Finding back Carlos Berg’s fish specimens: Naturalist preparation and collection management in object biography and conservation

Abstract

Carlos Berg (1843–1902) was one of the most important zoologists in South America, and a key figure in the development of the collections and organisation of the former Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires (macn). Responsible for the creation of the Ichthyology Division there (1895), his name is also forever linked to Argentinian fish studies. In addition to being valuable scientific references, Berg’s preserved specimens can today provide historical and technical evidence about the collection, preparation and management of collections at the end of the nineteenth century. This new historical value acquired from the scientific object is not without consequences for its use, its treatment and its conservation-restoration. In this study, we analyse Berg’s ichthyologic specimens from historical and museological perspectives, with the twin objectives of locating and identifying those specimens in the ichthyologic collection, and of implementing a meticulous record of their state of conservation so that a system of ‘Berg markers’ may be formed to recognise ‘silent specimens’. Comparison of the information collected with a variety of archival and published sources allowed us to reconnect the specimens of Berg with the cultural and epistemological values of their time.