The Duchess's ShellsMargaret Cavendish Bentinck, the 2nd Duchess of Portland (17151785), was one of the wealthiest women in eighteenth century Britain. She collected fine and decorative arts (the Portland Vase was her most famous acquisition), but her great love was natural history, and shells in particular. Over the course of twenty years, she amassed the largest shell collection of her time, which was sold after her death in a spectacular auction. Beth Fowkes Tobin