Andre,

You posted the question

>what do you think are some of the reasons why sold galleries don't reveal
>which collections the shells reside in?

I think that there is a very simple answer to this question. Once a dealer
sells material to someone, that transaction is between the seller and the
buyer. Unless the seller has specific permission to reveal what was sold
to someone, he or she has no right to reveal it. I believe that they can
continue to show what they sold to give someone an idea of the quality of
merchandise that they sell, however, they should not reveal to whom they
sold it. If s buyer is willing to "go public" then it is ok to reveal what
collection the material resides in.

I have read reports of robberies of fossil specimens from private
collections. Houses were broken into and specific specimens taken. These
were crimes committed by people who knew what they were after. I suspect
that actions like this are reasons that some collectors reveal what is in
their collections to a select few.

Regards,
Charlie
.................................................
Research Associate - Section of Mollusks
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Assistant Professor - Family Medicine

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