Sea shells from the shore of the Red Sea

A COLLECTION OF SHELLS

These shells were picked by Wilhelmina von Hallwyl and Ida Uhse on the shore of the Red Sea on the evening of 10 December 1900.

Wilhelmina von Hallwyl's collection started with a shell she was given by her father, the merchant Wilhelm Kempe. The very first shell remains in the collection to this day. Several shells were later added, among them these. Each shell in the collection is registered and described, both as biological phenomenon and as a part of the museum collection.

Thanks to Wilhelmina's precise cataloguing of all aspects of her collections, we can see exactly which items of clothing and accessories were packed in which bags ahead of the trip to Egypt. We can also, to a large extent, see which items were purchased during the trips to the bazaars, what the family gave each other for Christmas and which shells were picked on the shore of the Red Sea on that particular day in December 1900.