Howlite

Item Description

Here we have a good sized specimen of the uncommon calcium borosilicate, Howlite, named after Professor Henry How of King's College, Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1936. Some of the best and most well-known examples are those from Tick Canyon in Los Angeles County, California (in between Santa Clarita and Palmdale). The pieces typically form as massive nodules, and this piece is an impressive full cabinet sized piece featuring semi-spherical nodules of an off-white hue. The piece is in great condition all around, with only one real point of contact that I can find. These are not nearly as common on the market as they used to be, and pieces this size and certainly desirable (especially in this condition) for any fan of minerals of California.
From the collection of Robert (Bob) Reynolds who passed in August of 2020. Bob was a well-known fossil and mineral expert and former Curator of Earth Sciences at the San Bernardino County Museum in California. The rare phyllomanganate-chromate species Reynoldsite was named in his honor in 2011.