Dear Helmut,
 
Thanks for your greetings.  In response to your queries, I currently
reside in Wichita, Kansas, USA, but grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota where
my interests in the hobby began with a visit to The Science Museum of
Minnesota (SMM) as a 10yr old.  My prime objective was to see a mummy
displayed there, but I became fascinated with all the natural history
exhibits as well.  There was also an interactive program called  The
Trading Post, where the public could bring their own natural history
objects and actually trade them for those which others had traded in.  A
form of in-house currency, called Trading Post Points, were ascribed to
each object, and given to the person trading to spend as desired.  The
real "hook" of the program was the more data supplied with the objects
being traded in, the more "points" were awarded.  Also, a "discount"
could be given for information about the item being traded for.   I
began to participate in this program, hunting up all the  collectible
rocks, minerals, fossils, bones, etc., that I could find.  By
researching all these items, a large number of points were accumulated,
and I had fun spending them on such diverse things as moose antlers, an
entire cocoanut (I'd never seen one before), a cut and polished
Brazilian agate, and of course seashells!  It didn't take long for my
interests to focus upon the shells.  I would "buy", with points, an
assortment of unidentified shells, take them home, research them, write
labels, and present them glued to poster board as a collection to trade
in.  It payed off big!  For the two hundred point investment, I might've
earned 4-500 points.  So it went for several years (I was a serious
trader!).  The time came when I had questions the Trading Post Manager
couldn't answer, and I was referred to one of the museum curators.  I
was given the privilege of a visit to the mollusk collection.  Wow!  It
was impressive, small by large museum standards, but holding over
100,000 specimens.  To make what could be a longer story somewhat
shorter, I became a museum volunteer and worked on the collection off
and on until 1984.  It was my great fortune to have as a mentor, Kevin
W. Marx, a herpetologist primarily, but with an interest in mollusca.
The shell collection was in his charge, and he gave me a thorough
grounding in nomenclature, terminology, systematics, research methods,
etc.  I really enjoy museum work, and have taken advantage of every
opportunity which came my way.  I've spent several seasons with the
paleo dept. on digs in North Dakota and Wyoming (crocodiles and
dinosaurs), worked as a preparator in the biology dept., mainly
preparing study skins, and skeletal prep., spent time in the exhibits
dept. designing and constructing exhibits, and in the education dept.
where (guess what!), I became Trading Post Manager.  That position was
eliminated after several years and a change in the museum's
administration, and a few years later I moved to Wichita, at the behest
of a former colleague who wanted to start a Trading Post for use by the
school system here.  I launched and maintained that program for 10
years, until due to a shift in priorities the entire Museum Programs
(modeled after that of the Smithsonian), was terminated. So now I'm
searching for something in the museum field, and with new science
centers opening up in Wichita, and my home town of St. Paul, something
may open up.
 
Please excuse my loquacity, but I wanted to give you my background and
further introduce myself.  Future postings will not take up so much of
your time.
 
Yes, I would be interested in trading for some of your European
landshells.  I have extras of most all the self-collected species in my
collection.  I will email you a list in the coming days.
 
About the Papustyla pulcherrima, I have several specimens, but am
reluctant to send them to anyone via mail.  Since they are considered
endangered species, I don't believe if it is legal to do so.   Anyone
reading this is asked to respond to this point.
 
Well, gotta go.
Ken