Natural history and iconography of purple shells

The descriptions of molluscs in ancient literature, both in text and in illustrations, are accurate enough from the sixteenth century on to enable identification of the species used to obtain the Tyrian purple so prized in the Mediterranean region. This study is completed by an overview of some descriptions of other purple molluscs from various parts of the world, dating from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. A brief account of the many illustrations which adorn the works reviewed is also given.