Fossilia Hantoniensia Collecta

A director of the Bank of England seems an unlikely candidate to publish on fossil shells, but Gustavus Brander (1720-1787) was very invested in his hobby. An avid fossil collector, he frequented the cliffs around Christchurch and the coast of Hampshire in pursuit of shells. Upon realizing that many of these shells had never been described or illustrated, he enlisted the help of naturalist Daniel Solander and an engraver and self-published this description of his finds. Brander further suggested that some of his shells must have existed in a warmer climate, an unusual opinion in the 18^th century. He left his vast collection to the British Museum.