Pilsbry, dean of American malacologists was associated with the Academy for 70 years. Conservator, curator and head of the Department of Shells, he was also the internationally recognized authority in the field of land Mollusca. He wrote and edited many volumes of the Manual of Conchology and from 1889 until his death was an editor of the journal Nautilus, which he founded. A member of many scientific societies he was also a great shell collector, making expeditions all over the United States, to the Caribbean, South America, Mexico, Hawaii, and other Pacific Islands, and to Australia. Few scientists have so voluminous a list of publications.

This collection consists entirely of original drawings, watercolor paintings of shells, and photographs.