Dear Conchlers,

No fright to you all. I don't ask for shells in donation for the museum,
but I would need from you all
the most normal and most common shells, junk shells for children in
remembering when they are
visiting the museums collection. Today I made a guide through the museums
collection and some
children came with their parents or relations and asked me for some shells
in remembering. I could give them a few. I would need such material which
you are able to collect along your beaches, but not to much rolled up, so
that there is again nice color on Cypraeidae and other species  and that
they are looking very
fresh again, so a Cypraea annulus should not be gray that or the upper
color layers in Cypraeas
are missing. Mostly I would appreciate for that project
Cypraea like annulus, caurica, asellus, eg. or others from other families
wich are easily to obtain, where it is not necessary to have precise datas,
only that the little guys would have a shell. Each kind of normal and
common shells, which you don't put in your collection, is very appreciated.
With help of our members
of the list I hope to get for that project. I myself I have just put aside
for this about hundreds of Med
shells and that I got in some boxes. I hope you all can contribute to my
idea to give childrens some
shells in remembering. You can't imagine how they feel when they saw the
museums collection
and when they got their own shell. I would need as many specimens as
possible, hundreds.
You can pack them all together to have not a lot of work. They can be
unsorted, very very common
and normal, but they must be very fresh again with color and nice fresh.
All what you can spare
is good for such a project. I hope you dont take this a begging for the
museums collection like in former
times, it's the only way to can realize such an idea. I want to give shells
to school children, when they
are coming with their class to visit the museum to see the shells.
I hope to hear from you soon
with best shelling greetings.
Helmut

Helmut "Helix" Nisters
private:
Franz-Fischer-Str. 46
A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Europe
phone: 0043 / 512 / 57 32 14
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
website: www.netwing.at/nisters
office:
Natural History Department of the
Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum Innsbruck
Feldstrasse 11a
A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Europe
phone: 0043 / 512 / 58 72 86 - 37
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
website: www.tiroler-landesmuseum.at