Calcite (classic material)

Item Description

Calcites from Cumbria (Cumberland), England are some of the most iconic examples of the species in history. They are not only instantly recognizable, but historically, they have been some of the most pictured Calcites extant. The fair number of pieces found allowed them to find a spot into nearly every private collection and museum around the world at the time they were coming out of the ground. This piece is a fantastic old-time display specimen with a superb pedigree, as it was part of the famed Burrage collection (from Harvard University), and was also in the collection of Clifford J. Krueger before it came to Jack. The piece hosts a predominant, sharp, lustrous, GEMMY, colorless, prismatic trigonal crystal measuring 5.6 cm, aesthetically set atop a few criss-crossing Calcite crystal that have a dark brown-black hue due to iron inclusions, creating a three-dimensional display specimen. The piece displays beautifully on its own without the aid of a base or clay, with the main crystal jutting up of the supporting Calcites below. The main Calcite crystal is undamaged, but the lower crystals are contacted/cleaved where the piece was separated from the pocket wall. Overall, a very showy and impressive specimen of this important antique material, which has been celebrated since the 1800s for their superior quality.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 3151. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information