On the Collection and storage of eggs

Meyers Konversationslexikon 1885-90 (German Encyclopedia)

One of my favorite rooms in a natural history museum is the bird and egg room. Something about the way in which the eggs are exhibited appeals to me: they are displayed either in compartmentalized drawers, or placed in nests next to the taxidermied birds. The contrast between wanting to see these animals as living creatures we should learn about and protect, on the one hand, with the extremely sterile method of showing eggs in drawers, completely removed from the animal that produced them, on the other—this is part of the contradictory atmosphere of these spaces that appeals to me. There is something left of the 19th Century in these places, partly because many of the collections were started long ago, yet also because we still love to see animals this way. As trophies. As collections.

HSU Wildlife Museum's egg collection



Lastly, these illustrations are inspiring me to get back into egg dying. Perhaps I should collect fake eggs, label them and put them in drawers. Just to be contradictory.