Helmut Nisters
 
For better understanding the two abbreviations I would propose:
leg. = legit
lego 3., legi, lectus means 1. to collect 2. to choose, to select 3. to read
These are the three most important translations for this latin verb.
 
ex coll. = ex collectione and means from the collection
If there is written for example "ex. T. McGinty" on a label,
it will be better you write "ex coll. T.McGinty" if he had a
collection and donated some shells to the insitute.
If you write "coll. T.McGinty" it seems that the museum
has his whole collection. If T.McGinty gave only
one specimen and maybe his only one (what I don't
think so) it's better you write
 
don. = abbreviation for donum
 
If you write ex coll. it means that the museum or institute got only a part of
the collection of T.McGinty and there will be one or other parts anywhere
else. Ex.T.McGinty doesn't mean that McGinty  will be both, collector and
donor. It says that the shell is from the collection of T.McGinty. But the
shell can be found by another collector too and be donated by another
donor too. For example:
When I donate a shell to the museum and I've received it from another
collector and donor it's from another collection and finally of my private
one. It's really a little bit confusing.
 
yours Helmut
 
 
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>
> This whole discussion just illustrates that abbreviations can almost always
> be confusing. Our collection currently uses an exclamation point after a
> name to indicate collector, and "ex" before a name to indicate donor. When I
> first starting working here, I would see, for example, "ex. T. McGinty!" on
> a label, and think that it meant the person who donated the shell was
> important. It actually means that McGinty is both collector and donor. On
> our labels from one hundred years ago, the name of the collector is in
> parentheses and the name of the donor is not. Ideally all these things
> should be spelled out to prevent confusion, but often there is limited space
> on the label.
>
> By the way, although I think that "leg." is used in a misleading way,
> overall, the Florida Museum has done well by its mollusk collection. They
> were the first to make their entire collection database available over
> Internet:
> http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/scripts/dbs/malacol_pub.asp
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Gary Rosenberg, Ph.D.                     [log in to unmask]
> Malacology & Invertebrate Paleontology    gopher://erato.acnatsci.org
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