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I’ve been doing a lot of research (on and off) on the history of our house. Most recently I went to the library to look up the original occupants of the house in the directories and on the census. The first owner of the house’s occupation is listed in the directory first as a carver, then later as a designer (1899-1910). On the 1905 state census his occupation is listed as “shell carver”. I think this must have been to do with woodworking, especially since his sons were carpenters, but does anyone know exactly what this means? I wondered if it might be to do with inlays in furniture? If anyone has any insight I’d be very interested in hearing it!