historic Tourmaline (Mined by Loren Merrill, early 1900s)

Item Description

Silky luster and unusual color, almost silky appearance to the luster, and an elongated style combine make this an interesting, historic tourmaline from the old days of mining in Maine. It is 115 grams, doubly-terminated, and complete, remarkably without repairs. You can see with good backlighting, it has the unique blue color that old Maine tourmaline was famous for, at the time of the turn of 1900s making it among the most valuable tourmaline in the world! This was in the collection of Father Thomas Fitzpatrick, mined by the legendary Loren Merrill, according to notes that come with the piece on the label of James Zigras, who obtained it in trade from an East Coast museum and sold this in 2000. Searching online, we found this great memorial article by the noted author and mineralogist Charles Palache on Merrill: "Loren B. Merrill of Paris, Maine, died at his home on March 30, 1930 at the age of 77 years. I like to remember him in his little shop behind his house where he learned to cut in the greatest perfection the beautiful tourmalines, quartzes and beryls he had dug from the Maine ledges. He was active at Mt. Mica from the very earliest period of its working as a tourmaline mine and after the dissolution of the first company organized by Mr. Hamlin of which he had been an employee, he became the owner. Single handed or with one or two helpers only he carried on the work for many years, his enthusiasm overcoming the ever increasing difficulties of operation as the zone of gem-pockets went deeper into the ledge. The cut on the top of Mt. Mica and the great pile of waste taken from it will remain for many years the best monument to his tireless energy." (This text quoted from https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/msa/ammin/article-abstract/15/8/277/535635/Memorial-of-Loren-B-Merrill). Later in the collections of Thomas Fitzpatrick, to James Zigras (a specialist in old East Coast material among his other subcollections), and then in 2000 or so, to tourmaline collector Michael Garced. This was in the Garced collection tourmaline display in Tucson at TGMS show of 2001.