roman egorov wrote:
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> in connect with my new project, "Who is Who in Russian
> Conchology/Malacology..." I have a question:
>
> Who is collector of shells?
 
 
I agree with Art Weil and his statements on collectors.  I believe the
first step from collector toward serious collector may the first shell
book purchase.  In other words, the change from "those are pretty shells
we have collected over the years" to the desire to know something about
the shells, their natural history, taxonomy, etc.  I "collected" shells
from the age of six with only the Golden Series Nature Guide as a
reference.  It wasn't until 1975 when I purchased Peter Dance's book,
"The Collector's Encyclopedia of Shells," that I really started down the
collector's road - and a down hill, slippery slope it is!  Now with many
more books and many more shells I still think of myself as a collector
who is headed toward serious collecting.
 
In any case, I really enjoy shells and don't care too much about what
category I fit into as long as I can look forward to a shell list in the
mail or even better, a box of shells mailed from a dealer.
 
Tom, in oceanless New Mexico