the preservation of these birds represented an optimistic vision of humanity: a multigenerational chain of curators had shielded them from insects, sunlight, German bombers, fire, and theft, joined by the belief that the collection was of vital importance to humanity’s pursuit of knowledge. They understood that the birds held answers to questions that hadn’t yet even been asked. But their mission depended, in large part, on trusting that those who came to study in the collection shared this belief.
