Inscribed IKONS - Hardcover with dustjacket

Item Description

At nearly 500 pages, this is a huge book that is our passionate tribute to the treasures of the mineral world. Donated by The Arkenstone, signed by authors wayne Thompson and Rob Lavinsky with Walt Donovan here at the symposium. A collaboration between Wayne A. Thompson, Walter E. Donovan, Robert M. Lavinsky, Wendell E. Wilson and Sandor P. Fuss, this was published in 2024 by The Mineralogical Record, Inc. It is currently available only from the publisher;  Hardcover, 9.5 × 13 inches, 480 pages, 7.9 pounds. NOTE ABOUT PRICING: PREVIOUSLY, THE FIRST 1100 COPIES WERE RELEASED AT $200 SPECIAL PRICING BY THE MIN RECORD: FUTURE PRICING WILL INCREASE EFFECTIVE SHORTLY TO A HIGHER PRICE AS BACKSTOCK DWINDLES. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL NOTE TO THE WINNER: this copy to be signed and will be inscribed to the winner by Rob Lavinsky. 

The following text is a shortened description from The Mineralogical Record website. To read the full description, click through to the website here: https://mineralogicalrecord.com/book_list/ikons-the-beauty-of-fine-minerals/:

"In 2007, the Mineralogical Record published Wayne Thompson’s ground-breaking, 192-page book Ikons, Classics and Contemporary Masterpieces of Mineralogy—the first primer for aspiring collectors of world-class minerals. It contained informative chapters covering aspects of collection building, desirability factors and even investment value, and was illustrated by a gallery of 77 photos of the finest specimens that, at one time or another, had passed through the author’s hands. The photos and text presented in this new Ikons book (subtitled The Beauty of Fine Minerals) are intended to provide a broad understanding of world-class mineral specimens from the standpoint of beauty. This is an area of high exclusivity and high financial stakes, nearly inaccessible to most collectors. The authors give a look into that mystique, and offer some practical suggestions for collectors who aspire to building a world-class collection of their own.

The gallery of 448 specimens of 123 species from 258 different localities is not restricted to any one dealer or collector, but is drawn from all specimens known to the authors from public and private sources worldwide. In this aspect it follows more closely in the footsteps of Peter Bancroft’s famous 1973 book, The World’s Finest Minerals and Crystals, which contained a panel of experts’ choices of 76 specimens they considered to be the finest in the world at that time. Many mineral collectors will probably never have the opportunity to own a world-class specimen. But then, neither will most of us ever own a painting by Rembrandt, DaVinci, or Van Gogh. Our inability to own them personally need not prevent us from appreciating and enjoying them, and so it is with minerals. World-class specimens are important, universally acknowledged reference points of study. This visually stunning, blockbuster of a book is dedicated to the appreciation of such objects as the ultimate expressions of mineralogy."

This book is part of the 2024 Dallas Mineral Collecting Symposium benefit auction, with proceeds benefiting Mineralogical Record, Rocks & Minerals, Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, and mindat.org. Thanks to all of our participants!

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, August 19th, for payment using PayPal or a credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost.