FoldingGuides™ Shell Guides Press Information

As the former Director of the Peterson Field Guide Series™, Steven Lewers has had a longstanding interest in nature identification. When he first saw the print, die-cut, and lamination process patented by FastMark, Inc. of Palo-Alto, CA and used in FoldingGuides™, he was convinced that it was the ideal format for curious beginners in the field.

Having completed a consulting project with FastMark, Inc. to introduce its laminated guide format to book publishers looking for new line extension, Lewers couldn't resist the temptation to publish an experimental guide of his own-- The Ultimate Guide to Sanibel & Captiva Shells and Beach Life was first published in 1999 and launched what is now its FoldingGuide™ Series.

"We tried Sanibel Shells first because it was a perfect test of our idea: laminated guides on very specific areas, using high quality illustrations (not photographs) and species lists and captions written by local experts, are much more useful than general books and field guides, especially for the beginner.

With the small islands of Sanibel and Captiva FL, incontrovertibly the ground zero of shelling in North America, and with the profusion of other seashell guidebooks available in all the shops there, this first guide was a perfect proof-of-concept for our line."

For this first title, Steven Lewers & Associates commissioned Jackie Leatherberry Douglass, veteran illustrator of the Peterson Field Guide Series™ , to do detailed illustrations of species selected by local experts. Since first published in the winter of 1999, it immediately outsold all the other seashell guides-- both generic and Sanibel-specific-- and has been reprinted many times.

Steven Lewers & Associates has gone on to publish 5 other shell guides ( as well as other titles on localized bird, fish and whale identification):


Florida's Gulf Coast Shells & Beach Life
Shells & Beach Life of Florida Panhandle
Shells & Beach Life of Texas Gulf Coast
Shells of the Southeast Atlantic Coast
Shells of Florida's Southeast Atlantic Coast

Each is illustrated by the Jackie Leatherbury Douglass and draws on the expertise of local experts.

FoldingGuides™ are available in local gift shops, museum and nature stores, bookstores, and on the web at www.foldingguides.com

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