A juvenile ‘paper shell’ argonaut specimen, fixed in 10% formalin and then transferred to 80% industrially-denature alcohol.  At some time, the pH of the former fluid had dropped to a rather actively-acidic level, removing what little calcium salts there were from the shell and turning it into a highly fragmentary membrane!  The remaining shell membrane was assembled and gradually replaced onto the body, adhering it with 4% solution of pyroxylin dissolved in a highly-volatile (and flammable) mix of di-ethyl ether and absolute ethanol.  This involved using the ether solvent alone to act as a ‘solvent bridge’, enabling the adhesive to ‘stick’ slightly to the animal tissue before it was gelled in 80% ID alcohol.

One of the more challenging projects I have been engaged upon.