Sabrina Hansen is a private natural history collector whose collection includes rare antique taxidermy, extinct species, Victorian dioramas, and museum-level specimens.

In this episode of the Permanent Record Podcast, Gerard talks with Sabrina about her early life in Montreal, her training at the National Ballet School of Canada, her time studying and acting in New York, and the path that led her from Broadway to one of the most fascinating private natural history collections in the country.

They discuss the art and ethics of collecting, extinct birds, dodo bones, Walter Potter, conservation, privacy, and why Sabrina sees antique specimens as beautiful historical objects to study, preserve, and cherish.

To learn more about Sabrina Hansen, please see our feature article about Sabrina Hansen in Volume 2 of Permanent Record Magazine.

Tom Valvassori is a tattoo artist, lifelong maker, and taxidermy collector whose work is rooted in permanence, craft, and the stories people carry with them.

In this episode of the Permanent Record Podcast, Gerard talks with Tom about learning to tattoo the old-school way, why he still draws by hand, the connection between tattooing and taxidermy, the strange art of collecting, and the unforgettable moments when giving someone exactly what they asked for became something much deeper.

To learn more about Tom Valvassori, please see our feature article in Volume one of Permanent Record Magazine.

Doug Arbittier is an anesthesiologist, medical historian, and
collector whose more than 3,000 antique medical and surgical artifacts
reveal the strange, beautiful, and sometimes shocking history of
medicine. In this episode of the Permanent Record Podcast, Gerard
talks with Doug about bloodletting tools, Civil War surgery, President Lincoln's
assassination artifacts, the $5 doctor’s chair that started his
collection, his private medical history museum, appearances on Pawn
Stars and Jeopardy, and the art fraud case that led him to the FBI.