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BERYL (a Lapis special issue) - $30 112 pages, 12 x 8 x 0.5 inches Weight: approx. 2 pounds - postage is $6 within the US
An invaluable resource for anything about the beryl species, with updated scientific and locality information. Stories, rich photography, history, etc etc give it great appeal to the collector. This most recent issue of the ExtraLapis series continues a superb line of book-style journals revising and extending the original special editions printed by the German magazine Lapis. For table of contents click here: (here) and (here)
TOURMALINE (a Lapis special issue) - $30 102 pages, 12 x 8 x 0.5 inches Weight: approx. 2 pounds - postage is $6 within the US
Super resrouce for anything about the tourmaline species, with updated scientific and locality information. Stories, history, etc etc. This most recent issue of the ExtraLapis series continues a superb line of book-style journals and is highly recommended.
PAKISTAN (a Lapis special issue) - $30 96 pages, 12 x 8 x 0.5 inches Weight: 2 pounds - postage is $6 within the US
This book-sized offshoot from the journal Lapis was years in the making and features novel interviews and anecdotes from dealers who led the development of the Pakistani and Afghani gem fields, most notably Herb Obodda. It provides, as well, the best single source I have yet seen for locality and species information on the minerals of this part of the world. It is an AMAZING, ENTERTAINING, INFORMATIVE read that i could not put down. The book is not only lavishly illustrated but is done so with incredible pieces most of us might never see otherwise, interspersed with firsthand pictures of the places from whence they come. To my mind, this is a bargain at 25 bucks.
SWEET HOME MINE/RHODOCHROSITE DVD - $25 80 minutes length postage is $5 within the US This 80-minute DVD is a first in the mineral world , to my knowledge, because it is so professionally and winningly made and narrated that it could double as a NOVA or NATURE show on PBS. It is an entertaining tale starting in the 1800's with the origins of the Sweet Home as a post-civil-war silver mine and continuing through the modern day specimen recovery efforts. The crew spent 18 months making this documentary and it lavishly shows the mining of the specimens (including some shots taken IN the mine DURING blasts!), in addition to simply documenting the wonderful treasures that came out. It features interesting interviews with many of the principal figures behind the reopening of the mine, including owner Bryan Lees (who to my mind has helped open up a new era of specimen recovery at such old mining sites).
F. JOHN BARLOW MINERAL COLLECTION - $175 408 pages, 12 x 9 x 1 inches Weight: 5 pounds - postage is $10 within the US
An amazing book illustrating not just one man's collection, but perhaps more importantly his METHOD of collecting; and cautionary and educational tales related thereto. As a collector and as a dealer, I found the stories of acquisitions as interesting as the pieces themselves. It is a beautiful book, with hundreds of color photos of intriguing specimens. I particularly enjoy some of the major locality suites such as South Dakota or Tsumeb and the species suites of the Silvers and Golds - informative for the sheer breadth on display. THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR ANY SERIOUS COLLECTOR! It is relatively cheap for the content and size, due to the fact that Barlow subsidized and self-published it.
MINERAL MASTERPIECES: The Mineral Collection of the Houston Museum of Natural Science BOOK REVIEW HERE: click the photo below for text
$75 plus shipping
BEAUTY IN NATURAL CRYSTALS: Highlights from the Mineral Collection of Steve and Clara Smale
Steve and Clara are my next-door neighbors at the Westward Look show in Tucson, and I have had the privilege to get to know them better and sell them some specimens as well, in the last few years; and to see their collection at the home on occasion. It is a special treat, let me tell you (!), that now is shared through the publication of this incredibly high-quality, large-format, coffee-table book featuring photos by Steve and by Jeff Scovil of approximately 10% of the collection's highlights. You can see from the samples that there ar emany interesting acquisition stories to be told, here. Their collecting philosophy is to get BEAUTIFUL minerals of all size and price ranges: species both "ugly" and pretty, "common" and rare. This theme comes across quite clearly in the book despite the huge variety of specimens shown. At shows, the Smales are very low-key and modest. In the real world, Stephen Smale is a world-famous mathematican and winner of the 1966 Fields Medal, mathematics' highest award (Which apparently comes with a universal parking permit he efficiently uses to get to park anywhere he wants on the Berkeley campus when we go to lunch). Steve would be absolutely mortified if I went on and on about how brilliant and interesting he is, so I will refrain. Instead, I merely highlight a link to a biography written about him by a fellow mathemetician, which can be found on Amazon.com: Stephen Smale: The Mathematician Who Broke the Dimension Barrier, by Steve Batterson MINERALS DEACCESSED FROM THE SMALE COLLECTION ARE FOR SALE ON MY SITE ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES: MIXED SPECIMENS APATITE TOURMALINES
MINERALS of CORNWALL and DEVON - $40 154 pages, 11 x 9 x 0.5 inches Weight: 3 pounds - postage is $8 within the US
A truly enjoyable book that reads like a soptry, telling tales of both specimens and collectors, not to mention some rather infamous dealers, going back hundreds of years. This is an invaluable book for anybody interested in UK minerals because of the depth of information and the clearcut, yet entertaining manner of presentation. It is also lavishly illustrated not just with specimens but with historical photos to set them in context. Though divided into chapters on the location, the mines, and the people involved, the book consistently ties the three together. It is one of my personal favorite books in the hobby for this reason. THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR ANY SERIOUS COLLECTOR! Note that the book is long out of print. I obtained a crate of old copies which have been stored in teh heat of Tucson for too many years - the books are in fine condition internally and are unread (in fact, still encased in protective plastic shrinkwrap), but the jackets show slight creasing and age.
MINERALOGY of MICHIGAN by E.W. Heinrich - $40 updated and revised by George W. Robinson, Curator A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum (Houghton, MI) 247 pages, 11.5 x 8 inches Weight: 2 pounds - postage is $7 within the US This important reference book, now updated and revised with lavish photography as well, is an important and relatively inexpensive addition to any mineralogical library! I bought a large number of copies from the first printing.
COMPLETE SETS OF MINERALOGICAL RECORDS! THIS IS AN INVALUABLE, PERHAPS THE MOST VALUABLE, RESOURCE FOR LEARNING THE CONTEXT AND HISTORY OF OUR COLLECTIBLES HOBBY; AND FOR TRACKING CHANGES OVER TIME AND WHAT THE PEOPLE IN THE KNOW HAVE BEEN DOING AND TALKING ABOUT. THIS MAKES YOUR SENSE TO KNOW, GIVEN YOUR OWN INVESTMENT , AND I CANNOT RECOMMEND HIGHLY ENOUGH! CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE JOURNAL WEBSITE, AND SEE SAMPLES OF BACK ISSUES: ARCHIVE OF BACK ISSUES Sets are priced at $2500-3000 for runs from 1970 through 2003-6, depending on the set
SWEET HOME MINE/RHODOCHROSITE ISSUE OF THE MINERALOGICAL RECORD - $40 postage is $8 within the US
SUPERB SPECIAL ISSUE FEATURING IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF HOW AND WHY THIS PROJECT WAS A SUCCESS FOR THE HOBBY, AND SHOWING HOW THE FINDS CHANGED OVER TIME
SET OF ARIZONA ISSUES #1-5 $295 for the set - and that is a bargain considering how hard it is to get the first few issues in particular!
Mineralogical Record's History of Mineral Collecting 1530-1799 (263 pages, 2 pounds weight ) offered at $25 + $6 postal The History of Mineral Collecting is more than just a book about who owned what - it is an eye-opening story that traces the beginnings of mineral collecting back to the mining industry and the nobility of the 1500's and illustrates how amateur collecting combined with scientific discovery to produce the science of mineralogy that we know today. Multiple color plates show what collections of the 1600's, 1700's, and 1800's consisted of...with extinct localities described in living detail through the original letters of some of the collectors. There are biographies on major collectors, including many kings and emporers, as well as scientists. The book ends with a summation of early American collectors during the Colonial Era.SATISFACTION GUARANTEED or your money refunded
Rene Hauy (the French abbot regarded as one of the inventors of crystallography) and James Sowerby (prominent English author and collector)
Illustrations of major collectors/authors of the time are shown quite frequently, along with pictures of specimens from their collections (some are pictures of the actual specimen, dating to as far back as the 1500's!).
Collecting in Russia
The prelude to this chapter describes the collections and interests of Peter the Great, among others. It tells how he helped to contribute to the origin and growth of Russia's museums...many of which are still around today!
Collections Sold
There is a lot of interesting information about what collections were bought and sold, when they sold, and to whom...quite interesting considering today's ravenous mineral market!
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