About this episode

This episode explores the life of Vernon MacAndrew, a naturalist whose seashell collecting reveals deeper connections to the British Empire and maritime history.

What begins as the story of a shell collector quickly becomes something far more intriguing… In this episode, we explore the remarkable life of Vernon MacAndrew, a wealthy naturalist, sailor and photographer whose passion for collecting seashells carried him across the maritime highways of the British Empire. Following in the footsteps of his famous naturalist grandfather, MacAndrew transported his own yacht to the Red Sea and the Philippines in search of rare specimens. Yet among his photographs are not just shells and beaches, but Arab leaders, camel-mounted fighters, Hashemite flags and senior British officials operating in one of the most strategically sensitive regions of the world. Was he simply pursuing science, or was something more going on? To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dartmouth historian Jonathan Turner, who introduces a newly discovered archive of more than 5,000 photographs and reveals how MacAndrew's travels illuminate the connections between maritime exploration, natural history, photography, imperial power and global shipping networks. We also visit Dartmouth Museum to examine some of the spectacular shells MacAndrew collected, objects of…

People in this episode

Host: Dr Sam Willis

Guest: Jonathan Turner

Topics covered

• natural history
• maritime exploration
• British Empire
• photography
• collecting
• adventure

Keywords

• Vernon MacAndrew
• seashells
• British Empire
• naturalist
• photography
• Dartmouth Museum
• maritime exploration
• Red Sea
• Philippines

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Dartmouth Museum

Places: British Empire, Red Sea, Philippines, Aqaba

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