FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jordi Fabre]

The quality of the magazine The Mineralogical Record ( https://www.mineralogicalrecord.com/index.asp ) has always been considered the best among the journals of minerals from around the world. I totally agree with this general opinion and as proof I refer to two facts.
- The first fact it is objective: the recent concession to the Record of the distinction of the most prestigious honor, the 2009 "Gold Ink Award” in the category scientific &technical journals for the printing's quality of the supplement "Private Mineral Collections in Texas" published in Vol. 40, No. 1, January-February 2009
- The second fact it is subjective. In my opinion the scientific quality of the magazine has notably increased in the last editions. I wanted to highlight the exceptional quality of the special issue devoted to Merelani, Tanzania in September-October edition of 2009 and the more recent of January-February 2010 with a prodigious article of the great Thomas P. Moore about the Alpine pink Fluorite of the Alps.

Congratulations to the Record to keep such excellent quality. From my side (and I believe that from most - or all - members of FMF) all the encouragement to keep up the good work they are doing.

By the way, if someone wants to buy old editions of the magazine, he can do it on line through the Record’s web page "Back Issues" -> https://www.mineralogicalrecord.com/detail.asp

[Peter Megaw]

For its 40th Anniversary, it's great to see the MR get outside recognition...its been a too well kept secret for too long! Recognition within the community has also been good, especially since it is the community that supports it and keeps it on the kind of quality trajectory Jordi mentions. Let's also not forget that both the Mineralogical Record and its editor, Wendell Wilson have received the Carnegie Mineralogical Medal!

Here are some of the earliest covers...I can't remember whether Vol 1 #2 or Vol 2 #2 had the smallest press run and is actually the hardest to get. John???

I can't find a picture of John White back then...but he probably looked about the way he does now...some guys get all the hair

[John S. White]

Many copies of vol. 1 #1 were sent out free in order to win subscriptions and that was probably a very bad idea. It made the number of copies in circulation far less than that for subsequent issues. It was reprinted some time later but with the cover in black and white, not full color.

[vic rzonca]

Hair indeed. On page 48 of the History of the Tucson Show issue of MR by Bob Jones, please find the evidence.

[Pete Modreski]

It is and has always been a great magazine. I have the complete set and treasure it as a reference source, or just an enjoyable thing to pick one up and browse through. I started subscribing, not sure if it was during their first year or the second, but I wisely and happily ordered all the existing issues when I did start my subscription.

Pete Modreski

[stumpy]

The Min Rec is a good magazine, but I think Rocks & Minerals is better these days and more accessible, not to mention the wonderful ExtraLapis. Min Rec is too pompous and sycophantic towards the millionaire American collectors that have taken over the hobby - it seems obsessed with the whole "culture" of mineral collecting at the expense of mineralogy. The choice of localities to feature is often pretty stupid too - why the hell pick Volodarsk-Volynski when there is already a whole issue of Mineralogical Almanac devoted to it? Surely there are plenty of other interesting Russian localities they could have chosen? So, Min Rec, take your head out of your backside, stop sucking up to the more-money-than-sense Yanks and start thinking about the other 99% of mineral collectors out there.

[Jordi Fabre]

Already discussed before...- > https://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/viewtopic.php?t=792

[stumpy]

Quite!

[Peter]

[Bob Harman]

Not rare minerals, but rare Mineralogical Records.

I actually received copies of the pictured covers in the mail! At subsequent shows, they provided me with normal copies. Rare Mineralogical Records so to speak.

Anyone else ever see or receive this periodical with cover mistakes?

BOB

[Bob Harman]

As an addendum, this odd coincidental occurrence occurred a number of years ago. As a result, the MR circulation manager has gotten to know me. When he sees me at recent shows, he has given me 2 additional issues with cover mistakes. I now have this small cover mistake collection.


In all the mistake issues, the cover mistake occurs, of course, on both the front and back cover. BOB

[GneissWare]

Very cool!

[Gail]

Well, as chair of the board of directors I will say I truly love our publication!

[Peter Lemkin]

Coins and stamps with such mistakes are worth MANY times more than the normal.....who knows....

[Bob Carnein]

[Gail]

Always delightful to hear from people without an identity. People who are so narcissistic as to make assumptions about wealth, origin and demeanor. People who choose a rather silly name such as stumpy to hide behind. Yawn. Wake me when you step up and let us know who you are, until then your voice is minimized by your anonymity.

[Philippe Durand]

I don t know Rocks & Minerals magazine; it is surely pretty good.

As a long time reader of the Min Record, I always enjoy it. Yes, it is somewhat elite oriented.
So,where is the problem, it makes me dream.
Keep on going MR;

I am sure that extraordinary (with defects) issues will be collectibles :)

[Bob Carnein]

I've been thinking about this thread, and, at the risk of beating a dead horse, I would like to add a couple of things. First, the MR costs (in the US) about $80 per year and goes out to 5000 or so subscribers. That comes to about $400K of income from subscribers. I assume the magazine gets some significant income from those whole-page advertisers, whose full color ads are themselves a virtual museum of things most of us may never see in person. Considering costs of production and mailing, I can't imagine anyone is getting rich on this. It appears to be a "labor of love", and the fact that it has endured as a quality product and at a reasonable price is, to me, amazing. If you don't like the hype, try reading the articles. They're excellent.

Second, wealthy patrons are the reason many worthwhile things in our hobby exist. I go to Mindat.org whenever I need some quick information--it's, to me, the most valuable mineral resource out there. But, how many of us donate to Mindat when they send out their occasional appeals? I believe the answer is in the low hundreds. Once again, think of the expertise involved (I'm sure Jolyon Ralph could make a lot of money using his computer skills for some other end) and the enormous hole that would be left if it shut down. I'm thankful for those individuals and businesses that support worthwhile projects for which most of us can't pay nearly what they're worth.

Third, as I enter the fourth quarter of my mortal century, it dismays me to see a lot of clever but not very smart people railing against the "elites" and "elitists". When I was young, those people were called "experts", and many people, even those without much education, valued their contributions to civil society. In the US, we make fun of "elites" while worshiping some of the worst members of our culture. Granted, some mineral collectors are treasure hunters who don't care much about the science; a few of them might have more money than sense, but who am I to make judgments about that? They support high end dealers who, in turn, help to support things like Mindat and the MR. I say "Thank Goodness" for that.

[Chris Rayburn]

Very thoughtful input Bob. This thread took a bit of a turn from Bob H's original purpose. I believe you've brought it back around to solid ground. I happen to agree with the points you've made; not all of us will (which is fine), but I thank you for expressing them so reasonably.