FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Gail]

We are very concerned when specimens come with no labels other than the dealers. We also ask them to give us the history as they know it and, often, they come back with the old labels. They sometimes need to be reminded that people DO want them. I should imagine it is hard to keep thousands of labels organized, but if enough of us are showing our desire for any and all labels, it might give dealers and impetus?

Since we never restrict ourselves to one, two or three dealers, but scores of dealers I hope we can make it clear that labels are of great value to us.
A little competition to please the customer might not be a bad thing ?

Okay, back to getting things organized for the MAD meeting here, at our home, today. Crawfish creole, chicken canneloni, sherry potabella mushrooms and lemony artichoke hearts.
Oh, and fresh cornbread with jalepenos and cheese as well as cheesecake and freshly baked brownies. My house smells like a chocolate factory at the moment!
Cheers!

[Jordi Fabre]

We suppose to be so lucky to get one of your wonderful photographical reportages about the MAD's meeting?

Please! ;-)

Jordi

[GneissWare]

When I "curate" a specimen, I try to collect as much information about it as possible. Much of the history of the specimen comes from the old labels and tracking down people who know something of the dealers whose labels are with the specimen. As an example of the kinds of information I track, see a sample printout for one of my specimens. All this info is kept in a database which, as I continue my research, I then add to, and printout another sheet to go with the collection. Whenever I sell a specimen from my collection, a copy of this sheet goes with it, along with all the labels.

[Gail]

Charging the batteries on both my cameras as I type!
Will do Jordi. Cheers.

[parfaitelumiere]

good job too gneissWare.
I think I will have to work this way too.
Just a question,how to be sure that a mineral comes from a special collection?
I think we have to show the specimen to a guy who knew the special collection before dissolved?
All is confidence in fact?

[GneissWare]

Many times, particularly on older collections, the collectors made their own labels. In fact, I still do so. My collection pieces state "Collection of Bob Griffis". If you have the old labels, sometimes you will be lucky enough to find the collector in the Mineralogical Record Biography pages, and sometime you can Google for some historical information.