A manual of the mollusca: being a treatise on recent and fossils shells ; with an appendix of recent and fossil concholog. discoveries

First published in the mid-19th century as part of John Weale's Rudimentary Series, this comprehensive treatise was authored by Samuel Pickworth Woodward, an assistant in the Department of Geology and Mineralogy at the British Museum. The work was commissioned to serve as an accessible yet scientifically rigorous guide for both professional naturalists and the growing Victorian audience of amateur collectors, reflecting the era's profound fascination with conchology and geological classification.

The volume is celebrated for its precise technical descriptions and its meticulous engravings, many of which were illustrated by J.W. Lowry. By synthesizing current research on both living and extinct mollusk species, Woodward created a standard reference that remained in use for decades. Its reception was highly positive among the scientific community, who valued its systematic approach to shell identification and its contributions to the study of paleontology during a period of rapid development in the natural sciences.