Making it easier for the next collector
If someone else opened one of your specimen drawers tomorrow, how much would they understand? You may know exactly which piece came from an old Australian collection, which was a gift, and which has a label tucked underneath its box. To another person, those connections may be far from obvious. Taking a little time to record them is a kind thing to do for whoever looks after the specimens next.
This needn't be a sombre subject. Collections change for all sorts of reasons. We might narrow our interests, make room, move house or pass a few pieces to someone just starting out. A specimen leaving one collection can become a favourite in another. The useful question is how we help its information make the same journey, instead of remaining in our memory after the piece has gone.
Australian collecting history gives us good reason to care. Museums Victoria's Rocks and Ores collection includes material gathered during earlier periods of mining and geological investigation. Some of those collections could not be assembled again today. Their value includes the evidence they preserve about places and work from the past. An ordinary-looking specimen may have more to tell us when its original information survives.
At home, a simple record is a good beginning. Match a specimen number to its mineral name, recorded locality and any previous collection details. Include a clear photograph so someone can connect the record to the right piece. If you know how and when it came to you, add that. If you don't know, leave the uncertainty visible rather than filling it with something that merely seems likely.
Keep the old labels even when you make a fresh, more readable one. A name or number that means little to you may help another collector recognise a connection. Photographing a label is useful, particularly if the writing is fading, but the original still belongs with the specimen. A digital record also needs to be somewhere another person can find and understand, rather than hidden behind a filename only you recognise.
The National Museum of Australia's account of Broken Hill minerals names the collectors associated with the specimens it discusses. That makes the human part of the collection visible. In our own records, we can preserve smaller, personal connections too: a gift from a club friend, an exchange with an overseas collector, or a piece from a family collection. Record only what happened, in a few plain sentences.
Think about the person who may eventually need these records. They may care about you very much without sharing your interest in minerals. Knowing which box matches which list, and whom to approach with questions, can save them a good deal of confusion. A collecting friend who has agreed to be a contact can be helpful. Keep that person's details current and make sure your family knows where the information is.
There may be several suitable destinations for different parts of a collection. A specialist collector, a beginner, a club or a museum may each value different things. If you hope an institution will take an interest, have the conversation rather than assuming it can accept everything. Asking what information it needs is a practical step. You can then make plans based on an actual discussion rather than a wish nobody else knows about.
For Australian specimens that travel overseas, these records are especially welcome. The next owner may have no other connection to the locality or the people named on the label. Equally, collectors abroad may hold information about Australian collections that would be of real interest here. Sharing a photograph of an old label, while being considerate about personal details, can start a worthwhile exchange.
There is no need to catalogue every drawer this weekend. Choose one specimen with a story you would regret losing and write it down. Then perhaps another when you have time. Someone looking at a cupboard full of unrecorded boxes may be grateful for an achievable place to begin.