collectors shell box

[Maui Boy]

My mother buys sea shells to make Sailors Valentines .
She has many different kinds of shells and dozens of them kept in plastic bags.
My wife and I would love to get her a shell collectors box, either  new, used or antique for a
Christmas .

Where would I go to find such a thing ?

Maui Boy

[dave r]

Sorry but I do not understand what you mean by a 'shell collector's box'. Shell collectors mostly keep their shells in plastic bags or boxes in cabinets with drawers. Some keep them in glass-fronted cabinets too.

[Maui Boy]

Thanks Dave

My mother keeps them in plascti bags.  I just thought it would really B organized to keep in some sort of small cabinet with drawers with seperators.  Something like you'd find at Home Depot for organizing and seperating screws, nuts, etc... but fancier and nicer.
Mark

[dave r]

Hi Mark, those type of cabinets are available sometimes from specialist shell dealers but they are VERY expensive as they are usually antique. What you want (if you can find one!) is a custom built shell or bird's egg cabinet as they have drawers of various depths so you can store shells of different sizes.
These occasionally turn up on Ebay or antique dealers websites but they are rare. It may be a better option to find a cabinet maker and get one custom built, but beware of which wood to use. Some kinds of wood will give off acidic gases and ruin a shell in weeks. That is why most of us use metal cabinets. Personally I use metal filing cabinets with 10 drawers of 2" depth, I find I can store most of my collection in these but again they are not cheap! As to inserts etc, they are best made by yourself by cutting and folding cardboard into small boxes . Again personally I use Adhesive putty (Blue Tack) for holding most of mine.
Are you on Facebook? I have many photos on there.
Cheers,
Dave