Antillian Seashells
Henry E. Coomans

The 19th century watercolors of Caribbean mollusks painted by Hendrik van Rijgersma.

“The beaches of the Antilles are famous for their beautiful shells. During 1875 the Dutch physician H.E. van Rijgersma (1835-1877) made eighty watercolours of these shells, mainly collected on the island of St. Martin. He described them, together with other molluscs of the Caribbean Sea.
His manuscript was lost for about one century but discovered via descendants in the United States. It represents the first illustrated document on the mollusc fauna from the Netherlands Antilles, in addition his paintings are very artistic and scientifically correct. All watercolours of the shells are reproduces here in full colour with a transcription of the original text.
In preceding chapters the history of malacological research on the Netherlands Antilles is described, next to a biography of Van Rijgersma and this contacts with other scientists in this field.

In an earlier volume the plants and flowers of St. Martin, also painted by Van Rijgersma, were published by De Walburg Pers.