Beautiful ShellsIn 1811, architect, stone mason, and shell obsessive George Perry published a lavishly illustrated volume, his Conchology or the Natural History of Shells, featuring 348 beautifully illustrated mollusc shells with descriptions of species, many of which were new to science. Despite the effort that went into producing the work, at a time when 'conchophilia', or shell fancying, was at its height, Perry's Conchology all but disappeared without a trace in