Hi Arnaud, Martin, et al., I'm with Arnaud and Martin on this one. If someone(other than Nininger) offers me a specimen with their collection number painted on it I will politely decline. To me the specimen without the number is far more aesthetically pleasing( and valuable). I, like Arnaud, photograph and record the weight of all specimens.
That being said, while photographing and describing should be sufficient documentation, it leaves a little room for uncertainty. If, heaven forbid, something should happen to the owner, there would be some effort and perhaps confusion on the part of any other person trying to document the collection. A couple of years ago I decided to try printing 4 digit numbers in number 2(or 3) font on standard sheets of full page mailing labels. If you are suffieciently anal-retentive(as I am!)you can cut a very tiny inconspicuous label that will not affect the display appearance of even very tiny pieces or thin slices. Then just peel off the backing and gently press the label into an inconspicuous spot. None of these have come off at any point but they can easily be removed and leave no residue. I have not seen any reaction or change of the underlying surface at all so i think the adhesive is not likely to damage or alter the material. Here's an example on a very thin slice: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v614/CaneySprings/?action=view¤t=label.jpg Just another approach to consider, Cheers, Jim Baxter ----- Original Message ----- From: "Martin Altmann" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2010 7:14:47 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Labeling specimens Me too, as a professional I'm aware of the rareness of meteoritic specimens, sometimes they are unique and irreplaceable - and I'm aware of the often enormous endeavours it took, to recover such stones and the circumstances until they finally landed in my custody (yes also for the 20$-ebay-bogey). I simply feel myself not important enough, to deteriorate a meteoritic specimen in branding it, like a dog marks his property. Today we have simpler and more gentle means to keep a specimen identifiable. Take a simple digital camera, a lamp or the sun, a scale cube, a scale and a simple data base - all that costs today almost no money. Don't forget to print out your documentation from time to time, the electronic data storage media aren't made for eternity. It takes some time, yes. But more time it took for the material to form and to travel to Earth and to be found to end in your drawer. And more time it takes, to keep your collection free from oxidation, and anyway a good documentation belongs to the collector's duties to curate his meteorite collection. To apply stickers, to paint numbers on meteorites, isn't in my eyes a modern way of documentation and should be avoided. Best! Martin -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Im Auftrag von The Tricottet Collection Gesendet: Sonntag, 28. Februar 2010 10:52 An: MeteoriteList Betreff: Re: [meteorite-list] Labeling specimens Hello, I would like to disagree with everyone here. If we all start painting numbers on meteorites, in 2-3 generations, all specimens will be full of useless graffiti - who will know which number matches which "minor" collection? So the problem would remain exactly the same. When I say "minor", I mean not a lot of people have a collection which can be compared to a Nininger, Monnig or any national museum collection! And with time, with more maturity, what if you find your inventory numbering system inefficient, what if you decide to change it? Personally I will never paint anything on my collection specimens. I prefer to take 1 or more pictures per specimen + weight + other important characteristics, label them and keep then in different boxes. Just my opinion, Best, Arnaud ______________________________________________ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list ______________________________________________ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
