Back in the early 2000s I helped label and curate the vast mineral collection in the basement of what was then the Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery, Devon, UK, now rebranded as ‘The Box’ Plymouth or some similar trendy name. It contained many historical specimens including many from Richard Barstow. One of the distressing aspects was finding suspicious gaps and empty boxes. I imagine many labelled specimens ‘deaccessioned’ from museums have a convoluted history behind them. That said, as an example, I have purchased specimens from dealers bearing labels from the Natural History Museum, London, some actually stating they were broken from larger samples, for a researcher measuring ratios of isotopes of lead, with a view to pinpointing sources of ore from which archaeological artifacts were smelted.
Collect with a conscience and provide as much detail as possible on labels!
Very cool. William Boyce Thompson, one of the donors who helped build the AMNH collections, was the son of one of Butte's first mayors here in Montana, in the 1890s. His house, built about 1884, still stands about 3 blocks from mine, and I'll be passing it in a few minutes on my way to a Monday beer.
Back in the early 2000s I helped label and curate the vast mineral collection in the basement of what was then the Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery, Devon, UK, now rebranded as ‘The Box’ Plymouth or some similar trendy name. It contained many historical specimens including many from Richard Barstow. One of the distressing aspects was finding suspicious gaps and empty boxes. I imagine many labelled specimens ‘deaccessioned’ from museums have a convoluted history behind them. That said, as an example, I have purchased specimens from dealers bearing labels from the Natural History Museum, London, some actually stating they were broken from larger samples, for a researcher measuring ratios of isotopes of lead, with a view to pinpointing sources of ore from which archaeological artifacts were smelted.
Collect with a conscience and provide as much detail as possible on labels!
Bill Mason.
Very cool. William Boyce Thompson, one of the donors who helped build the AMNH collections, was the son of one of Butte's first mayors here in Montana, in the 1890s. His house, built about 1884, still stands about 3 blocks from mine, and I'll be passing it in a few minutes on my way to a Monday beer.