Shells
• This book showcases the beauty of seashells collected by Jacques Senders

• Features photographs by Paul Starosta, a biologist and photographer who has published over 40 award winning books on plants and animals

• Includes scientific information on shells and their characteristics

Molluscs are extraordinary builders; indeed, their architectural skills are almost unparalleled in the animal world. Who among us has failed to marvel at the wonderful structure of the smallest shell picked up on the beach? Some enthusiasts collect them throughout their lives – attracted by their beauty if they are aesthetes, or sought out for scientific purposes, as in the case of Jacques Senders. In this book, Paul Starosta’s spectacular photographs take the reader on a journey through this astounding collection, first started 50 years ago. These shells, marvels of nature as they are, naturally suggest exotic or futuristic architecture, ancient or Art Nouveau vases, or even precious stones or volcanic rocks, and reaffirm the importance of nature as a source of inspiration for artists and architects. By celebrating the extraordinary variety and architectural refinement of the shells in Jacques and Rita Senders’s collection, the book reveals a world where nature far surpasses human imagination and invention. At the end of the volume, miniature photographs are accompanied by scientific information on shells, their life, characteristics and different families.

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Shells
• This book showcases the beauty of seashells collected by Jacques Senders

• Features photographs by Paul Starosta, a biologist and photographer who has published over 40 award winning books on plants and animals

• Includes scientific information on shells and their characteristics

Molluscs are extraordinary builders; indeed, their architectural skills are almost unparalleled in the animal world. Who among us has failed to marvel at the wonderful structure of the smallest shell picked up on the beach? Some enthusiasts collect them throughout their lives – attracted by their beauty if they are aesthetes, or sought out for scientific purposes, as in the case of Jacques Senders. In this book, Paul Starosta’s spectacular photographs take the reader on a journey through this astounding collection, first started 50 years ago. These shells, marvels of nature as they are, naturally suggest exotic or futuristic architecture, ancient or Art Nouveau vases, or even precious stones or volcanic rocks, and reaffirm the importance of nature as a source of inspiration for artists and architects. By celebrating the extraordinary variety and architectural refinement of the shells in Jacques and Rita Senders’s collection, the book reveals a world where nature far surpasses human imagination and invention. At the end of the volume, miniature photographs are accompanied by scientific information on shells, their life, characteristics and different families.

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Shells

Shells

Shells

Shells

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Overview

• This book showcases the beauty of seashells collected by Jacques Senders

• Features photographs by Paul Starosta, a biologist and photographer who has published over 40 award winning books on plants and animals

• Includes scientific information on shells and their characteristics

Molluscs are extraordinary builders; indeed, their architectural skills are almost unparalleled in the animal world. Who among us has failed to marvel at the wonderful structure of the smallest shell picked up on the beach? Some enthusiasts collect them throughout their lives – attracted by their beauty if they are aesthetes, or sought out for scientific purposes, as in the case of Jacques Senders. In this book, Paul Starosta’s spectacular photographs take the reader on a journey through this astounding collection, first started 50 years ago. These shells, marvels of nature as they are, naturally suggest exotic or futuristic architecture, ancient or Art Nouveau vases, or even precious stones or volcanic rocks, and reaffirm the importance of nature as a source of inspiration for artists and architects. By celebrating the extraordinary variety and architectural refinement of the shells in Jacques and Rita Senders’s collection, the book reveals a world where nature far surpasses human imagination and invention. At the end of the volume, miniature photographs are accompanied by scientific information on shells, their life, characteristics and different families.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9791254600825
Publisher: Acc Publishing Group Ltd
Publication date: 02/26/2025
Pages: 240
Product dimensions: 9.50(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Paul Starosta is a biologist and photographer. Combining his twin passions of nature and photography, he has published over 40 award-winning books on plants and animals. He is the subject of issue 129 (2010) of Photo Poche, a series created by Robert Delpire and published by Actes Sud, which has become a yardstick in its field throughout the world.

Read an Excerpt

Excerpted from
A World of Curiosities

To admire a shell is to unconsciously pay homage to the mollusk that created it. These animals, the epitome of softness and slowness, are in reality formidable builders, capable of an architectural prowess probably unsurpassed in the animal kingdom. With about 120,000 species, each acutely different from each other, these creatures have not yet ceased to astonish us as they reveal their myriad wonders. It is enough to satisfy the curiosity of a collector for an entire lifetime. Proof of this lies in the exceptional collection of Jacques and Rita Senders, which was started 50 years ago and continues to grow, fueled by the same enthusiasm as that of their very first day of collecting. The photographs in this book (which display only a sampling of that collection) give the reader a glimpse of the extraordinary diversity of these animals.

Table of Contents

From Nature to Architecture

Paolo Portoghesi

A World of Curiosities

The Art of the Sea Shells

Classifications

Index

Preface


Excerpted from

A World of Curiosities


To admire a shell is to unconsciously pay homage to the mollusk that created it. These animals, the epitome of softness and slowness, are in reality formidable builders, capable of an architectural prowess probably unsurpassed in the animal kingdom. With about 120,000 species, each acutely different from each other, these creatures have not yet ceased to astonish us as they reveal their myriad wonders. It is enough to satisfy the curiosity of a collector for an entire lifetime. Proof of this lies in the exceptional collection of Jacques and Rita Senders, which was started 50 years ago and continues to grow, fueled by the same enthusiasm as that of their very first day of collecting. The photographs in this book (which display only a sampling of that collection) give the reader a glimpse of the extraordinary diversity of these animals.

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