P R E . F A C E .
IN offering to the world a new edition o f the w o rk od ||o y th Sea Shells, the author
deems it neceffary to acquaint the public w ith the nature an d principles o f a private
eftabliihment w hich he has formed fo r the iniiruCtion o f youth, in the art o f llu ffra tin g
and painting fubjeCts.of natural h ifto ry ; as it w a s in this feminaitythat, the prefent, and
various other publications''of a fimilar kind, w ere executed, and in w hich h e flatters,
him fe lf many other performances o f equal merit w il l Ihortly be produced, & as to.
refleCt honour on the inftitution, and render its members as w e t o f real u tility, as an
■ornament to feveral branches o f the polite arts.
I t is n ow'u pward s o f feven .years fince-the author firff commenced the defign o f
attempting a n e w w o rk on Sh e ll's ;'th e reafons for w h ich are given in the Introduction
to th e w ork itfelf. One o f the principal inducements however to; .this, performance .
was, h is becoming-about that time poffeffed o f a confiderable number o f n ew fpecies,
found amongft different collections of-Shells w h ich h e had recently purchafed o f feveral
officers then lately returned from the Pacific Ocean.
I n the profecution o f this defign many and gre at difficulties neceffarily prefented
themfelves. T o execute a w ork perfectly original in its kind, where the higheft and
m o il finilhed ftyle o f painting was intended particularly to charaClerife the performance,
was an undertaking attended w ith obftacles o f no common magnitude : for to have
effected this purpofe in th e ordinary way, b y employing thofe who might be found -
capable o f executing the w o rk according to the author’s ideas, would eventually have
been attended with an expenfe fo great, as in its neceffary confequences would more
than have trebled the prefent price o f each volume.
On e ' v ery effential caufe o f this aggravation o f e x p en fe .is , that there are few
artifts (w e may indeed fay none} w ho peculiarly devote the application o f their
talents to this particular branch o f the art. O f the miniature painters w ho ex cel, it
can -.never be worth the w h ile , with ou t a v ery liberal eompenfation, to interrupt their
exertions
y » » i ^ y y v j 1 i ' d i
Sud. Tauter croit devoir rendre compte an public de k “ “ ' V w
d’un établiflèment p imculieijfii il a ibnni pour milniire la jeuneffe dans lart
¿ e x p liq u e r et dé .peindre d, ajets d’l xe naturellcr puilquc c e ll dans Cette ccok
que cet ouvrage-ci, et divers autres du mimegenre, ont etc executes, et qu d fo flatte I
que fous peu du temps il en
capables ¿honorer uuu iullitution, dout l'objet cft de £nre dus eleves q,u pmffent
ac„ n;r d'i u utilité red c pour différentes branches des beaux arts.
rd’hui plu ans que l'auteur eut d’abord l'idée d'entrepren
nouvel ouvrage fur — — ■ " rS*™taa»ni _qm
à la tite de 1 ouvrage me ne Cependant un dcsprincip ux motif quil y dote murèrent.
c 'e ft qu’alors ¡1 fe I ^ ■' * _______ — L :cs dc
Coquilles, qui fe trouvèrent parmi différentes colleOions qu'il en veno.t d’ache.er de
oluficurs us depuis p< ™
Poux venir à bout de : de il avolt né _ _ m des dil eu
vai LA . l’un ouv : origine1 dans fou. enre, r être
caradérifé d’une manière particulière ne demandoit * u rc >' P ”“
d'un peintre confommé, étoit une entreprife où il fe reneo ,t ,«■ I ! 1 r »
car en fuivant la méthode ordinaire, et e emplbÿant. es aftiftes, capil* rdexecuter
obvrage félon es de 1’ on lis oit jeté dans une depenfe énorme, et il
auroil i plus que tr prix adhrel de i a il volume.
■ U ke des principales caufes i e arc c dépenfe, c e ll qu’il n’y a que très-peu
d’artiiles (et pas u ,q» , rufae :nt leurs u eu àcc ¡ S U
.* d V r i * mi le reintres en miniature, ceux qui ctccllent ne iront
jamais liipofés, " .1 ètn anent dédommages, i quitter leurs propres occupanons.