----- Original Message -----
From: "Lyle Therriault" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 7:39 PM
Subject: Re: Cataloging


> Mark,
>
> there are MANY methods to catalog your collection. I started collecting
> when I was around 5, and didnt really catalog until I was around 17 or
> so.....back then I wrote down the latin name, size in mm, where it was
> found ( region wise, and also I put down where I got it from " dealer,
> found, etc"  and that was basically it, each shell having it's own index
> card.  Well, several thousand index cards later, i found it to be too much
> of a hassle keeping thousands of note cards and started using a regular
> note book, devoting say 5-6 lines of a page to each specimen.  After
> endless notebooks, I found all that to be too much of a hassle too, mind
> you I was still young!
>
> The last 7-8 years, I have scaled down my collections on a MASSIVE level,
> selling off roughly 12 to 13 thousand specimens and collecting solely
> Conus.
>
> With my cones, I keep all the labels that come with purchased shells.
> Shells that i find I make my own labels to keep under the shell in my
> cabinet(s) .   I take a picture of each shell and keep it on a disc, with
> the label for the shell placed next to the shell in the picture.  I also
> record all info I can find, like time of day, where found, what conditions
> the specimen was found in,  sunny or cloudy, size in mm, latin name, depth
> of water if any, substate, I make very detailed notes. I still keep
> notebooks for my cones, and I also do computer cataloging as well.
> Eventually I will have a website with my collection displayed on it.
>
> Personally I do not mark my specimens with a numerical number. I know a
lot
> of folks do on the inside of the lip.  Since my Conus collection is so
> specialized I tend to have a photographic memory of every single shell I
> have in it ( over 1600 now ) , and if someone picked one out of my cabinet

> I could tell you all it's info without having to look it up in my
notebooks
> probably 98% of the time.
>
> Right now I am hoping to find a supplier for clear plastic boxes with foam
> or some sort of soft bottom that I can start placing my cones inside
> of......they are in large glass cabinets right now ( which is NOT
displayed
> in any sort of light, has soft fluorescent lights inside them tho which
> rarely get turned on) and I am hoping to move them into closed displays of
> drawer filled dresser-like cabinets, like what you would see in a museum.
>
> -LT-
>
>
> > [Original Message]
> > From: Mark Stanley <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > Date: 12/16/2005 7:13:39 AM
> > Subject: Cataloging
> >
> > I am fairly new to shell collecting and have enjoyed listening in to the
> > list.
> >
> > While my collection is quite small, but growing, I understand now is the
> > time to start cataloging.  Is there a standard way to catalogue?  Do I
> start
> > with number one and assign a number to each shell as I aquire them, or
> > should I use a alphanumeric system where a letter of the alphabet is
> > assigned to each family plus a number to identify each shell in that
> family?
> >
> > Should the number be attached to the shell itself or to it's box?
> Otherwise
> > the paper label could be separated from the shell and the information
> lost.
> >
> > What does everyone else do?  Any suggestions would be greatly
appreciated.
> >
> > Mark Stanley
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
> > To leave this list, click on the following web link:
> > http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
> > Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
> > click leave the list.
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
> To leave this list, click on the following web link:
> http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
> Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
> click leave the list.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------