Couldn't agree more. Thanks for saying what you did. I only lurk on CONCH-L but your message inspired me. -----Original Message----- From: Ross Mayhew <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Friday, March 19, 1999 2:39 PM Subject: Some Advice to young (and beginner) shell collectors. >I'll probably lose some business for this posting, but here goes anyway. > I urge anyone in a judgemental mood to read through to the very end, >where i put things into perspective somewhat! > > Shells are natural objects, and as such, they are very seldom perfect: >a mollusc does what it must to survive - predators, waves, temperature >and other environmental changes, diseases, epiphytic organisms (those >that live on hoard surfaces (barnacles, jingle shells, bryozoans, >coralline algae...), boring critters, and so on. Even amongst >shiny/smooth/overpriced beasties such as the cowries, true "GEM" >specimens are quite rare (athough you would not know this by looking at >some dealers' lists!!!). Furthermore, most shells are fragile, and in >the often-lengthy process of capture, cleaning, passing through >middlemen, shipping, storing, etc., it is a miracle that ANY specimen >comes through 100% intact!! I like to say if you want perfection, buy >plastic bric-a-brac : given good quality-control procedures, they are >qute perfect, and can be turned out by the thousands in their flawless >blandness. Now, i am **not** saying that an absolutely perfect specimen >with superior colors and pattern cannot be a thing of great beauty, but >why cannot more people see the beauty that can be found in spcimens >which are not quite so immaculate?? Why do so many collectors take one >look at a shell with, say a lip chip or two or a growth line, and just >throw it away or send it back, without appreciating the colors, patterns >and form of the rest of the shell: why do so many people only look for >irregularities, and once they find any they look no further: for them, >any natural beauty a specimen may posess is destroyed by the smallest of >faults!! (Do not think that i am making this up- i had a friend who >bought a beautiful gloriamaris once, but it had a small growth mark, and >he told me he just couldn't look at it without dwelling upon that small >mark, so that for him, the shell was ruined.) Personally, i feel sorry >for someone like this, because they are unable to appreciate 99.9% of >the beauty all around them, since they are so concerned about any little >defect that this is all they really care about in the end. Perfection >is equated with beauty itself, and any beauty which occuring in a >less-than-flawless specimen is either ignored, dicounted, or not even >fully seen. > > Personaly, i sometimes find a few deviations from absolute regularity >to be a desirable thing - they give a specimen character, by testifying >to the struggles its previous owner faced and overcame in life: they are >mute reminders that the shell is REAL - it came from a rugged, demanding >natural world, and not from a preformed, perfectly smooth and regular >mould created by man. So, to retire from this rant for now, i give the >following advice: Don't be a "GemManiac" - you may be missing more >beauty than you might think!!! Shells are natural objects, and the very >few which grow up absolutely "GEM", are in one sense, freaks. (of >course, some people collect freaks, so i should not be so harsh!!!) > > Now, before everyone draws the conclusion that i am a "junk merchant" >just trying to get people to settle for sub-standard products (although >i do not see a shell as a "product", so much as a little work of "Art by >God" (to borrow a phrase from another dealer!!)), i must add that i try >hard to get the highest quality i can, but i will NOT discard a shell >which retains much of its beauty in spite of imperfections, although i >will most certainly price such a specimen, even if quite exeptional >and/or unusual, **much** lower than an F++ - GEM specimen which may be >far less attractive. I am just rather disappointed that so many >collectors place a far greater value on perfection than on actual >beauty, and in the cases where the battle-scars of life actually >enhance, character. >-- >Ross Mayhew: Schooner Specimen Shells: Http://www.schnr-specimen-shells.com >"We Specialize in the Unusual" >Phone: (902) 876-2241 Snail Mail; P.O Box 20005, RPO Spryfield, >Halifax, N.S., Canada, B3R 2K9. >But try to find "something for Everyone"!!