new and challenging idea that the earth must have undergone "extraordinary alterations" to explain the diversity of types and locations of fossils. Conchology Bonanni created the earliest practical illustrated guide for shell collectors, Recreatione dell'occhio e della mente (1681). The two-volume guide was the first treatise devoted entirely to molluscs and included numerous engravings. Bonanni's work is significant for his careful attempts to precisely describe shell morphology. Unfortunately, due to the printing and engraving process, the spirals shown on the shells were reversed from dextral to sinistral, a mirror image problem that later books avoided. Zoological taxonomies of the time were based on visual characteristics, and Bonanni paid special attention to both form and color, and showed details (sometimes fanciful) of the creatures inside the shells. Although his work predated the adoption of Linnaeus' system of binomial nomenclature (genus + species), Bonanni laid the foundation for the new discipline of conchology. Several later Linnaean names were based on Bonanni's work, including the name of the class Bivalvia, which he introduced. Lacquer Among other topics, Bonanni wrote of the ingredients craftsmen in China used to make the lacquer they used on porcelain, a popular import item for Europe at the time. Like other researchers of the day, he went on to experiment with various recipes to recreate the lacquer used on porcelain and furniture. In 1720, Bonanni published his studies in Trattato sopra la vernice detta communemente cinese (1720), or Treatise on the Varnish commonly called Chinese. This work was republished repeatedly over the next century in several languages, and was re-issued in 1994 in its original Italian version. Scientific work Bonanni made excellent observations, which are embodied in several works: Ricreatione dell'occhio e della mente Bonanni was a shell collector and was the author of the first book devoted solely to seashells, published in Rome in 1681. Several later Linnaean names were based on his illustrations. Observationes circa Viventia, quae in Rebus non Viventibus Using a three lens microscope, in this work published in 1691 Bonanni tried to show that spontaneous generation was possible in animals "without blood and a heart", in contradiction of Francesco Redi’s experimental work. The compilation of knowledge and quality of the illustrations made this an important work. Numismata Pontificum Romanorum A two-volume study started in 1696 and completed in 1702 of the coins issued by the papacy over the centuries. Musæum Kircherianum, sive Musaeum a