PREFACE 



This price catalog of Sea Shells is issued for sale in book, shell and novelty 

 stores throughout the nation. 



It is divided into three sections. East Coast Marine Shells, West Coast 

 Marine Shells and Foreign Marine Shells. 



Latin names are universal throughout the world and are given first. Com- 

 mon name follows where same has been standardized, then Locality, Descrip- 

 tion and Price. Localities may vary greatly. Prices will vary according to size 

 and perfection of specimen and may be either lower or higher than listed herein. 



In sending orders to a dealer, latin names should be carefully copied and 

 then you are sure to get what you want. Common names vary with locality. A 

 shell from the Philippines may have an entirely different common name than 

 from Australia. Play safe and use latin names only. 



Only Marine shells are listed herein and as there are about 50,000 kinds 

 in the world, this catalog is only a beginning. There are a number of good 

 books on shells on the market in this country, England and Australia in the 

 English language and many other books in foreign languages. 



If you wish a more extensive library write the author or firm you bought 

 this book from and you will receive the information you wish. 



There is no set of books which covers all the kinds of shells in the world 

 and never has been as yet. A catalog of simply the names would fill 2000 pages. 



From this brief information you will see you have embarked on a great 

 hobby, and the least expensive of any nature hobbies. It has never been possi- 

 ble to spend the money on shells as on coins or stamps and no individual shell 

 has ever sold in the past 100 years at any fabulous price. 



The highest price paid in recent years for any one shell is $500 and that was 

 for a shell of which less than a dozen perfect specimens were known whereas a 

 single coin or stamp has sold for over $10,000. 



We have many collectors in our country who only collect one genus like 

 Oliva, Conus, Murex, Mitra, etc. A few collectors specialize on BIG shells like 

 12" or more. Many others only collect shells of one inch down to very minute 

 which can only be studied with a good magnifier. 



As about 80% of all the shells of the world are small to minute, the collector 

 of this class always has much the larger collection. One advantage is it takes 

 less room, few varieties are expensive, and the form and color are always equal 

 to larger shells. 



As the tendency of the present generation is for smaller homes or apart- 

 ments, small shells are recommended as far as possible. 



