Dear Bob, dear Conchlers,

you have forgotten to mention in the groups of shell collectors (very nice your listing)
the Helmutians types: collectors who would enlarge the museums collections
worldwide with new material by donations or tradings and wishing to have more
localities for the same species too for comparison eg. and the Gritters, who are
working with shell grit as my mother. She is a real Gritter.
But there is only one Holotype of Helmutians and that am I. No topotype.
A similar type like me (or might be Topotype of me) is the Cheshire type. Nearby where
are you.
So all the types are explained now. Sorry for that joke, but I hope you all will understand
it.
with best shelling regards
Helmut from Innsbruck


Helmut "Helix" Nisters
Franz-Fischer-Str. 46
A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Europe
phone: 0043 / 512 / 57 32 14
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
web:    www.netwing.at/nisters/
           (please visit it and sign guestbook)
always looking for shellgrit from all over the world
for my nearly 89 years aged mother Irmgard
to makes happy and to keep up her health

office:
Natural History Department of the
Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum Innsbruck
Feldstrasse 11 a
A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Europe
phone: 0043 / 512 / 58 72 86 - 37
web: www.tiroler-landesmuseum.at
        (specimen donations to the
         Tiroler Landesmuseum molluscs collection
         are always appreciated)

----------
Dear ConchLers:
I would like to propose that there are several classes of non-degreed shell
enthusiasts:
---------
Aesthetic:  a shell collector who cares only for the beauty of the
architecture and doesn't care at all about the architect.
---------
Ancillary:  a shell collector who is on the fringe of the collection
process, i.e. one who creates x-ray photography, live photography of
specimens, egg case collections, operculum collections, etc. without first
putting together a comprehensive collection of molluscs.
---------
Amateur:    a shell collector who is a neophyte or "newbie" - i.e. one who
is very happy with single valves and no data.
---------
Casual:     a shell collector who has a primarily self collected, unlabeled,
relatively unorganized collection of shells picked up while walking o a
beach and thinking.
---------
Serious Stage 1:    a shell collector who is actively increasing their
collection through exchanges, vacations dedicated to shelling or outright
careful, planned purchasing of specimens across many different families.
This stage is marked by first entrance into juried competitions, and or
speaking engagements at shell shows regarding their specialty.
---------
Serious Stage 2:    a shell collector who is focused on completing a single
family or sub-family through any legal means possible. This collector is
actively entering Shell Shows, and has very highly organized drawers for
their specimens. The speaking engagements have escalated to include large
public forums such as COA conventions.
---------
Serious Stage 3:    a shell collector who is now actively building web-sites
about their focused Family/Families/Sub-Family. This collector now has
amassed sufficient resources to be able to distinguish color forms within
sub-species, has purchased a large library of historically significant shell
literature and can actively debate Linnean issues and quote the history of
their focused family. They have become either a lumper or a splitter and
actively argue in a cogent and coherent fashion using such forums as Conch-L
or molluscs.net minute points of taxonomy.
---------
Pre-Professional:   a shell collector who is mostly concerned with a single
Family or sub-family with aspirations to write a book, or one who conducts
careful and methodical research in order to discover something novel.
---------
Semi-professional:  a shell collector who is actively working on a
manuscript and is in the process of lining up collaborators and/or other
resources designed to assist in getting a book published.
---------
Professional:   One who has also either published a scholarly paper or has
competed the publishing process for a book. This category confers a degree
of stardom upon the collector and they have developed a sense of humility
about the process. The professional collector upon retirement from his/her
chosen occupation becomes very likely to discover a new species/sub-species,
or to migrate into the Dealer category as they realize that their collection
is not the source of their joy. They become more interested in helping
others.
---------
Dealer:     A collector who has thrown caution to the winds and derives at
least part of their families income directly from trafficking in molluscan
specimens or in the facilitation of others' pursuits for specimens.
---------
Evangelist:     A collector who now no longer actively adds to their
collection but instead finds ways to decrease their collection  by
dispersing it to earlier stage collectors in order to further the avocation.
The evangelist is the highest evolutionary form of shell collector and the
pinnacle of the whole process. The Evangelist is likely to publish a regular
newsletter, and is characterized by voluminous correspondence [written and
electronic] with many different collectors. Evangelists can be drawn from
the ranks of either the preceding non-degreed categories or can come from
the academic world - i.e. R. Tucker Abbott, et al.
---------
Bob Nuelle