Chabazite (classic material - 1800s)

Item Description

An old-time specimen of Chabazite-Ca from Nidda, Hesse, Germany featuring a group of soft beige colored crystals showing both pseudo-rhombic habits and "Phacolite" habits together on the same specimen sitting on basaltic matrix. Minor Calcite can be seen on the piece as well. The crystals are rather small (only a few mm at maximum), and we've photographed them with a Canon MP-E 65 mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality.
The piece dates back to the 1800s, and comes with a great pedigree of labels, including a great old hand-written label from Dr. August Krantz in Bonn, Germany, plus a few from Michigan Tech., which was called the Michigan College of Mines back in the day. The piece was pictured in Collector's Guide to the Zeolite Group (written by Bob Lauf), but please note that the book is not included with this listing.
From the collection of longtime mineral collector Dr. Bob Lauf (Collection #4113), the author of the Mineral Collectors Guide books (Schiffer Publishing), widely seen at mineral shows and libraries. Robert Lauf grew up in Chicago and attended the University of Illinois, ultimately receiving a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering. His scientific career included over twenty years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he conducted research on topics ranging from nuclear fuel, coal by-products, materials synthesis, microwave processing, sensors, optical materials, and biomineralization. He has been granted over forty U.S. Patents for his inventions, many of which have become successful industrial products. He is now a Registered Patent Agent and technology consultant.