Sale Price:
$55.00
Original Price:
$85.00
The mining district around Tavistock in West Devon, England, has produced mineral specimens for centuries as a byproduct of its long history of copper, tin, lead, and arsenic mining. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, miners occasionally preserved attractive crystals and unusual mineral combinations encountered while working the lodes. Many specimens from the district came from well-known mines such as Devon Great Consols and Wheal Friendship, which yielded fine examples of copper minerals, arsenates, and secondary species. As scientific mineral collecting grew in popularity during the nineteenth century, material from the Tavistock area began entering private collections, universities, and museums throughout Britain and Europe. After most large mines closed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, collectors continued to recover specimens from mine dumps and remaining surface exposures. Today, classic minerals from the Tavistock district are valued by collectors and are commonly associated with specimens preserved from historic mining operations.
This specimen, albeit the typically easy to look past, has serious provenance! Not only being a type locality mineral, there are 6 labels that comprise the train of ownership. The label train suggests almost all of its human-life was spent in European collections. For an antique specimen, type locality, or otherwise collector this piece is an easy “yes”.
Thank you so much for viewing! Please message for any further information
(1.8 × 1.9 × 1.1 in - 4.5 × 4.8 × 2.7 cm) 2.4oz / 68g
ORDERS SHIP MONDAYS
The mining district around Tavistock in West Devon, England, has produced mineral specimens for centuries as a byproduct of its long history of copper, tin, lead, and arsenic mining. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, miners occasionally preserved attractive crystals and unusual mineral combinations encountered while working the lodes. Many specimens from the district came from well-known mines such as Devon Great Consols and Wheal Friendship, which yielded fine examples of copper minerals, arsenates, and secondary species. As scientific mineral collecting grew in popularity during the nineteenth century, material from the Tavistock area began entering private collections, universities, and museums throughout Britain and Europe. After most large mines closed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, collectors continued to recover specimens from mine dumps and remaining surface exposures. Today, classic minerals from the Tavistock district are valued by collectors and are commonly associated with specimens preserved from historic mining operations.
This specimen, albeit the typically easy to look past, has serious provenance! Not only being a type locality mineral, there are 6 labels that comprise the train of ownership. The label train suggests almost all of its human-life was spent in European collections. For an antique specimen, type locality, or otherwise collector this piece is an easy “yes”.
Thank you so much for viewing! Please message for any further information
(1.8 × 1.9 × 1.1 in - 4.5 × 4.8 × 2.7 cm) 2.4oz / 68g
ORDERS SHIP MONDAYS
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