书名：Beautiful Shells: George Perry's Conchology / 美丽的贝壳：乔治·佩里的贝类学研究
定价：288.0
ISBN：9781851246168
作者：Mark Carnall
版次：1
出版时间：2024-09

内容提要：

书 名：Beautiful Shells: George Perry's Conchology / 美丽的贝壳：乔治·佩里的贝类学研究

作 者：Mark Carnall

出 版：Bodleian Library ，2024

装 帧：精装，192页

语 种：英语

尺 寸：15.8*20.8 cm

 

 

海洋与海岸线上蕴藏着自然之美的宝藏，乔治·佩里在其几乎被遗忘的著作中所绘制的精美贝壳插图，在此得以奢华再现，同时配以对一些最引人注目标本的详实描述。

 

1811年，建筑师、石匠兼贝壳痴迷者乔治·佩里出版了一本插图丰富的著作——《贝类学或贝壳自然史》，其中包含了348种精美绘制的软体动物贝壳，并附有物种描述，其中许多物种都是科学界的新发现。

 

尽管在“贝壳迷恋”（或称贝壳收藏热）达到高潮的时期，佩里为创作这部作品付出了巨大努力，但他的《贝类学》却在科学文献中几乎消失得无影无踪，显然遭到了当时顶尖贝类学家的刻意压制，并在之后的几十年里一直受到无情的嘲讽。

 

本书再现了这本非凡但被遗忘的著作中那些令人惊叹、绘制精致且有时充满想象力的贝壳插图。在引言部分探讨了我们对贝壳的迷恋，以及贝壳对人类历史、文化和科学的影响之后，书中收录了全部六十一幅彩色插板，并配以对引人注目贝壳的描述，以及对我们所知的制造这些贝壳的神秘生物的介绍。从常见的帽贝和蛏子到珍贵的鲍螺和壮观的圣螺，这些形形色色的贝壳构成了我们海洋与海岸线上自然之美的宝藏。

 

马克·卡纳尔（MARK CARNALL）是牛津大学自然历史博物馆的人类遗骸和非昆虫无脊椎动物藏品管理员。

 

A treasure trove of natural beauty from our oceans and shores, George Perry’s stunning illustrations of shells from his largely forgotten volume are lavishly reproduced here, together with informative descriptions of some of the most notable specimens.

 

In 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 the scientific literature, apparently actively suppressed by the leading conchologists of the day and then cruelly mocked for decades afterwards.

 

This book reproduces the stunning, exquisitely drawn and sometimes fanciful shell illustrations from this extraordinary forgotten volume. Following an introduction exploring our fascination with shells and their impact on human history, culture and science, each of the sixty-one colour plates is included alongside a description of notable shells and what is known of the mysterious organisms that make them. From the common limpet and razor clam to the valuable cowry and spectacular divine conch, the wide range of shells featured form a treasure trove of natural beauty from our oceans and shores.

 

MARK CARNALL is Collections Manager of Human Remains and non-insect invertebrate collections at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.