FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Pete Modreski]

I've meant to write back to say that I really have appreciated reading some of the well-considered posts on this topic, especially the editorial that Jorde forwarded written by Rick Turner to the Russell Society, and the one posted by Farlang--I thought many of his points were particularly valid and well stated.

A thought; although of course the intrinsic value of an important historic specimen resides in the specimen itself, and likewise for a whole assembled collection, much value can also be captured and more widely disseminated via photography accompanied by written descriptions. After all that has transpired and been written about the disposition of the collections of the Philadelphia Academy, reading these several posts made me think about how valuable it would be if that entire collection (both the specimens still retained by the Academy, those that have been transferred to other institutions, and those sold to the dealer consortium) could be documented and made publicly accessible via digital photography and specimen descriptions. (Of course, in practicality not the entire thousands of specimens, but the highlights.) A photographic record of the collection could well be the subject of a printed volume (such as a special issue of MR, or otherwise) as well as being posted on a website; either of these would be most valuable, and I would love to see either, to learn just what was in the collection. I've seen some of the pieces on display by the dealers at the Denver Show, and will see more in Tucson, but it would be superb to see what "all the collection" included before dispersal. Perhaps something like this (a publication) is even in the works?

The same, of course, could and should be done for all of the major mineral collections of the institutions in the world. Not only would this more widely distribute knowledge of what is in the collections, but it would serve as a public archive in case of loss by fire, natural disaster, theft, or just plain neglect. Of course, those collections being given least curatorial attention and in the most need of documentation this way, are probably the ones least likely to have such a documentation program ongoing.

Pete Modreski, Denver CO