selections from the Robert Whitmore Mineral Collection of East Coast Classics & Worldwide Minerals

selections from the
Robert Whitmore Mineral Collection of East Coast Classics
& Worldwide Minerals

Bob Whitmore is one of the most prominent East Coast field collectors of his generation, specializing in North-East United States classics for 50 years. He has owned the famous Palermo #1 Mine (and still does), worked heavily at the famous old Eden Mills localities, and found many "one-off" finds such as the finest US herderites and arfvedsonites. His specialty was the small pegmatites and rare phosphate species of this region. He also maintained small worldwide and broader US Classics collections built through trade and occasional purchase. The mineral species WHITMOREITE is named after him for his contributions and discoveries to mineralogy. For more on Bob, please click here to see a PDF reprinted with permission from an article on him which appeared in ROCKS AND MINERALS magazine: WhitmoreBio.PDF (CLICK HERE)

With Bob's help, I have prepared and sorted from some 2000 specimens a few of the highlights for a first update. Expect many more specimens over the next year, including most of them through my auctions. For those interested in rare phosphate micros, please contact me as I process his decades of self-colelcted Palermo material

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RWHIT-22 - Rutile - $ 4500
Mt. Kapudzyk, Azerbaijan
miniature, 4.1 x 3.4 x 2.5 cm

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This is an approximately 3.5-cm-long elbow-twinned rutile from what, to me, must be the most amazing find for the species since Graves Mountain's heyday.These came out in the late 90s in one small batch, and seem to have gone the way of the dodo since. Haven't seen one this nice in awhile. In fact, I cannot recall seeing one so sharp, twinned, and so complete all around like this even when they briefly were available. This lustrous, super-sharp rutile crystal is dramatically perched on matrix of crystallized quartz, exposed on all sides! It is perfect all around except for a few very minor contacts in the back side. For my taste, and for what I recall of seeing in this find, I think it is a stellar miniature I would rank near the top

RWHIT-16 - Magnetite - $ 1000
ZCA Mine, Balmat, St Lawrence County, New York, USA
cabinet, 11.5 x 4.6 x 4.5 cm

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In the 1980s and early 90s, the mineral collectors who pay attention to Eastern US material were shocked at the sudden spurt of incredible, lustrous, jet-black, magnetite crystals popping up on the market out of this deep mine (it extended down to 2500 feet according to MINDAT!). These are, I think, among the world's finest magnetites for their freaky metallic lustre and unusually sharp cubic habits (most magnetite is octohedral). This specimen is a rare cabinet piece featuring sharp crystals to nearly 1.5 cm, although the best crystal is on the left hand portion, and is 1 cm across. Superb example, from a now closed and defunct locality which , for a brief time, really gave collectors something unprecedented.

RWHIT-15 - Triphylite - $ 750
G. E. Smith Quarry (Chandler Mills Quarry), Newport, Sullivan Co., New Hampshire, USA
miniature, 4.4 x 3.7 x 3.0 cm

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A matrix specimen hosting a VERY SHARP 2.2-cm triphylite crystal, quite good for the species. Historically, this locality was famous for such - but they are now rare. Obtained in 1992 from the Curt Segeler collection. A label on the back of the specimen itself indicates it was found in 1948.

RWHIT-14 - Aquamarine - $ 900
Yunnan Province, China
miniature, 3.2 x 1.8 x 1.6 cm

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A limpid, clear, sculptural cluster of parallel-growth aquamarine crystals, from a remote find that came to market in the late 1980s as I recall (he bought or traded for this in 1989). This is an attractive miniature, complete all around except one fairly trivial little ding. We all thought a flood of pegmatite gems would come out of China, but time has proven this assumption wrong, and not much does come out in the way of gem crystals.

RWHIT-11 - Aquamarine - $ 1500
Sawtooth Mountains, Boise Co., Idaho, USA
miniature, 3.8 x 0.9 x 0.6 cm

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A stunningly gemmy, intense blue aquamarine from famous finds in the 1980s in this remote location. Idaho beryls are extremely rare to come by, and this crystal is an exceptional reward for the wait. It is terminated, though slightly etched atop.

RWHIT-10 - Ludlockite - $ 5000
Tsumeb, Namibia
miniature, 3.9 x 2.3 x 1.5 cm

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Ludlockite, found here at its TYPE LOCALITY , is a weird iron-lead arsenite that was found around 1970 the very lower depths of Tsumeb, in its deepest oxidation zone filled with all kinds of bizarre mineralogy. The color of ludlockite is interesting, but when combined with the metallic lustre to its fibrous crystals, the overall effect of a ludlockite specimen is unique and visually stunning. It looks like hair dipped in bronze and gelatin. This is a very rich, sturdy cluster of intergrown acicular crystals, perched on a minimal amount of ore matrix. A rare, display-sized, beautiful miniature specimen for this species normally available to collectors today only as micros or small pockets rather than with such large freestanding clusters such as this.

RWHIT-09 - Tourmaline var. Indicolite - $ 9000
Mt. Apatite District, Auburn, Androscoggin Co., Maine, USA
small cabinet, 7.1 x 1.3 x 1.3 cm

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This is a superb oldtimer with a fantastic lustre, high transparency an dgemminess, and a unique blue coloration that sets it apart from most tourmalines out there , US, Brazil, or otherwise. The spectrum of blue here is really , to the eye in person, different. This is likely an old crystal, I am told almost certainly predating the 1940s, and it is in fine condition, nearly pristine. It displays in a showcase alongside Brazilian or Himalaya Mine tourmalines and is no slouch in that company. It is by far the best example I have seen for sale from old finds here.

RWHIT-06 - Phosphophyllite - $ 7500
Unificada Mine, Potosi City, Potosi Department, Bolivia
miniature, 4.0 x 2.5 x 1.1 cm

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This small miniature features a razor-sharp, 3-cm-long phosphophyllite twin perched on sparing matrix, displayed to maximal impact. Phosphophyllite of this quality is a colelctor's Holy Grail, so seldom found and, when found, seldom affordable. A piece like this probably came out in the "old era" of the 1950s-1960s, and although modern attempts to find more have proven successful, they have not been of this limpid quality and lustre.Although cleanly repaired in the middle, this is a superb specimen , particularly displayable and balanced. In person, in a case, the color is unique - there is nothing else quite this hue of green-blue in the mineral Kingdoms.

RWHIT-03 - Quartz sceptre with phantoms - $ 1250
Treasure Mountain mine, Little Falls, Herkimer Co., New York, USA
miniature, 3.9 x 3.7 x 1.7 cm

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This beautiful quartz miniature is unique in my experience, a triplet cluster of criss-crossing crystals. The largest is 3.5 cm, and doubly terminated though with a slight contact on one back tip. It is unusual, for the location and just for a quartz cluster in general. These phantomed scepters are valued at a high premium, in part because they are so uncommon and so hard to extract as well - both form the ground and from the collectors as they are treasured by the local collectors and tend to stay in the area. Collected by Bob Whitmore in 2000. Except for the slight contact on the rear of one outside tip, this is a floater otherwise

RWHIT-02 - Almandine Garnet - $ 4500
Russell Garnet mine, Russell, Hampden Co., Massachusetts, USA
miniature, 5.0 x 3.9 x 3.0 cm

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This miniature specimen hosts a superb, 3-cm ,sharp and classic trapezohedral crystal on a pedestal of natural matrix. This is a very rare example of the classic "Russel Garnets" found in the late 1800s by two lucky locals (Daniel Clark and FS Johnson). They sold them off, and never revealed the locality: to this day they are simply known as "Russell Garnets" from an un-named pegmatite in the area. Collectors today are still trying to re-locate the exact site and good specimens are mainstays in ANY major museum or East Coast classics collection. This specimen is one of the better examples I have seen for sale, for its good balance and perfect symmetry. It is complete on 3 sides, contacted only on the back face. It has a little attached muscovite matrix, which is rare. At the time they were found, these crystals were all famously buffed or polished by the finders (with shoe polish, I am told), some more and some less. This particular specimen has less of an apparent gloss and buffed smoothness than others I have seen, giving it a more natural look than usual. A favorite in the colleciton, used in my advertisements.

RWHIT-01 - Fluorapatite - $ 3000
Emmons Quarry, Greenwood, Oxford Co., Maine, USA
small cabinet, 6.3 x 3.9 x 3.9 cm

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A remarkable specimen of unusually freestanding apatites, colored steely-blue, to 2.5 cm on matrix. This is something I was not familiar with except in much smaller crystals - I am told by Bob Whitmore and others though, that this is truly one of the best, if not the best, of its type. The crystals are good on both large hexagonal faces, but have even better lustre on the edge faces, which are corrugated and so reflect light from many angles

RWHIT-51 - Calcite - SOLD
Webb City, Tri-State District, Jasper Co., Missouri, USA
large cabinet, 22 x 13 x 13

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Calcite from Webb City, Tri-State District, Jasper Co., Missouri, USA [db_pics/new09mix/calcite-webbcity-missouri_3361v2.jpg]

Calcite from Webb City, Tri-State District, Jasper Co., Missouri, USA [db_pics/new09mix/calcite-webbcity-missouri_3361v2.jpg]

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Calcite from Webb City, Tri-State District, Jasper Co., Missouri, USA [db_pics/new09mix/dsc03291.jpg]

Webb City calcites are almost a myth in collecting - so few exist to be seen, and so few good ones exist to be owned. This is a fish-tail twinned crystal of huge size, about the size of a football. These are of a rare, unique style found at the turn of the 1900s, in oldest workings of what was to become the famed TriState district in later years. This area today is a disaster site with slumping, empty old cities atop the old mines.This particular specimen would be a beautiful killer from ANY location, but I think the historic interest as a bonus. It is a nearly pristine, huge twinned calcite with a glowing lavender-pink color when even moderately backlit...presenting just an amazing visual impact wihtout knowing anything about the mineral or locality itself. The only other one like it that i have seen was in the Smithsonian's long-held exhibit on TriState material (photo shown here). I am told by oldtimers that most of this material back in the day when found was split along the cleavage planes to make beautiful calcite cleavage chunks for fun and play. Most miners split them in pieces for gifts, paperweights and the like. I believe this to be one of the most distinct, impressive calcites in importance you can own from a US locality. I had no idea something like this existed on the market to be had, even...until I saw it in the Robert Whitmore collection. He obtained it in an old collection he thinks, sometime in the 1960s. To this day, these remain unique in the world and a major US classic. It is the best piece in the Whitmore collection, some would say, even though it was not from his East Coast focus area. Joe Budd photo.

RWHIT-50 - Tourmaline - SOLD
Dunton Mine, Newry, Oxford County, Maine, USA
cabinet, 8.5 x 4 x 4 cm

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Tourmaline from Dunton Mine, Newry, Oxford County, Maine, USA [db_pics/new09mix/rwad50.jpg]

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Tourmaline from Dunton Mine, Newry, Oxford County, Maine, USA [db_pics/new09mix/rwad50b.jpg]

This is from the 1972 find here, one of the few tourmaline pockets ever, from anywhere, that every tourmaline collector knows by name and date and can recognize by eyeball. They stand out from the crowd of other tourmalines found in Maine, but also in color and style are distinct, period. This one special pocket , in 1972, produced fabulous specimens , mostly with this sharply tapered termiantion and characteristic blue-green color. It is a very complete specimen, with no damage of note (just a few very minor dings and a sliding contact on a back face) and is 255 grams in mass. These are hard to come by, especially hefty big pieces with perfect terminations. the color is intense and classic, unique to the locale and the find for US tourmaline. I have seen and handled under a dozen of these for sale, of any consequence, in the last decade. Because of this rarity, I believe these Maine tourmalines to be a goo dinvestment, even more paradoxically to some, than a typical "gem tourmaline" from one of the more productive locales.

RWHIT-47 - Talc ps. After Chondrodite - SOLD
Tilly Foster Mine, Brewster, Putnam County, New York, USA
thumbnail, 3 x 2.5 x 2 cm

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Talc ps. After Chondrodite from Tilly Foster Mine, Brewster, Putnam County, New York, USA [db_pics/new09mix/talctilly1.jpg]

Talc ps. After Chondrodite from Tilly Foster Mine, Brewster, Putnam County, New York, USA [db_pics/new09mix/talctilly1.jpg]

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Talc ps. After Chondrodite from Tilly Foster Mine, Brewster, Putnam County, New York, USA [db_pics/new09mix/talctilly2.jpg]

Talc ps. After Chondrodite from Tilly Foster Mine, Brewster, Putnam County, New York, USA [db_pics/new09mix/talctilly2.jpg]

This is a SHARP and unusual replacement, one which I had personally not seen before but I did verify with several oldtime collectors at the Springfield show. It is an approx 1 x 1 inch specimen (a full thumbnail) with a single upright, freestanding SHARP crystal of talc that has fully replaced a chondrodite. Phil Scalisi and a few others i showed it to said it was amazing for this material, and unusually sharp.

RWHIT-49 - Almandine Garnet - SOLD
Russell Garnet mine, Russell, Hampden Co., Massachusetts, USA
cabinet, 12.3 x 6.3 x 5.5 cm

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Almandine Garnet from Russell Garnet mine, Russell, Hampden Co., Massachusetts, USA [db_pics/new09mix/rwad49a.jpg]

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Almandine Garnet from Russell Garnet mine, Russell, Hampden Co., Massachusetts, USA [db_pics/new09mix/rwad49b.jpg]

This large cabinet specimen hosts a superb, 2-inch or 5-cm-across trapezohedral crystal on a pedestal of equally sharp only slightly smaller crystals. It is a monster for the find! The piece is complete on 3 sides, with rock matrix and a side contact on the back of the display face, and pristine on all front faces. It has one clean (and old) contact-repair at the halfway point, at a contact between the upper half and lower portion of the specimen. This is a very rare museum-sized example of the classic "Russel Garnets" found in the late 1800s by two lucky locals (Daniel Clark and FS Johnson). They sold them off, and never revealed the locality: to this day they are simply known as "Russell Garnets" from an un-named pegmatite in the area. Collectors today are still trying to re-locate the exact site and good specimens are mainstays in ANY major museum or East Coast classics collection. The famous Houston Museum specimen shown in the 2009 Garnet calendar is 8 cm across, with a crystal of similar size to this piece atop. This specimen is one of the better examples I have seen for sale, for its good balance and symmetry. It has a solid matrix, which is rare. At the time they were found, these crystals were all famously buffed or polished by the finders (with shoe polish, I am told), some more and some less. This particular specimen has less of an apparent gloss and buffed smoothness than others I have seen, giving it a more natural look than usual. One of the major pieces in the Whitmore collection. Joe Budd photo.

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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com

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