Sea Currents in Nineteenth-Century Art, Science and Culture: Commodifying the Ocean World

How did scientists, artists, designers, manufacturers and amateur enthusiasts experience and value the sea and its products? Examining the commoditization of the ocean world during the nineteenth century, this book demonstrates how the transaction of oceanic objects inspired a multifaceted material discourse stemming from scientific exploration, colonial expansion, industrialization, and the rise of middle-class leisure.

From the seashore to the seabed, marine organisms and environments, m...