Fred Schueler asks how to mount museum-specimen unionid shells onto
masonite boards for display.
 
I'll leave it to our shell-show experts to answer about techniques, but
would just like to point out that it is best not to use specimens from the
permanent collection for a traveling display, particularly if they are to
be mounted. It is much better to find expendable shells, because they are
very likely to get damaged or to lose their collection data. At the very
least, the periostracum is likely to flake under the changing climatic
conditions of different rooms, and Fred says that he wants to keep that
part intact.
 
If only a few expendable shells are available, maybe it would be better to
mount high-quality photographs and place a few shells below that people can
handle.
 
Happy weekend, everyone. Don't let the shell bug bite.
 
Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama