Thanks to everyone who sent in requests for the murder bibliography. I should point out that it was included in this year's AAM Sourcebook; if you don't have that and don't want to wait for me to mail a cheesy xerox copy, you might want to find someone with the Sourcebook and wheedle. It never works for me, but it might for you. The session is also on tape from the AAM meeting. I have decided against posting the bibliography here because it is quite long and my typing skills are about on a par with Mr. Ed's. Besides, I am a collections geek, not a computer geek, at least not officially. If someone more talented at this sort of thing than I wishes to put the biblio on the list, it is OK with me. This was all done under AAM's auspices (as well as the Texas Association of Museums), which should be credited. Now, two questions to get you started on the weekend: 1. I know that the University Museum in Philadelphia is hosting a murder- at-the-museum event, with our very own co-panelist, Aaron Elkins, early next year. Has anyone else had experience with this kind of thing? I know that train and ship tours do it, B&B's do it, local drama groups do it...but how many museums have hosted one of these participatory murder dramas? How did you set it up? How did it work as a fund-raiser? What did the community think? And how did you adapt it to fit your setting.? (And how did you narrow down your list of victims?) 2. I was reluctant to bring this up until the recent ghoulish thread convinced me that this is the right group, after all. My Esteemed Colleague John Simmons and I have been batting around an idea for years on the origin and development of grotesques in natural history, by which we specifically mean the use of taxidermy or other techniques to create fake creatures out of real parts. Jackalopes are the most benign manifestation of this. We are familiar with the creations of Ruysch, the illustrations of Guillaume de Rondelet, and the amazing Squire Waterton. Anyone else got any comments on this? Earliest appearances, strange creatures, credulous publics? Sally Shelton Collections Conservation Specialist San Diego Natural History Museum