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Collectors, curators and the fossil record; a reply to Hope (2004)

Stephen K. Donovan
Collectors, curators and the fossil record; a reply to Hope (2004)
Scottish Journal of Geology (2007) 43, Part 1: 75-77

Abstract

A recent guidebook to the Lower Palaeozoic palaeontology of the Girvan district suggested, pointedly, that collecting is the pursuit of the amateur, and there is antagonism between amateur collectors and museum curators (professionals). This is illustrated by just one purported example, that of F. R. Cowper Reed (1869-1946), who may never have visited the Girvan district, but who described many significant fossils from the notable collection of Mrs Elizabeth Gray (1831-1924). However, this relationship was symbiotic, not parasitic. Mrs Gray did not want to describe her collection herself, but she did want it described. Further, as much of the descriptive work was undertaken after his retirement, Cowper Reed was monographing the Gray collection through scientific interest rather than any need to build a career.


ISSN: 0036-9276
EISSN: 2041-4951
Coden: SJGEAX
Serial Title: Scottish Journal of Geology
Serial Volume: 43, Part 1
Title: Collectors, curators and the fossil record; a reply to Hope (2004)
Author(s): Donovan, Stephen K.
Affiliation: Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Department of Geology, Leiden, Netherlands
Pages: 75-77
Published: 2007
Text Language: English
Publisher: Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Accession Number: 2008-071041
Categories: Invertebrate paleontology
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Annotation: For reference to original see Hope, M. A., Girvan Fossils; Friends of the McKechnie Institute, Girvan, 2004
N55°15'00" - N55°15'00", W04°50'60" - W04°50'60"
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2018, American Geosciences Institute. Reference includes data from The Geological Society, London, London, United Kingdom
Update Code: 200819
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