In 1811, a discovery by twelve year old Mary Anning on the cliffs of Lyme Regis offered a valuable opportunity. She and her brother unearthed a massive ichthyosaur skeleton, a creature from a lost time. For her poor family, this was not just a scientific find; it was the foundation of a new enterprise. Selling these fossils became their family business and a critical investment in their financial survival, a small trade against the odds. With little formal education, Mary fueled her own intellec