Björn Bergenholtz
(former alias "Calalp")
Yesterday I was contacted by the researcher Christophe Gouraud, with a question regarding eight specimens kept in the collection of Le Beffroi Musée Boucher de Perthes-Manessier (in Abbeville, France). For months he have tried to figure out their provenance, wondering from where those labels originated, and who wrote the text on them, without being able to identify neither the very Origin of those eight labels, nor the Handwriting (or the Writer behind it, of course) ...
Christophe Gouraud also attached the photos below, followed by the phrase:
Anyone who recognize such labels, or the hand of the Writer, from previous experiences?
Gouraud as well wrote:
Or do we even have a Graphologist here on BirdForum, an expert in Handwriting, maybe able to tell exactly who have written the scribbles on those eight specimen labels?
Anyone who knows, or have a anything to add? On whatever small, or large, even a hunch, or the slightest suspicion ...
*Gouraud, C. & P. Absalon. (November) 2023. List of type specimens of birds in the ornithological collection of Le Beffroi Musée Boucher de Perthes-Manessier (Abbeville, France). Avian Systematics 2023 2 (2): 9–43
Christophe Gouraud also attached the photos below, followed by the phrase:
... the labels recto/verso for the 8 specimens which bear them. You’ll see that they are identical.
Anyone who recognize such labels, or the hand of the Writer, from previous experiences?
Gouraud as well wrote:
Also, I’m not sure one has to look at the handwriting itself. All the labels have exactly the same pattern (yellow with a stamp of red wax and black frame on one side only, same sort of numbers…etc) so this in its own should be enough to identify the owner…if someone has seen that sort of label in another collection where data are more complete, it should be easy to make the link. The pattern on these labels is so unique that I don't think the writing is as important as the label itself.
These specimens ... were collected before 1870 and most likely before 1860. For details about this collection, see the introduction in this paper (here). [*]
Or do we even have a Graphologist here on BirdForum, an expert in Handwriting, maybe able to tell exactly who have written the scribbles on those eight specimen labels?
Anyone who knows, or have a anything to add? On whatever small, or large, even a hunch, or the slightest suspicion ...
... very grateful to anyone able to help me out.
*Gouraud, C. & P. Absalon. (November) 2023. List of type specimens of birds in the ornithological collection of Le Beffroi Musée Boucher de Perthes-Manessier (Abbeville, France). Avian Systematics 2023 2 (2): 9–43
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