnificent Ewell Sale Stewart Library of the Academy backs up this work, having virtually all of the publications on systematic malacology (and other organisms), no matter what its antiquity or language. Benefactors have acquired many book "treasures" for the Academy over many years. In the 19th century, many of the old books were still awailable and cost relatively little. Indeed, "the older the book, the more certain the Academy Library is to have it"-an unusual attribute.

Drawing on a few of the many "treasures" and more recent publications in the Ewell Sale Stewart Library, this exhibit samples chronologically the many ways mollusks and their shells have been illustrated: from woodcuts in the oldest "shell book" (Buonanni, 1681) to the extremely high magnification and yet well-focused scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs of today. A few shells matching illustrations of the same species are also shown.

The Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103