Fluid Preservation

This revised edition of Fluid Preservation: A Comprehensive Reference has been updated with a wealth of new research published during the last decade on preserving specimens in alcohol, formaldehyde, and other fluids. The text includes an expanded comprehensive bibliography and sections on managing fluid-preserved collections, determining preservative concentration, storage environments, preservation history and techniques, anatomical preparations, health and safety, fluid-preserved specimens in art and history museums, and cultural interpretations of fluid preservation in art, literature, and film. Although fluid preservation has been practiced for more than 350 years, Fluid Preservation: A Comprehensive Reference remains the only reference that thoroughly summarizes current knowledge about this complex and often confusing topic.

Author Biography

John E. Simmons (B.S., Systematics and Ecology; M.A., Museum Studies) worked as a zoo keeper before becoming a collection manager at the California Academy of Sciences and later at the Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas, where he also served as Director of the Museum Studies Program until 2007. He has published more than 150 papers and books on museology and the care of collections, particularly for natural history. Since 2008, Simmons has run Museologica, an international museum consulting service, and has taught workshops and university classes on the care of collections in the U.S. and abroad.