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The Mineralogical Record has been a cornerstone of the mineral collecting world for over a third of a century, and many people today take its existence for granted. In the beginning, however, its survival was anything but assured. The first years were precarious and challenging for its founder, then a young curator with no editorial, publishing or business experience. The support of donors, authors, advisors and volunteers helped it survive those early years, just as they have continued to help it flourish every year since then. Here is the story of how it all began.
PROLOGUE
When I was asked to write an article about the early days and years of the Mineralogical Record, it struck me as an intriguing idea and a story that I would like to tell, but I was reluctant because I feared that I would not be able to remember enough of the details to make much of a story of it. Fortunately, I located lecture notes from an early Rochester Symposium, which proved to be detailed enough to encourage me to begin. I also found in my files a folder full of letters exchanged between Richard Bideaux and me, and another rich with my correspondence with Peter Embrey, then with the British Museum (Natural History). Mary Lynn Michela (of whom more later) sent me copies of letters from and to Arthur Montgomery; these also contain details which are critical to the story.
WHY IT all BEGAN
Most simply put, the Mineralogical Record was born as the result of two circumstances that fortunately came together: (1) my desire to start a new publication for mineral collectors, and (2) the financial support of the late Arthur Montgomery. A third key was my position on the staff of the Mineral Sciences Department of the Smithsonian Institution. This affiliation lent immediate credibility to my name and thus to my efforts, and it assured the enthusiastic support of the esteemed Paul Desautels who was, at that time, my supervisor and mentor.
But we are jumping ahead of the story, which began back in the late sixties. My frustration then with the inadequacy of the literature of the hobby was such that I felt compelled to do something about the situation. I strongly believed...