from
Helmut Nisters
Franz-Fischer-Str. 46
A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Europe
phone and fax: 0043 / 512 / 57 32 14
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
 
 
Dear Paul Monfils,                           Innsbruck, 31. 3. 1998
 
as I am not shure, that my first e-mail arrived you, I will send a new one.
Thank you very best for this beautiful and quite large specimen of
Pleurotomaria westralis. The shell arrived me today in best
condition as she was packed very well.
During May and June there will be an exhibition in Innsbruck on the
occasion of 175 years Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum Innsbruck,
titled "collection-avidity" and we are glad and proud to present this
shell at the exhibition. On this exhibition you can see all
important objects of the museum from history, culture and natural
sciences.
Pleurotomaria is a new shell for natural history department of
the Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum and a very pleased
desirabled one.
I want to tell you something about the museums collection. It contains
mostly land- and freshwater-shells from many parts of Europe and
Mediterranean species and a few "exotic" species. My mother,
Dr. Irmgard Nisters, 86 years, former lawyer, and I, 44 years, former
chemist, we both are working on this collection as honorary collaborators
of the zoological department of the museum in Innsbruck since 1972.
The collection is a small one (about 2500 species), but quite nice
and well sistemated by us. In 1985 the shell-collection togerher with
other parts of the scientific collection has been damaged in parts
by a flood desaster (when she was on another place under the level
of the river Sill). Since that time we had to revise this collection
from beginning, has to wash all the specimens and to order in new
plastic boxes, the micro-shells in glasstubes. We had to rebuild the
collections with new shells from own excursions and self collectiong
and with some donations of friends,  private collectors and scientists.
At the cenre of the museums collections are European species and
these from the Alps (Austria, Norther Italy. etc)- So I got much help
from Italy, Spain, Sweden and Romania in form of Mediterranea sea-shells
and inland-molluscs. Since 1992 we have now a new place, far away
from the river., which caused the flood desaster, together with the other
natural history collections of the museum, on the 3rd floor.
The collections for the moment are noct accessible to the public, but
they are very good for studying the nature. But anybody, who likes
to visit the collections, is wellcomed.
As I want to entlarge now the shell-collection of the museum, I am dare
to ask new friends, scientists, private collectors and dealers for some
donation to the museum of Innsbruck. I am interested into all species,
what they can or are willing to offer me, as well as European species
as "exotic" ones worldwide to complete the collection. If
you have some shells for the museum again, please let me know.
Please don't be worry, but since I am on internet for about one month,
I find more oppotunity to contact persons for help.
I would be thankful and glad for any species, you can offer me.
Otherwise it is very difficult for us to obtain material, as we are
honorary collaborators without payment for our work, which we
are avide to do. And I am not able to make a lot of exchange, as I
dont like to burd the museums collections.
I hope you are again willing to send me once more some material.
Each shell is very wellcomed, as I hope from common ones to
rarer ones and as I told not important gem-quality, but sound.
We will put  your name as promised into the annual report (year-book)
of the Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum- The next will be edited
in 1999.
Please let me know via e-mail, if you can do something for me and the
museum.
For today I will remain with my best regards, also by my mother. I am
looking foreward with great enthusiasm to your informations..
 
yours Helmut
 
always the same adress to send material