The beetles at right were probably first preserved as examples of the genus Goliathus, found mostly in tropical Africa. In Purcell and Gould's bestiary, they appear as a scrambling bunch of small jewels, gleaming under natural light. While insects in scientific collections are typically fixed neatly with slender etymological pins, Purcell was no doubt drawn to the idiosyncratic element here: the ordinary nails with which the beetles are mounted. In her hands, the oddity of that small choice is an emblem for the oddities of collecting in general.