salesmen

John Mawe (1766-1829) first set out on a career at sea, but after the merchant ship he was in foundered on a reef near Mozambique, he concluded that a sea-faring life was too hazardous and turned to selling the shells, minerals, and other natural-history specimens that he had begun collecting in his travels. He became one of the leading dealers in the booming trade of specimens for curiosity cabinets and scholarly collections throughout Europe.