from
Helmut Nisters
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Dear Paul Monfils,                                Innsbruck, 31. 03. 1998
 
thank you 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  andproud to present this shell at the exhibition. On this exhibition you can see
all important objects of the museum from history, culture and
natural science.
Pleurotomaria is a new shell for the natural history department
of the Tiroler  Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum.
I want to tell something about the museums collection, It contains
mostly land- and freshwater-shells from 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 sinde 1972. The collection is a small one (about 2500 species), but
quite nice and well sistemated by us. In 1985 the shell collection
has been damaged in parts by a flood desaster (when she was
at another place). Since that time we had to revise this collection
from beginning, had to wash all the specimens and to order in
new plastic boxes.  We had to rebuild the collection with new
shells from own excursions and with some donations of friends,
private collectors and scientists. As the centre of the museums
collections are European species I got much help from Italy
in form of Mediterranean 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 not accessible fot 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 enlarge the shell collection of the museum, I am dare
to ask new friends, scientists, privat-collectors and dealers for some donation to the museum of Innsbruck. I am interested into all species, what they can offer me, as well as European species
as "exotic" species worldwide to complete the collection. If
you have some shells for the museum again, please let me know.
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 and I am not
able to make a lot of exchanges, as I don't like to burd the museums
collection. I hope you are again willing to send me some material.
Each shell is very wellcomed, as I hope from common ones to
rarer ones and as I told not important gem, but of sound quality.
We will your name as promised into the annual report (year-book)
of the Tiroler Landesmuseum the next one coming out in
1999..
For today I will remain with my best regards, also by mother.
yours Helmut
 
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