CHAPTER I. 
The Geographical Distribution of the Shell-Purple 
Industry. 
Among the many curious and ornamental uses to 
which shell-fish have been applied, one of the most striking 
and interesting is undoubtedly their employment for the 
production of the famous dye known as “ Tyrian purple.” 
Much has been written concerning this dye and the 
subject has been discussed in its economical and _ philo- 
sophical aspects by numerous writers. 
By far the best and most comprehensive summary of 
the various contributions to our knowledge of the subject 
is the article on Purpura by Maurice Besnier, in Daremberg 
and Saglio’s “ Dictionnaire des Antiquités.”’ The biblio- 
graphy quoted by this author is astonishing and serves to 
show how extensively the subject has been treated by 
writers of different nationalities. 
But Besnier, and the authors he quotes, deal only with 
the classical area of the Mediterranean. The aim of the 
present chapter is to trace out, as far as it is possible to 
do so, the geographical distribution of this interesting 
industry ; not only in the Old, but also in the New World. 
Many data relating to the use of this shell-purple are 
to be found in the historical records, but in some cases its 
former presence in a particular area can only be inferred 
from the finding of broken and crushed shells, which serve 
equally definitely to distinguish certain ancient stations for 
the extraction of the purple. 
From the works of ancient writers, especially Aristotle 
1 Vol. [V.—1., Paris. 
