Historical illustrations give us a glimpse into the scientific research of the past—and they can be very cool to look at!

We can view thousands of historical illustrations of marine life thanks to the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). The BHL is the largest open-access digital library for biodiversity archives. They work with libraries around the world to offer millions of books dating back to the 15^th century for free. The library is not only an incredible source of data for scientists—it brings scientific art into the homes of people around the world.

Previously, we dug through the BHL archives to bring you some of our favorite ocean, shark and cephalopod illustrations from the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Now, in honor of the summer beach season, we’re bringing you our favorite shell illustrations from the BHL!

You can explore the BHL too, by visiting their website and Flickr page.