As a beginning collector in 1980 I once said to John Bernard that I liked
Olives.  His comment was, "A good choice.  You could get your whole
collection in a shoebox."  That was before Petuch.  A few years later when
it dawned on me that I'd need a museum if I continued to collect everything,
I resolved to get more focused.  That's when I thought of John.  So, my
standard became "collect only what can be stored in a shoebox."  Yep, only
self-collected Micros.  They're all in that shoebox (well, maybe a few dozen
shoeboxes).

Marlo


-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists of America List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of William Corey
Sent: Monday, July 08, 2002 10:48 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Must Have Shells


Greetings to All,
        Recently, coffee cup in hand, I was admiring some of my shells.  As
I
was gazing rather fondly at them I wondered "What compels people to collect
particular shells?"  I thought I would like to convene a virtual summit and
ask the question this way:

           As you have been building your collections have you ever
thought:....What would be your "Canon" or closed list of must have
specimens.
 For example, as a collector of Cones (or cowries or whatever), what must
you
have to feel you have a "good" or "complete" collection.  Of course it is a
matter of personal taste, but I am curious if there is a consensus among the
collectors in this readership:

      Of the kinds of specimens you collect, what must you have? Or, to put
it another way: Which specimens do you feel should be in every "good"
collection?

                                   Thanks, in advance, for your opinions