A magnificent, very arboreal-looking cluster of THICK copper crystals, forming a solid tree rising from the quartz matrix. This is a dramatic and exceptional piece with a lot of character, and is MUCH MUCH better in person than it appears. It came to me in trade with Gene Meieran, in whose collection it resided after he made a trade with the Seaman Museum. Courtesy of curator George Robinson, I can say that the piece came to the museum "some time after 1917." Hubbard died in 1933. There's general information on Hubbard given in the MR "copper country" issue in the section at the end on the Museum's various collections.

Bisbee is famous for its copper minerals, but copper specimens are relatively more rare than azurite and malachite for some reason. This is a gorgeous miniature, with complex and subtle patina and color variations. Several crystal habits, including spinel twins, are present. The colors in person are red to yellow-red, and the lustre is high. Overall, a highly unusual specimen that stands up like a tree, perched on a bit of gossan matrix.