To answer your principal question: eggs are amazingly durable in the right
storage conditions, amazingly fragile in the wrong ones. I assume that
you are talking about eggshells here, contents extracted. They have
pretty much the same environmental tolerances that most mineralized
tissues do: keep them out of the light and in cool, dry conditions.
Eggshells are highly susceptible to acidic storage conditions, so steer
clear of wood, cardboard and cotton. There are excellent storage
materials and systems that are described in *Storage of Natural History
Collections: Ideas and Practical Solutions,* edited by Carolyn Rose and
Amparo R. de Torres and published by the Society for the Preservation of
Natural History Collections. If you are talking about whole eggs (you're
not, are you?), things are considerably more complicated.

There are several natural history lists. You may be interested in
NHCOLL-L, set up by SPNHC and ASC. For further information on this,
contact Paula Sumpter at [log in to unmask]

Sally Shelton
Director, Collections Care and Conservation


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|                 San Diego Natural History Museum                      |
|                          P. O. Box 1390                               |
|                San Diego, California   92112  USA                     |
|             phone (619) 232-3821; FAX (619) 232-0248                  |
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On Fri, 21 Jul 1995, Rebecca Patchett wrote:

> Hello all.  I am seeking advice.. What is the best way to store eggs in a
> museum collection?  What, specifically, has worked in your museums?  Our eggs
> are in need of protection.
>
> BTW, I don't read too many natural history related articles on the list.  Is
> there another newsgroup out there anyone has seen that is relevant to natural
> history museum and Zoo issues?
>
> Looking forward to your responses.
>
> Rebecca Patchett
> Curatorial Assistant
> Metro Washington Park Zoo
> [log in to unmask]
>