[meteorite-list] Labeling specimens

From: martin goff <msgmeteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:31:25 +0000
Message-ID: <2b6f707d1002261331n70976c9apcc66797cd9bfa7e1_at_mail.gmail.com>

Gary/All,

My whole stones tend to be in the 20 to 100g range and i dread bumping
the display cabinet and having a melange of Zag, Chergach, Oum Dreyga,
Gau Guenie etc. etc. rolling around the bottom. Like i said before the
specimens in membrane/riker/other type box are all fine, all sealed
with label etc. The larger irons and slices also distinct and easily
identifiable if separated from their display labels. Its just the
similar sized whole stones that i worry about. I have photos of
specimens from every angle and also would personally be able to
recognise most of them (i hope!) but i worry that this isnt foolproof
enough!

Does anyone here directly label their whole stone specimens?

Cheers

Martin

On 26 February 2010 19:29, Galactic Stone & Ironworks
<meteoritemike at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Gary, Martin, and List,
>
> Just a thought about storage and labelling -
>
> I keep the majority of my collection inside a wood mineral cabinet
> that has many shallow drawers, and each drawer has a series of
> moveable compartments which I have lined with batting similar to what
> you see in Riker boxes. ?Each drawer has it's own rechargeable
> dessicant cartridge inside the humidity is ideally kept down to about
> 30-35%, which is about half of my usual Florida ambient humidity. ?The
> smaller micro specimens are kept in labelled gemjars in a seperate
> drawer. ?Larger pieces have a wood compartment and I keep the original
> dealer label and my own label inside the compartment and under the
> batting. ?I do not put a label on the specimen itself. ?I keep large
> amounts of crumbs, fragments and part slices in glass apothecary jars
> or small glass vials. ?I also use Riker boxes, gemjars, and membrane
> boxes. ?All of which fit neatly into drawers in the wood cabinet.
> Larger specimens are kept on easels or magnetic stands inside clear
> acrylic "ballqubes" to keep the dust. ?I use Roman's metal labels and
> custom make lookalike labels for the falls/finds he doesn't have
> labels for. ?Each individual gem jar, membrane box and glass vials are
> labelled with an adhesive label, but not the specimens themselves.
> Specimens in Riker boxes have the original dealer label under the
> batting and one of Romans labels facing outwards through the glass.
>
> I highly recommend a wooden collection cabinet for main storage - it
> looks good, it's permanent, it's sturdy, and it keeps specimens away
> from casual eyes/hands, but they are at ready access if you need them.
>
> Best regards,
>
> MikeG
>
>
> On 2/26/10, Gary Fujihara <fujmon at mac.com> wrote:
>> Aloha Martin, Ted, list,
>>
>> I have a modest collection of fresh fall individuals that i have been
>> keeping in labeled ziploc bags. ?Which is fine when stored away in my
>> collection vault. ?This strategy has worked for me while my collection was
>> under 50 locations. ?But now that it has grown considerably, and since I now
>> loan them to my institute for exhibits and displays, there is the
>> opportunity for, and risk of having them mixed up and mislabeled (slices are
>> not a problem since they remain in labeled membraneboxes or display boxes).
>> Especially since I narrow my collection pieces to 20-60g complete
>> individuals - many of which resemble each other, although I do pride myself
>> in recognizing all of them by sight.
>>
>> However, just recently during an inventory, I noticed that my cataloged
>> weights did not jive with a specimen, and discovered that a Pultusk and Oum
>> Dreyga were accidentally switched (most probably from collecting them after
>> an outreach event exhibit). ?D'oh!
>>
>> I try to keep meticulous records of my pieces, but oversights and accidents
>> can occur. ?I am considering adopting a numbering strategy, but have
>> concerns as well about what type of paint or pigment to use. ?Or perhaps if
>> a small affixed numbered label would be a better solution - but then what
>> type of adhesive should be employed?
>>
>> So are there any collectors on the list that do number or label their
>> specimen? ?And if so, what strategy do they employ?
>>
>> gary
>>
>> On Feb 26, 2010, at 8:48 AM, martin goff wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Ted,
>>>
>>>
>>> Funnily enough, i asked Dr. David Green exactly the same question. The
>>> labels on the Manchester specimens were particularly small and neat. I
>>> am at the point with my collection where i feel the need to number the
>>> individual specimens. I have smaller specimens labelled on the boxes
>>> themselves but the individual stones of a similar size can look very
>>> much alike and i am considering numbering them on the specimen itself.
>>> Then if by whatever means they were mixed up or the display cabinet
>>> were knocked then i would be able to match them up again.
>>>
>>> The labels were printed using carbon ink on archival acid free paper
>>> in very small type (i think he said size 3 or 4) then attached using
>>> archival glue. I didn't ask any further on the exact type of glue
>>> apart from that he mentioned that it was totally reversible. Even if
>>> it is reversible i worry that the glue would permeate the specimen
>>> somehow?
>>>
>>> I am still very much in 2 minds about this but the thought of having
>>> my collection mixed up fills me with dread!
>>>
>>> What are peoples thoughts on labelling specimens?
>>>
>>> Cheers
>>>
>>> Martin
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> From: ted brattstrom <volcanoted at yahoo.com>
>>>> To: Meteorite List <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>>>> Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:18:52 -0800 (PST)
>>>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Manchester Museum (UK) Visit, Article and
>>>> Images
>>>> Very nice presentation...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> And it sparked a question:
>>>>
>>>> ?Museums / collectors "glue" labels onto their rocks (or used to) - What
>>>> glue is used? and what are the ramifications for alteration to the rock.
>>>> (thinking back to the discussion of putties for holding meteorites a week
>>>> or so ago.)
>>>>
>>>> Likewise, for the paint and ink method... a> what was traditionally used?
>>>> and b> effect on the rock. (which should be obvious once the paint is
>>>> indicated :-) )
>>>>
>>>> Thanks!
>>>>
>>>> ted
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>>
>> Gary Fujihara
>> Big Kahuna Meteorites (IMCA#1693)
>> 105 Puhili Place, Hilo, Hawai'i 96720
>> http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/
>> http://shop.ebay.com/fujmon/m.html
>> (808) 640-9161
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
> http://www.galactic-stone.com
> http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
Received on Fri 26 Feb 2010 04:31:25 PM PST