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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
RWHIT-01 - Fluorapatite - AUS$ 3318 Emmons Quarry, Greenwood, Oxford Co., Maine small cabinet, 6.3 x 3.9 x 3.9 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
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-02 - Almandine Garnet - AUS$ 4977 Russell Garnet mine, Russell, Hampden Co., Massachusetts miniature, 5.0 x 3.9 x 3.0 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
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-03 - Quartz sceptre with phantoms - AUS$ 1382 Treasure Mountain mine, Little Falls, Herkimer Co., New York miniature, 3.9 x 3.7 x 1.7 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
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-04 - Quartz var. Amethyst - AUS$ 1659 SOLD Las Vigas, Veracruz, Mexico small cabinet, 6.7 x 5.7 x 5.1 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
This well-trimmed, balanced matrix hosts a 4.7 x 2.1 x 2 cm crystal of radiantly purple amethyst. It is more uniformaly purple, more fat, and more glassy in lustre than most material from this locality and to me is a very special quality because of this combination of superlatives. It is razor-sharp, without a ding on it, and pretty much glows in a showcase. For the size, I'd rate it as one of the best matrix examples of this famous locality I have seen. Bob Whitmore obtained it in exchange some years ago.
RWHIT-05 - Palermoite - AUS$ 1659 SOLD Palermo #1 Mine, Groton, Grafton Co., New Hampshire small cabinet, 7.2 x 5.2 x 4.7 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
Palermoite is a very rare phosphate, first found in 1952 at this TYPE LOCALITY for the species. To date, it has been found at just a few other locales, and still these crystals are the best. This particularly rich specimen is one flagged to me by Bob Whitmore in the purchase, as being one of the larger, richer specimens with display aesthetics overall. It has hundreds of palermoite crystals, many still covered by pocket clay just the way he found it. The top portion has been cleaned a bit, to reveal sharp crystals to 4mmnicely contrasted on lustrous, dark smoky quartz.
RWHIT-06 - Phosphophyllite - AUS$ 8294 Unificada Mine, Potosi City, Potosi Department, Bolivia miniature, 4.0 x 2.5 x 1.1 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
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-07 - Spodumene (Muscovite/Albite pseudo) - AUS$ 1106 Massachusetts cabinet, 12.5 x 7.6 x 6.8 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
This is a classic old Massachusetts specimen, of a kind found only seldom now in old museum collections and older personal collections. I am told that these sharp crystals are actually caught in altering (or altered fully to) a mix of muscovite and albite. This is a stark, aesthetic, display sized specimen with really nice geometry to it. While I do not know an exact locale on this , it is most likely, but not 100% sure from the Goshen Area, with references from Emerson (thanks to Jim Chenard for looking this up in the old books)
RWHIT-08 - Aquamarine - AUS$ 2212 SOLD Albany, Maine small cabinet, 9.8 x 6.3 x 4.7 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
A vivid, gemmy blue 3.3 x 1.3 x 0.9 cm aquamarine is here perched in massive quartz matrix. This specimen is a beautiful piece of extremely high quality for a Maine aquamarine - sinc emost from this region are opaque or pale, or both. Here, however, is a peice with areas so gemmy you can cut stones out of, and it is a terminated crystal no less. A favorite in the colleciton, used in my advertisements.
RWHIT-09 - Tourmaline var. Indicolite - AUS$ 9953 Mt. Apatite District, Auburn, Androscoggin Co., Maine small cabinet, 7.1 x 1.3 x 1.3 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
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-10 - Ludlockite - AUS$ 5530 Tsumeb, Namibia miniature, 3.9 x 2.3 x 1.5 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
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-11 - Aquamarine - AUS$ 1659 Sawtooth Mountains, Boise Co., Idaho miniature, 3.8 x 0.9 x 0.6 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
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-13 - Hydroxyl-Herderite - AUS$ 1051 SOLD Fletcher Mine, North Groton, New Hampshire miniature, 3.6 x 3.4 x 2.1 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
A remarkable, large crystal of herderite from this classic locality. Herderite crystals of such size, from any US locality (or any locality ouside of Brazil for that matter) are extremely rare. This is a significant US species specimen, way beyond the norm of any reasonable expectation. Collected by Bob Whitmore in the early 1980s
RWHIT-14 - Aquamarine - AUS$ 995 Yunnan Province, China miniature, 3.2 x 1.8 x 1.6 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
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-15 - Triphylite - AUS$ 829 G. E. Smith Quarry (Chandler Mills Quarry), Newport, Sullivan Co., New Hampshire miniature, 4.4 x 3.7 x 3.0 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
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-16 - Magnetite - AUS$ 1106 ZCA Mine, Balmat, St Lawrence County, New York cabinet, 11.5 x 4.6 x 4.5 cm ex. Robert Whitmore
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.
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