[Nhcoll-l] NYT article: Soot on early 20th century specimens

[Thomas Labedz]

And at Nebraska we had a well-documented fire in 1912 that left some, but not all, bird specimens collected prior to then coated with a thin layer of soot. The specimens are easily identified by the date and that if you lift a breast feather you can see clean plumage underneath. I too wondered about coal or oil furnaces heating the buildings and other post-preparation sources of soot.
Thomas E. Labedz, Collections Manager
University of Nebraska State Museum
Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.A.

From: nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Erin Cashion
Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2017 11:09 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] NYT article: Soot on early 20th century specimens

Hi all,

I mentioned in my post regarding the historic taxidermy case last week that some of the specimens inside appear sooty. One person replied that it may be caused by mercuric chloride (applied as a preservative during preparation). A couple other people suggested it may be the result of coal dust in the air at their storage location(s) due to coal heating, rather than soot collected from its habitat in life. The study linked below is suggesting the latter. I'm curious how they determined the difference between these two carbon contaminants.

NYT article: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nytimes.com_2017_10_10_science_birds-2Dair-2Dpollution.html&d=DwIFAg&c=cjytLXgP8ixuoHflwc-poQ&r=LpYc_Z_iN1KRw0hheb3x6-8MJUMu482qfHowpGYJqwc&m=BNFV5naa6epXsS6KzviRjlb67hox9yL9pP4KjcNeEuU&s=JZ39SA8hRBclS4KOPQNMfq5RAdglRdIlNAVk3s2-BfU&e=<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nytimes.com_2017_10_10_science_birds-2Dair-2Dpollution.html&d=DwMFAg&c=cjytLXgP8ixuoHflwc-poQ&r=LpYc_Z_iN1KRw0hheb3x6-8MJUMu482qfHowpGYJqwc&m=dfzHto3VHN4FuEv-uwP7f7mbsr1H_yh2ojReafCxjq8&s=ZBPD0yYy34rMSAZuRAtBN5-sqzH9mhdhhOD5PB0vB-Y&e=>
PNAS article (full text behind a paywall): https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.pnas.org_content_early_2017_10_04_1710239114&d=DwIFAg&c=cjytLXgP8ixuoHflwc-poQ&r=LpYc_Z_iN1KRw0hheb3x6-8MJUMu482qfHowpGYJqwc&m=BNFV5naa6epXsS6KzviRjlb67hox9yL9pP4KjcNeEuU&s=REr3wmxwWOtg-iT-wU4p2ZCqPciINgYG5_L03JsUcVQ&e=<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.pnas.org_content_early_2017_10_04_1710239114&d=DwMFAg&c=cjytLXgP8ixuoHflwc-poQ&r=LpYc_Z_iN1KRw0hheb3x6-8MJUMu482qfHowpGYJqwc&m=dfzHto3VHN4FuEv-uwP7f7mbsr1H_yh2ojReafCxjq8&s=scmWJIAHzlAxN4eMmrYbA1Pw2xlL4K8QeeTND5U-IqU&e=>

In any case it's wonderful to see natural history collections making the mainstream news!


Erin B. Cashion, Curator of Natural History
Ohio History Connection
800 East 17th Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43211
p. 614-298-2054
ecashion at ohiohistory.org<mailto:ecashion at ohiohistory.org>

The Ohio History Connection's mission<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ohiohistory.org_about-2Dus&d=DwMFAg&c=cjytLXgP8ixuoHflwc-poQ&r=LpYc_Z_iN1KRw0hheb3x6-8MJUMu482qfHowpGYJqwc&m=dfzHto3VHN4FuEv-uwP7f7mbsr1H_yh2ojReafCxjq8&s=16Fc3W4FhTD5UwvUpqrLuiF-JW_ieWHtBfZ9EW7GbOI&e=> is to spark discovery of Ohio's stories. Embrace the present, share the past and transform the future.

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